Shower for Baby Howard

Yesterday was Marie's baby shower! Lisa and I spent Friday evening and Saturday morning preparing everything. We might have gotten things done faster but we had a couple of little buddies "helping" us out Saturday morning. (Friday Amelia was "helping" as well!)

It was difficult to remember to get pictures since I spent the entire game playing time in Dan's room feeding Joe because he couldn't focus with all the commotion. Then during gifts I recorded what she received. I did my best to document the occasion!

There was a nice turnout for the shower and Marie and Jordan got a lot of nice things they will need when baby boy arrives this July :) The mommy-to-be:

Lisa had gotten supplies to make a diaper cake for Marie. Saturday morning we assembled it together. My sister made me one when Joe was born so I kind of had an idea of how to do it. She had fun farm themed stickers and ribbon to decorate it. Lisa had the idea to put smaller baby items all over it!

Marie's favorite cake is Funfetti with rainbow chip frosting. That is usually what we make for occasions but this time we opted to order a cake from the bakery since we have three little ones between us. We got red velvet and it was tasty!

Joey partied too hard and passed out on the chair for probably about 45 minutes after most of the guests had left!

Three girls and three guys - one in utero :) They will be suck good buddies!

It was a fun afternoon and I enjoyed celebrating baby Howard! We are anxious to meet him and are so excited for Marie and Jordan! Amelia will have another little boy to get used to. Lisa's son, Dan, is baby #2 to her so I imagine baby Howard will be baby #3!

Girl's Night

Last Friday night was a little girl's night out at Acapulco! Marie was in town for the holidays and it worked out that several of us could meet for dinner. We were surprised at how empty the restaurant was. They are notorious for slow service (but the cheese dip is awesome and worth it!) so I was a little worried about it being Friday night and the day before Christmas weekend. I figure everyone would be eating out since they'd be cooking all weekend! This was not the case - we walked right in and sat down.

Amelia stayed home with her daddy for the evening. She's not that into mexican food and I also knew Joe would keep me busy enough while trying to visit and eat! He did pretty well though. He slept part of the time even!


I wish we could all get together like this a little more often - it was a good time!

Baby Boys

Joe and his friend, D


These two have lots of good times to look forward to!

Joe's First Month

We've had a busy month! This past Sunday Joe turned one month old. Instead of trying to remember all we've done, here are a few pictures:

First night at home:


Sleeping in the bilibed:


Snoozing:




Halloween:


Siblings:


(I had to sneak this after she fell asleep on the couch! Amelia is not quite ready to be close to him just yet)

Joe met his first friend, D:


Meeting "Auntie M" and "Uncle J":


Lastly, I caught a smile on camera just the other day:


It has been a busy, busy first month full of frustrations and joys. All in all, we are adjusting pretty well to life with two little ones.

We still don't have Internet at our apartment but it is at the top of the "to-do list" finally so hopefully we can get that taken care of next week!

Mr. and Mrs. Howard!

Over the weekend I was maid of honor in my friend Marie's wedding! We started our day bright and early at the salon. I had never had my hair done before so I wasn't real sure what I wanted done so I gave my lady a few ideas and she created this:


I was pleased with it and it held up all day, night and overnight! The next day I pulled 28 bobby pins out of my hair and it didn't move too much because of all the hairspray!

I drove two other bridesmaids to the church (a 45 minute drive) and poor Nicolle was stuck in the backseat with 4 dresses draped over her lap!


We were the first ones to the church so we decided they'd put make-up on me for the day. I never wear make-up. I don't even own make-up so this was a big deal! In fact, here is my "make-up bag" that Lisa made me for the day so I wouldn't feel left out:


The lone item in it is the lip gloss given to us by the bride! Here is me with actual make-up on:


They did a great job I think! I didn't feel like myself at all!

Before the ceremony we had some time so we got a picture of all the pregnant bridesmaids together! I am 7 months and the other two are 6 months!


The bride and her mom before the ceremony:


The ceremony was beautiful and Marie is married now, crazy!


