Our Family Baby Shower BBQ - Luau Style

So our family baby shower was yesterday, Saturday, June 28th with just a few weeks left before our due date. We headed up to my parents house on Friday night so we could be there on Saturday to help out and get things prepared with my parents. I decided that before heading up to OC that maybe I should prepare and pack my hospital bag, just in case, since you never know. Thankfully we didn't need to use it this weekend but I figured better to be safe than sorry. Especially since we were much further from our hospital than normal. Funny thing happened before the shower began, there was a white stork looking bird that was hanging out in the front yard, what a trip to see him on the day of my shower, we were joking saying maybe it was a sign that I was going to deliver soon, but luckily no labor pains or delivery did occur just yet. Such a strange thing to see this giant white bird just chilling in a neighborhood doing his thing. Instead of a baby in a blanky hanging from his mouth though, he was actually going after a lizard. HEHE!

I woke up early on Saturday morning and tried to relax in bed for a bit before going downstairs, since I'm not sleeping well it's hard to sleep in, but I wanted to make sure I rested a bit before the big day began since I knew it was going to be a long and busy day.

I went downstairs around 10am and my parents were getting the tables and chairs set up. Since I couldn't really help much with that part I went and ate a bowl of cereal and then came back out to help decorate. Once decorating started time started flying, we got the tablecloths placed on all the tables, set up the centerpieces which were so cute. My Mom had bought some little Hawaiian style duckies in glass vases with blue water (some square vases and some round vases), some fun sunglasses and some shells to display as the centerpieces. Then we started putting some dangly fun decorations throughout the rest of the backyard. Also my Mom had gotten some raffia stuff that decorated along the whole back fence and blew in the wind which looked really cool! Everything was coming together so perfectly! Finally we grabbed some balloons and filled them with helium and placed some at the mailbox with a few Baby Boy decorations.

Then it was time for me and Jammer to get cleaned up. Ashley (my sis) showed up at that point to finish helping my Mom outside with the final touches. We were ready a short while later and time really started to fly at this point. Jennifer (my sis) showed up with some food since she figured that we would all be working pretty busily that we wouldn't have time to get food ourselves so that was helpful and she then helped out with anything that my Mom and sister Ashley needed help with. Then the caterer showed up to set up all her stuff. The menu consisted of some luau style pork, chicken, salad, hawaiian mac salad (made by me), rice and rolls.

Before we knew it was 3pm and people started showing up. One of Ashley and Jennifer's responsibilities was to take pictures of everyone as they arrived, give them a lei and direct them to the backyard. We got some great pictures of everyone that came to the shower before they came into the house.

Finally around maybe 4:30pm or so it was time to serve the food, I started the line to sort of initiate that it was okay for everyone to serve themselves. Then it was time to enjoy the yummy food. Everyone served themselves some food and then seated themselves at the tables around the yard and we all enjoyed conversation and hawaiian style food. That went on for a bit and then when people were pretty full it was time to set out the dessert. We had decided on cupcakes to serve for dessert instead of doing a cake. It was so much easier to serve and for people to eat. We figured since a lot of people aren't big sweets or cake eaters that maybe a cupcake would be an easier thing to choose. I think we were right because there were only a few cupcakes left at the end of the day. Again, I think I had at least 3 of these cupcakes (it was a big cupcake weekend for me and I brought a couple home with us, hehe).

After the cupcakes were all set out and the food was being put away and trash tossed we got prepared to open our gifts. My Mom had set up a little love seat next to the gift table for Jammer and I to sit at where everyone could see us open our gifts. Ashley helped by handing us gifts and Shelley (my sister Jennifer's friend was our note taker). After a little bit of time we got everyone's attention and started opening our gifts. We opened some REALLY cute and generous gifts. We felt so blessed to be surrounded by such supportive and loving people to share this exciting time with us! My sister Jennifer got the tears flowing with many at the party when she stood up as we were getting ready to open her gift to present a letter that she had written to Jammer and I about the life of parenting and her tidbits of knowledge that she had to offer (which being that she is such a great mother were welcomed with open arms). It was a very moving moment in the shower and I'm proud to call her my big sister!

