Showered With Love

We have been completely overwhelmed by all the love and support we’ve received recently.  The end of October was filled with several showers, and we are so thankful to everyone who has helped us prepare for Haidyn’s arrival and have made us feel so special.  We truly appreciate everyone’s help during this exciting time!

Couple’s Shower

Jonathan’s sister, Sarah, and her husband, Dave, threw us a couple’s shower at their house.  It was so nice and so much fun to see everyone.

The darling (and delicious) cake and cookies

Not only was there a yummy white cake and cookies, but Sarah was nice enough to make Jonathan’s favorite carrot cake.  We were so spoiled! 

I was so glad some of my family could make it!  Sarah (Aunt SES), my Aunt Mary, my cousin Alison and her son James, all made the drive to St. Louis to be with us.

Kylie and Aunt SES came up from Owasso to spend the weekend with us.  I had so much fun and stayed up WAY too late both nights chatting!  I just love these girls! 

Jonathan’s parents came up to help with the shower and celebrate with us.  Sarah with Joseph, Jonathan with Samuel, me, Judy, Dave and Mike.  Thank you all for the great party!  We loved it! 

We were also thrilled that Jonathan’s grandpa, Zayde, Uncle Izzy and Aunt Kay, and Aunt Riva all made the trip from Kansas City.  It was so nice to see them, and we were honored that they came.

It’s hard to believe we’re going to be parents in a few weeks.  I’m so thankful for a wonderful husband.  He’s been absolutely incredibly through all this, even when I cry for no reason!

With Aunt SES

Some of the sweet girls who came…Michelle, Kim, Heather, me, Missy and Lindsay

Hanging out and catching up

Samuel and Alexander were super helpful when it came time to open gifts

My mom made this doll for my cousin, Alison, and she wanted Baby Haidyn to have it now.  What a special gift!  We will treasure it always.

Samuel tried on one of Haidyn’s headbands.  Lookin’ good!

Dave showed Jonathan how to use his new Bugaboo “manly” diaper bag

Aunt Kay made Haidyn this beautiful quilt

I thought this picture was so cute…Sarah and Samuel played on her iPhone for a long time.  I’m not sure who won more games...Samuel is pretty good! 

Henry Shower

My amazing friends from school have been so wonderful throughout this whole process.  They’ve been there through all the difficulties in trying to get pregnant, to pick me up and put me back together when I lost a baby earlier last year, and they have been more than excited for Haidyn’s arrival this year.  Sometimes I compare working at Henry to being back in the Theta house…it’s a big building filled with wonderful people who love and care for you like family.  I am so thankful to have such a wonderful support system!

Earlier in October my teammates – Stacie, Jackie and Kristie -  had desserts at school for everyone to celebrate.  A few weeks later they also threw a fun after school shower for some of my close friends.  We ate tons of food, laughed hard, and had a great time catching up.  I just love my teammates and don’t know what I’d do without them!

Some work friends…Beth, Jackie, Bridget, me, Kristie, Stacie and Lisa

The yummy cake

More yummy treats  

Kristie is super creative and always comes up with fun ideas.  I loved this idea for guests, since almost everyone I work with has kiddos! 

Jonathan’s Work Shower

The sweet people that Jonathan works with also threw us a baby shower after work one day.  This shower was by far the most entertaining!  Now, I just want to preface this by saying how incredibly thankful I am for everyone for their support and advice and for helping us prepare for this baby.  I know we could never do it alone!  With that being said, there are some funny stories to share about this one…

First, Belinda made everyone go around and give “speeches.”  This ended up being one long speech given by Belinda in which she told everyone that she was so glad so “prophesied” and did NOT “prophilie” that Jonathan and I would have a baby before the end of the year.  (She’s the same person who sprinkles people with holy water when they get into arguments at the office.  Seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I wanted to.)

Later we opened gifts.  The best gift was given to us by Jay.  He told me when I walked in that day that he couldn’t find any baby wrapping paper, so he just used Hanukah paper.  That’s totally fine with me – the Teals celebrate Hanukah, you know.  However I had no idea it was going to be a box the size of a refrigerator covered in blue and gold menorahs.  When I opened it up, this is what I found:

I wasn’t sure exactly what to say, so I said, “Oh, Jay!  It’s so beautiful!” to which he replied, “Yes.  I’m going to need it back.”  I’m speechless at this point.  We now affectionately refer to this as our Big Fat Greek Bassinet.  Jay made it 30 years ago when he goddaughter was born.  Now he changes out the ribbon for each birth in the family and passes it on.  I am honored that he thinks highly enough of us to share this lovely family heirloom, but I’m a tad bit worried about safety.  For now it is in our basement…

And finally, before we could leave, all of Jonathan’s co-workers decided to start a pool for the delivery date.  He employs several black telemarketers who decided to start asking me questions about my level of activity and other randomness.  Then they decided that since it’s my first child and that I’m not “active,” I would be delivering late.  As in January 15, 2011.  YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.  This is the point of the party when I almost lost it.  First of all, I’m on my feet all day chasing around 6-year-olds.  I have also been doing my pre-natal yoga and walking.  Okay, so I don’t walk as much as I did in the beginning, but give me a break!  It’s tough going up those hills these days.  And if they think I’m keeping this baby inside of me until next year, they’ve got another thing coming!!!  It was an interesting evening, to say the least.  But overall we’ve had some good laughs about the whole thing and truly, truly appreciated everything everyone did for us!  Here are a few more pictures from the shower:

      

Thanks to everyone who has helped us get ready for this baby.  We are so incredibly blessed!  We can’t wait for Haidyn to meet all of you.  She’s one lucky little girl!