Our limo was waiting for us outside the front of the church:


This was my first time in a limo and they can get a little cramped! Lisa and I indulged in a celebratory glass of champagne on the ride to the reception:


Yes, we drank it. No, we didn't feel bad!

Our ride to the reception got a little complicated a few miles from our destination. Our driver hit a 15-year-old riding her bike in a crosswalk. Someone saw it coming and yelled, "stop!" just in time for us all to look out the front and see it happen. Trust me, that is something you never want to see happen. I felt so sick for a couple of hours. By some stroke of luck the girl walked away from the accident and as far as we know she is going to be fine.

I was kind of a dud at the reception because I am not a big dancer :( I wish I was because everyone was having a blast! I had fun watching them though. Plus, it felt good to sit and have my feet up after the long day :)

Amelia was at the reception briefly and wanted nothing to do with me so I tried to bribe her with glow sticks:


They thrilled her to death but she still was Papa's girl and wanted nothing to do with me!

Jason and I:


Marie and Jordan are in Maui on their honeymoon now and I can't wait to hear all about that! For now, I am going to get some rest :)

Set-Up and Rehearsal

This afternoon we helped set-up the reception hall for Marie's wedding tomorrow. Tons of people came to help. So many in fact that there were times when some of us had nothing to do!

I really liked the centerpieces that Marie came up with:



The rehearsal tonight went smoothly and we had a grill-out at a nearby park after. Other than the heat it was a great night!


The entire bridal party:


Tomorrow is Marie's big day!

Marie's Bachelorette Party!

Saturday night was my friend Marie's bachelorette party in Minneapolis.


We met at a hotel downtown, hung out for awhile and then went to dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery.


After dinner we headed back to the hotel for a bit. We played a guessing game where we each brought a pair of underwear for Marie and she had to guess who brought each pair.


She actually did very well at it somehow! She guessed almost each pair correctly!

Marie with her maid and matron of honor:


Jason's sister Liz and I:


Group shot before we headed out "on the town":


We had quite a long night out. Lisa and I (both pregnant) somehow managed to tag along until after one in the morning. It was fun watching everyone have a good time and celebrating with Marie but I can tell you that bar-hopping downtown is not high on my list of things to do again soon! Especially on such a sweltering evening! It was definately a new experience.

All in all, it was a successful night. Lisa and I headed back to the hotel and talked for a bit while we waited for everyone else to get back. Then we ate Marie's cake and had some snacks before bed.

Fourth of July Weekend

We had a laid back holiday weekend this year! I, of course, had to work all weekend but in between work we had fun! Saturday I got home from work and swam with a few people who had gathered at grandpa's house. Marie was kind enough to sit on the steps with Amelia towards the end and Amelia decided they should swap sunglasses!


Saturday we went to the Twins/Brewers game.


That evening we watched fireworks with Jason's sister and her boyfriend.



Yesterday after work we grilled out with Auntie Liz, Uncle Kory and Lisa while we swam. It was a nice way to end a long day at work! Amelia was not interested in the pool at all again. She preferred to hang out outside the pool area on her horse:


Eventually we decided to force her into the pool. I put her lifejacket on her and brought her in for about ten minutes. She screamed the whole time! A short time after I put her back on the pool deck she wanted to come back in! She pointed to her fish floatie and I put her right into it with her lifejacket on!


She floated around contently the rest of the time we were swimming.

After swimming we all went out to Kory's mom's house to watch fireworks. We got there early so we took Amelia to see the horses. She got so excited when she saw them and she yelled, "HELLO! Hi cows!!!" It was so cute.




She thought they were the greatest thing ever!

Uncle Kory also brought out a John Deere pedal tractor!


She couldn't quite figure out pedaling so Kory pushed her. She ended up going in circles because she also wasn't quite grasping steering. She kept pointing other ways and he had to keep telling her to steer them that way!

We headed out to the field to watch the fireworks and then headed home. We had a long weekend outside and I think we were all beat!