After the gifts were all opened we took a few family shots and everyone was slowly getting ready to leave, we talked a little bit with everyone as they were heading out the door, sad that the party was coming to an end! We had a few people that stayed and helped break down the tables and chairs and things which I know my parents were SO happy about...the hardest part about throwing a party is having to clean up after the fact. That was really awesome that everyone helped out! Thanks so much for that! Then it was officially time to say goodbye to the last few people that were there. For the first time in my pregnancy after everyone left I noticed that my feet were actually swollen...immediately I put them up but I guess it was to be expected after a long day of standing and walking around.

Before my sister's kids left Jammer got a production line going and the helpful kids moved the gifts out to the car with Jammer so he could begin to pack up the car. Which was great for me because I was not in any shape to be moving gifts to the car or packing up at all at this point.

We hung out for a bit to relax after the great (but long) day and talked about how things went and talked about how close it is till the baby comes and all of those fun things. The anticipation is growing with both sides of the family and the craziest thought about this whole day was when we were driving home I kept thinking, holy cow, the next time we see our families it'll be when we are having a baby! WOW!

Thanks so much to all who came to the party and those that couldn't make it but sent gifts, it was so much appreciated you have no idea! I can't say how much we feel blessed to have each and every one of you in our life in some way, shape or form!

I have created a photo album on our website of all the pictures taken at the baby shower for you all to enjoy and experience the day through...we hope you enjoy them and hope that those that came enjoyed themselves!

To see photo album go here: www.donelleandmike.com/shower062808.html

With all our love...
Jammer and Donelle

Jammer's Verizon Baby Shower

Jammer had quite the surprise today, he went in to work for his morning meeting and found a baby shower set up for him. One of his employees had put together a little baby shower for him. She decorated, made cupcakes, put together favors, etc. He was so surprised. Since they had their morning meeting he basically got to check things out and take a few pictures, but decided that when he came back to work for his shift he would open his gifts and things so that whoever purchased him a gift could be there to watch him open it and he could thank them. He asked me to come in after he went to work so that I could be there as well. I brought the camera and took a few more pictures since he had taken pictures with his cellphone. Here are some of the pictures we took:


The table that was decorated...


The Gift Table...


A Poster on the Wall...


She had taken a picture of him the other day and then made it into a baby that is him with Tre's name and sitting in a bassinet...so funny!


Jammer opening some of his gifts...


Another picture of the table...


Even Noa got to watch his Daddy open up his gifts at his shower...


One of his employees got Tre little Vans sneakers, he'll be wearing those when he is a little bigger and will be so cool when he does!


The wall behind the table with the baby Michael in a bassinet...


The little cupcakes that were made...they were yummy! I think I had 4! :)

It was such a sweet thing that was done and I know Jammer was so happy that some of the people he works with would take the time to do this for him! We got some great little gifts and it was so unexpected!

37 Weeks - Belly Development

So at 37 weeks our baby is considered FULL TERM! Which means at any point from now on he could arrive fully mature with no premature issues. That's comforting! In one of our baby classes they said that an old wives' tale is that if you have heartburn that probably means that your baby will have a full head of hair, well sign me up for a full head of hair baby because I've got that going on daily! I'm getting nervous wondering if any of the things I feel are signs of labor. Paranoia! HEHE! Sleep is rough now, just trying to get comfortable around this big belly...but I just try and try because I know after he comes it'll be all about him and his schedule!

11th Doctor's Appointment - 37 Weeks

I met with a new doctor at today's doctor's appointment. Since my doctor is pregnant and due 2 weeks before me she and I figured it would probably be best for me to meet with some of the other doctors and see how I click with them. The doctor I met was very nice and felt really comfortable with her. She had come referred to us by a co-worker of Jammer's and she is also my doctor's doctor. She's a short, blond haired lady (probably about the same height as me). She was great because she got me thinking about preparation and stuff, asked me the main questions about my plans for the birth and all that so I felt that she was really thorough. She asked if I wanted to meet the other doctor's in the office as well and I informed her that my main issue was that I wanted to stick with one doctor in hopes that she would deliver our baby. She thought it was a good idea and so we are going to stick with her as our doctor from now until the baby comes. Even though its only a few more weeks till our due date.

