Showered by Love

October and November have brought into our home many blessings in the form of baby items. Lots of baby items. Thanks to friends from church who put together a fun shower for me in October and my mom and sister who threw a fantastic shower for us last weekend, our nursery is overflowing with both cute and practical items to help us welcome baby into the world (and then clothe, feed, clean and entertain him or her). As we have almost hit the 7 week countdown mark, its becoming more and more real that baby really will be here soon. Everyone is talking about the holidays coming up and the dwindling time left for gift-getting, and its a reminder to us that possibly during or hopefully right after all of the holiday festivities, our greatest gift will arrive. Wow. How did those 30+ weeks pass by so fast?!

Here are a few photos from both baby showers...

Church friends

Friends from William & Mary who also live in the area!

Since my shower, 2 baby girls have been born to ladies in these groups. Yay for mommy friends.

They decorated onesies for Baby; this is Geoff's favorite one:)

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The spread at my family shower ~ mom made amazing coffee punch and my sister made delicious cupcakes which we are still enjoying :)

My grandma with 3 of her sisters~ these ladies make our family what it is today and I'm so blessed to be bringing another life into this loving family

Decorating wooden blocks and fabric book pages for baby!

Me and dad, the grandpa-to-be!

October Snapshots

Whats been happening lately...

Celebrated with friends at their wedding in Newport, RI

Built baby's beautiful crib, thanks to Geoff's generous parents

Baby belly at about 29 weeks (feels like I get bigger every day!)

Our good friends from church had a sweet baby girl 2 weeks ago. Holding this beautiful little bundle made us oh so ready to meet ours!

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* We've chosen our pediatrician and will be pre-registering at the hospital this week

* We signed up for baby classes at our OB's office for December

*I passed my 3-hour glucose test meaning I don't have gestational diabetes (praise God!)

Anatomy of a Dresser

Last weekend, Geoff and I built the dresser/changing table for the nursery! We're super happy with how it turned out, and anxious for the nursery to start taking shape. Somehow baby's due date is only 3 months away and we're sure with the holidays fast approaching, those 3 months are going to fly by!

examining the 400 pieces...

Ok its starting to look like something now!

looking good... just need some drawers...

finished!

The cheesehead will not be a permanent fixture...

Sweet Blueberry

I've been meaning to share this sweet story for awhile now but am just finally getting it down on "paper." We enjoy the "what fruit or veggie is baby this week" updates from babycenter.com- I think because its a more tangible way to understand where little baby is in the development process, size-wise anyway. I've never been good with measurements so being able to visualize what 8 inches or 12 oz. looks like isn't easy for me. Anyway, back when baby was 7 weeks, he/she was the size of a blueberry. Geoff surprised me with breakfast in bed: a blueberry muffin from our favorite local coffee shop and a big decaf coffee (mmm, remember when I used to like coffee!?). He's so thoughtful that way.

26 weeks today, and baby is as tall as an English cucumber (14 inches) and weighs one and two-third pounds. Heard baby's strong heartbeat on Wednesday, about 120bpm. We know 3 couples who have had babies recently without finding out whether they were having a boy or girl -- all 3 have been boys. What do you think that means?!

Google Chrome on Fatherhood

As fatherhood rapidly approaches (t-minus 100 days and counting), I am noticing signs that I'm turning into a big sap. For example, this is my favorite commercial on TV right now, and not just because I like Google Chrome:

This ad resonates with me in several ways:

• Holding: Dad admits that he's still getting used to holding little Sophie. Yeah, I have no idea how to hold a baby. Or change diapers. Or get one to stop crying. There will be a lot of things to get used to.
• Giggles: The quick clip of Sophie laughing at her 1st birthday party is amazing. I can't wait to hear my baby laugh and melt my heart.
• Helpless: Sophie has to go to the hospital with a fever, with Dad acknowledging how helpless he feels. So many things are completely outside of my control as it is now, and it's hard to think about how little I'll be able to control once Baby Peck arrives.
• Model: The Dad in this ad is completely unlike most dads portrayed in popular culture today. That is to say, he's not a complete moron. This Dad is a loving, caring, sentimental, humorous, providing, protecting, family man. I hope I'll be that kind of Dad.