Also, it was great, I was in and out of there in about 30 minutes so I was happy about that, so often I feel like my poor doctor has been trying to cram so many of her patients into the days she works that I spend a bit more time there than necessary. Poor girl needs to take time off of work, I can't imagine working full time right now. I'm so tired all the time, not sleeping well AT ALL and having a few issues walking around at times due to my body feeling like it is preparing for childbirth.

One other thing that sort of shocked me when I met with the doctor is she informed me that my little boy is a bit bigger than average! YIKES! I'm not sure how much bigger than average since she didn't specify but that can only mean one thing, I'm not having a small baby. Jammer is proud to hear that news saying, "That's my big boy!" I don't find it as exciting as I am the one that is going to have to deliver this kid. But I push that worry out of my head as I type it here to know that everything happens for a reason and it will all work out the way it is supposed to.

Since my doctor's appointments are now once a week, I have another one set for next Monday, June 30th. I gained a pound since last week's appointment so we are still on weight schedule which is good. I'm at 135 now. Head is still down and the baby is in delivery position so that's another plus. We are getting pretty anxious and excited about Tre coming...the baby room is almost done as far as getting the boxes and things out of there and all the clothes we have been given need to be washed and put away. Last thing on our agenda is to get our carpet redone before he gets here, we are in total crunch time so I need to get on that.

Have a great day!

Childbirth Preparation - Class 4

Our 4th and final Childbirth preparation class was tonight. It basically covered what to expect at the time of childbirth with a little pushing exercise to help you better push the baby. And it went over things that occur with newborns and kind of repeated some stuff we learned in our Getting Ready for Baby classes, so more of a refresher/reminder course to really get it into our heads the things that come up with newborns. I think we are really ready for it all!

At the beginning of class the instructor played this funny little bit from that television series Mad About You with Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt that was out from 1992 to 1999 or something. It was the episode where Jaime was having their baby, it was a crack up and also a reality check that this is going to happen! Pretty crazy!

Our class shrunk quite a bit on this last one...I'm thinking people felt they were ready enough and didn't need to come to the last class, or they went into labor early, one of the two. Jammer really didn't want to go to the class because he felt that the more important stuff had been covered but I'm glad we ended up going. I had a chat with one of the other girls that is due on the same day as us and they are having a boy. We asked how each other were sleeping and how we were feeling and all that. It was just nice to talk to someone that is in the exact same place as me and know that I am not crazy for struggling to sleep each night and that things are getting a bit more difficult to function. It's all a part of the process, I guess.

Our instructor was so cute at the end of class she wanted to give everyone a hug and tell them good luck, she even offered her home number and email address as well as saying, "If anyone needs a ride to the hospital when the time comes and you can't get anyone to take you, Call Me!"

Everyone kind of laughed but she said she was serious...you can tell she really likes what she does.

So we only have one more class and it is the Breastfeeding class on July 2nd. That's exciting in itself to have completed all of these classes and to be told, you are ready for this baby, just be confident and it will all work out! The nerves have kind of gone, probably due to lack of sleep. I do have a bit of anxiety when it comes to the moment I say "It's Time!"

Probably just because I've never done this before and don't fully know what to physically expect of my body and the process of labor and delivery. But I'm sure it'll all be fine, many women before me have done this and survived to have a beautiful baby, I can only hope for the best and expect the same!

Getting Ready for Baby - Class 2

We had our final Getting Ready for Baby class tonight. This one was all about pediatricians and helpful tips on common things that occur in newborns that you don't need to freak out about and call your doctor. We watched a video when we first got into class which lasted about 30 mins or so. Our instructor was waiting for the pediatrician that was supposed to arrive to the class and talk to us first but ended up showing up after the movie.

Once the pediatrician showed up he pretty much opened up the questions portion immediately and informed us that the best way to inform us of things is to have us ask questions and he would answer them. That lasted for about an hour and we learned a lot about immunizations and its scheduling, they talked about autism, top things that he gets called about that are nothing to worry about, talked about colic and jaundice, fevers, circumcision, etc.

Now we have to actually pick a pediatrician as they want you to have that figured out before the baby comes so the pediatrician can be prepared for the time of birth to come visit the baby in the hospital and/or be prepared to have the baby come in shortly after birth for a check up.

My doctor and another doctor in my group that I go to recommended a pediatrician that is in Encinitas so we might go with her, but I think I am going to ask this other doctor I am seeing on Tuesday if she has a recommendation as well, that way I will have asked 3 OB doctors who they would recommend seeing and be able to make a choice from there. There are 3 pediatric groups in our area to choose from. It's a tough thing to figure out, who to take your baby to, who is going to be cool with the 1st time mommy & daddy questions and all that. Hopefully we'll figure it out in the next few weeks, since we only have a month left.

10th Doctor's Appointment - 36 Weeks

I had my doctor's appointment today. I have been so impressed with the lack of traffic getting to and from the appointments lately. It really has put me at ease for the trek we are going to make to the hospital when Tre decides its time to come into the world. I always allow myself at least 45 mins to an hour to get to the appointment and the last two times I have been happily surprised with arriving in 25 minutes or so. It helps too so that I can park a little way away from the doctor's office and walk a bit before the appointment. Gotta get in that exercise at any opportunity. However with this heat, it has made wanting to get out and walk much more difficult. I have however been getting in the pool this week. The water has been a little chilly but I get used to it and get in for a short while which feels nice.

Anyways, back to the appointment, since my doctor's due date is 2 weeks before mine, I decided to ask her about the other doctor's in the office and as much as I love seeing her at my appointments I had asked to possibly meet with another doctor that someone from Jammer's work had said they really liked. Turns out it is the same doctor that my doctor is seeing as her doctor, so that was a plus. She said she loves her and would be happy to have me meet her at my next appointment. So that was settled that at next week's appointment (yep, down to going to the doctor once a week now up until the big due date) I am going to meet with another doctor in the office just to get to know a few of them as I am pretty confident that my doctor will not be delivering my baby. :(

I had her check the location of Tre to make sure he is appropriately positioned for a natural birth. In our birthing class last week we had learned about a position the baby could be in called Transverse Lie where the baby is kind of sideways and I have been trying to figure out if he was potentially positioned like that since he has a tendency to love poking out the left and right and I initially thought it was his head and behind, but it turns out it is his shoulder and behind. I'm thinking this kid is pretty long if that's the case. Hopefully that is a sign of potential height. HEHE.

My weight gain has been steady, I gained an additional 2 pounds since my last appointment 2 weeks ago, so we are still on the gaining a pound a week schedule which is good. I'm at a grand total of 134 pounds currently. The doctor's appointment was pretty brief but I got all my questions answered and have another appointment set for next Tuesday, June 24th.

36 Weeks - Belly Development

Tre is gaining about an ounce a day at this point and weighs about the same as a crenshaw melon. I feel he is more than 18 1/2 inches long now, but its hard to officially tell. My energy level has noticeably dropped this week. Normally I am the last one awake but lately I have been wanting to go to bed earlier even though I dread going to bed because I know I'll just be tossing and turning all night long (plus getting up to go to the bathroom every couple hours). I guess my body is getting ready for the wake up calls my little boy is going to be doing for feedings and whatever else he may need.

Childbirth Preparation - Class 3

Tonight we had our 3rd childbirth preparation class. This one was all about labor pain, medications and C-sections. We actually watched a video that showed a C-section being done...WOW...pretty gnarly! Watching the skin stretch (or should I say pulled apart) was insane. It went quickly so there wasn't much time to dwell on it, but I was squinting my eyes watching it.

The instructor went over the pros and cons of an epidural and we also watched a video about epidurals and how it affected different couples that chose to either use an epidural or not. I'm still leaning towards having an epidural, I can see how far I can go without, but if the pain gets too intense I see nothing wrong with easing the pain. :)

I love the end of our class where we do our relaxation and breathing techniques because it really helps me unwind from my day and class. We listen to relaxing music and go through breathing and different ways to cope with the contractions.

Only one more childbirth preparation class next Sunday and we will be as prepared as possible for childbirth. :)

However, we still have 2 other classes to attend as well, this coming Wednesday we have our last Getting Ready for Baby class and then on July 2nd we have our Breastfeeding class. Fun stuff!

Father's Day BBQ...

Every year the day before Father's Day my family gets together for a sort of reunion celebrating Father's Day...it's such a blast of an event because we all just hang out, eat, talk and just spend time together for our once a year get together that we get to see everyone.

This year Dad broke out a special bottle of Tequila for my Grandpa Andy and all the Dad's circled around the outside bar and had their turn at a shot of this apparently really nice Tequila.

We also got some very exciting news that my cousin, Jarid and his girlfriend Stacey are expecting a baby due in December...so we cannot wait! Tre will have a little friend very close in age to him in our family to hang out with...we are hoping for a boy so Tre can have a little homey to chill with but whether its a girl or a boy, it's very exciting!

Here are some pictures from the event...


The Tequila Shots Lined Up...


Daddy to be, Jammer taking his honorary Father's Day Shot...


Jarid (cousin & Daddy to be) and Grandpa Andy taking their Father's Day Shots...


Jarid (cousin) and my Grandpa Andy...


Ashley (sis) and I...


Aunt Mary, Jill (sis), Jarid (cousin) and Grandpa Andy...


Ashley (sis), Jennifer (sis) and Breanna (niece)...


The Sisters... Jill, Ashley, Donelle and Jennifer...


Jill (sis), Donelle, Grandpa Andy, Ashley (sis) and Jennifer (sis)...


Jill (sis), Donelle, Dad, Jennifer (sis) and Ashley (sis)...


Ashley (sis), Donelle, Jennifer (sis), Jill (sis), Julie (cousin) & Tanya (cousin)...

Father's Day Gift...

Sometimes I have a really hard time figuring out what to get my Dad for Father's Day. I always try to get things that are meaningful and represent how much I love him and am so grateful he is my Dad.

This year I decided to be crafty...other than computers which most of you that know me well know that I usually like to create stuff that requires computer programs and such. One day while I was shopping around at Michael's for some trinkets for Tre's room, I found this painting kit that guides you through a painting. The painting kit was an eagle. My parents used to be really into the eagle and I think a little bit still. But for some reason I felt compelled to buy this kit and try my luck in painting my Dad a painting for Father's Day. As the process was going on I thought it was turning out strange and I wasn't too happy with it, but over the past few weeks it had evolved into an actual painting and I think I am happy enough with it to give it to him and to even post it on our blog.

So, here is the painting (picture taken by my camera phone) that I painted for my Dad for Father's Day. I feel it represents Freedom and with all the losses that have been going on with our family, I think it gives a sense of Release...
Plus my Dad has always been so cute to say that my Mom is the Wind Beneath His Wings..so it could also represent the love of my parents...



I also bought a frame to go with it, when this picture was taken it was still drying so I am going to frame it today.

Getting Ready for Baby - Class 1

We had our Getting Ready for Baby class tonight, the first of two classes. We walked into the class and the instructor was there to give us all the handouts we would need for the class and our very own practice baby. The class started with a video that kind of gave us a run down on what the class was going to entail. How to hold a newborn baby, skimmed the surface of breastfeeding, newborn behaviors, taking baby home from the hospital, bathing baby, changing diapers, what baby needs, keeping baby healthy, newborn activity states, crying and how to comfort the baby, safety practices and selecting a pediatrician (which will have a more detailed discussion about in class 2).

We had to actually change the baby doll's diaper and also practice swaddling the baby. I hadn't changed a diaper in a long time but it came back to me as soon as we did it and the swaddling thing was pretty easy as well, but good to at least see we were doing things right.

The class went by pretty quickly so that was nice and I felt like going through all these newborn baby tips really refreshed my memory on what it's like to have a little one around. Since my youngest nephew is 4 now and I have lived in San Diego for the last 2 kids my sister Jennifer has had, I haven't had as much diaper and newborn interaction as I did with her first 2 kids, who are 14 and going to be 11 in July.

There were some familiar faces in the class from our other birthing class as well. All in all, it was a good class and gave us some tips on things that might help make bringing our baby home to our house easier.

35 Weeks - Belly Development

They say at this point the baby doesn't have much room to maneuver however he is still kicking and swinging those arms in there. Maybe trying to make room. He weighs about 5 1/4 pounds (think honeydew) and he is over 18 inches long. Most of his basic physical development is now complete and he will spend the next few weeks putting on weight. Yikes!

Childbirth Preparation - Class 2

Our second childbirth preparation class was tonight...after a long day of preparation for the baby shower and the baby shower itself it was time to go to our 2nd childbirth class. Jammer had to work for most of the day so he was out of the house and in preparation for the baby shower being at our house he brought his surf gear with him to work and then went surfing after work. He arrived home around 5:15pm and got cleaned up and we had probably 20 minutes to spare where I showed him all the cute stuff we got and told him all about the day.

Then it was time to hop in the car and head to the Scripps Hospital in Encinitas for our 2nd Childbirth Preparation class. Ashley stayed at the house and cleaned up the food and things (thank goodness, I don't know what I would've done without her). We showed up like 5 minutes late to class (thought it was going to be more) and I felt like an idiot cause I forgot my birthing book and my name tag. Ugh...so unprepared. But they had handouts for us to look at and I used that as my note taking for anything I felt was important to write down. This class was the class where they showed the labor video. Jammer was a little nervous to have to watch an actual birth on screen but made it through with only a twinge of nervousness. I was kinda freaked too having to watch the baby be born and they showed all of it. WOW! It's an amazing thing us women can do, delivering babies!

The class went by quickly, thank goodness because I was so ready to go home and rest. The last 30 minutes of class we did our relaxation techniques and breathing, which totally calmed me. We left the class feeling relaxed so that was nice.

Got back to our house to a cleaned up house and Ashley chilling watching TV. Jammer got ready to watch the Laker game and the day was done...

Baby Shower in Carlsbad

So I had my "friend" baby shower today (Sunday, June 8th) here at my house. Since our family shower that we are going to have up at my parents house ended up being a family only event a few of my girlfriends helped put together a little shower for my friends down here. It was pretty hectic preparing for the event as we only had a couple weeks to plan...the invites had turned out ADORABLE...my friend Jill Parkin (who makes invites for a living) helped me out with them...they turned out SO good! Here are a couple pics...




For invites of your own for any event you can go to www.jillparkindesigns.com. You won't be disappointed!

I was so happy to have the flooring done before the shower, it made for a much nicer presentation of our home without all the yucky old carpet. :) Ashley (my sis) came down on Saturday after work to help me put things together. We went to the grocery store and bought a ton of food, then came home and Ashley started preparing her famous pasta salad and my Mom's famous olive dip...both YUMMY! Then she scrubbed and cleaned my entire house pretty much...the kitchen was spotless and she even went as far as to clean the guest bathroom. Love her for all her hard work she put out for me! We were up pretty late on Saturday night getting things organized and ready. Then we woke up on Sunday morning and started getting things ready to go. My friend Jolene came over early (with Noa's best buddy Cody, so Noa had someone to play with while we were all hanging out). She helped decorate which totally saved me because as Ashley was finishing up cleaning the house, Jolene and I were able to get the house decorated and the food out. Tiff and Becca showed up a little bit early and helped bring the table up from the rec room so we could place all the food on it. Lisa brought some champagne/berries and ice for the cooler. Also, Jolene and Tiff both made yummy appetizer snacks for the party which were enjoyed by everyone. And for a little bit of sweets, Edith brought some yummy cupcakes and a cake that were so cute...!

As I was meeting Edith down at her car to help her carry her treats up to the house I was happily surprised by a familiar voice that I hadn't heard in quite some time. My friend Precia was driving through our complex looking for my house (since she forgot the invite, hehe). Perfect timing that I came down cause she wanted to surprise me and boy did she...I wasn't thinking she would be able to make it since her family was supposed to be driving down to San Clemente for a week of camping today and they live in Utah, but they decided to come down one day early and stay with her husband's Aunt in Carlsbad so she could come to the shower. I was so happy to see her. It was a great surprise!

So the event started off with some food, drinks and conversation. Then as the event rolled one we did a few games. Started out with the "How big is my belly" game, where we take this measuring tape style stuff that I got at Party City and each person has to guess how big they think my belly is and the person who gets the closest wins the prize. The tape was passed around and everyone was ready, after measuring myself I grabbed my tape and put it up to everyone else's, the two closest were Jolene and Lori. However, Lori was closer by a tiny bit...so close! So she won the prize for that game. The next game we did was a questionnaire about Jammer, Tre and I. Everyone filled out what they thought the correct answer to each question was and then after everyone was done I brought out the answer key and read off the correct answers and whoever got the most right won the prize. Kendy had 20 right and was the winner! That was another close one as others were just under her with 19, 17 and 16. The total questions were 25. The final game was the "Baby Bingo" game, where everyone fills out what they think my gifts will be and whoever gets bingo first wins. Well, Lori actually got bingo first but because she had already gotten a gift she passed hers off and we continued the game and a short while later Christy got Baby Bingo and won the final prize.

We got some adorable things, people got really creative with some of their gifts and it made it all the more special. We hung out for a while after gifts were open but people slowly started to leave, sad that the event was over but it was a great day and I was pretty tired. The last few friends that stayed to hang out for a bit longer left and about 30 minutes later Jammer and I had to head to our 2nd birthing class. Busy day! More on the birthing class in my next post.

However here are some pictures from the shower....


The Cupcakes and Cake made by Edith...


The Food Table...


Me reading the answers to the questionnaire...


Lori, Me and Kendy...


Becca, Me and Tiff...


Edith and I...


Lisa, Me, Precia and Ashley...


Candice and I... (newly engaged Candice...yay)


Christy, Dusky, Me, Lisa and Ashley...

I ended up putting together a photo album of all the pictures from my shower that weren't posted here...if you want to take a look you can go to the following link:
www.donelleandmike.com/shower060808.html

Fun Day and Thanks to all who made it such a great day!!!
Love you all...

Nesting has begun...

I've been meaning to post about this all week because I was so excited but this week has been a busy one and time has gotten away from me. But this past weekend was a big weekend for us as we got new flooring in our living room and dining room area. We decided to go with replacing the carpet (that was totally destroyed) with some hardwood flooring.

And we were so lucky to be able to say it was installed by my wonderful hubby, his awesome Dad and Cousin. I wasn't much help other than feeding the guys when it was time to eat. It was a very long and crazy weekend for them.

Jammer ended up buying the flooring from Costco on Thursday, that way all we needed to do on Friday when he got off work was to move all the furniture and items in these areas to make room. Saturday morning started the process when Jammer's Dad showed up and they got things prepared. I went and picked up Jammer's cousin, Shaun at 11:45am while Jammer and his Dad were discussing how things were going to go down. I brought Shaun back to the house and they began to rip out the carpet in preparation. I figured I was just going to be in the way (as would Noa) so Noa and I went out to run some errands, then brought lunch home for the guys after all my errands were done. Then I locked myself, Noa and the cats in our bedroom so we wouldn't get in the way and the guys continued to work vigorously. They didn't stop again until 9pm when I went out to pick them up dinner and brought it back (even then it was stand up and eat while working mode). The flooring was all laid down by 11:45pm after 12 hours of major labor. It was looking awesome! All that needed to be done the next day was baseboards and molding and things along those lines of just fine tuning everything.

Sunday morning Jammer was moving a bit slower as his body was aching, using muscles he probably hasn't used ever doing manual labor. Hehe. They started working on the rest of it around 11am and finished around 4:30pm (which left us 2 hours to get all the furniture back in the house and arrive at our first birthing class). The finished product is awesome and I can't believe it is the same house. It opened up everything making our place look so much bigger and brighter than it already is.

They did such an awesome job and I am so happy that it is done! Now the next project on our "nesting" schedule is to replace the carpets in the bedrooms before little Tre gets here so he can have nice new clean flooring to crawl around on.

Here are some pictures of the process...












Finished Product