An Awesome Surprise

Wow! At work today, they threw me a surprise Baby Shower and I was really surprised. Since so many of my co-workers had come to my baby shower, I really didn't expect anything. In addition to a wonderful cake complete with stork and a Welcome Baby Leo inscription, I also received various gifts and a Costco gift card! Although I was completely embarrassed by all the attention, I feel very lucky that my co-workers (who I have only worked with for a short time), went to so much effort. I just wonder how many shades of red I turned.

Also, a little over a week ago, Joe's co-workers surprised him with a baby shower. Joe was also adorned with a gift card (Babies R Us), a cake, cup cakes and many adorable gifts for Leo. Isn't it cool that they acknowledge the fathers too?

We are both so fortunate to have such awesome co-workers. Leo is really being welcomed into the world. Now if only he would come!

37 Weeks Pregnant

We are so close to Leo's arrival and can hardly stand it. We have our hospital bags packed, Leo's clothes laundered and his car seat in the van. There is really very little left to do except have the baby and nature has control over this detail.

This weekend I was able to use my half day at the spa, which was a Christmas gift from Joe. I had an amazing prenatal massage, a facial and a pedicure at Zenana Spa and it was the highlight of my week. I highly recommend this as a gift to any pregnant woman!

Leo continues to make his presence known. I still feel great, but he does shift his weight around quite a bit now, which can make for some uncomfortable moments. Even when it hurts, I still love it though.

Today, it is not only St. Patrick's Day, it is my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday! Also, Joe's co-workers threw him a baby shower at work and they are all very generous. In addition to a wonderful gift certificate from Babies R US, they gave Leo a whole collection of baby clothes, socks, shoes, a book and a cute little hat. They finished their celebration with a cake and cupcakes. I wish I was there!

Shamrock Run

Today Joe participated in the Shamrock Run, which is a charity event for Doernbecher Children's Hospital and did remarkably well! We started our day just after 5:30 a.m. to allow time to get ready, pick-up my mom and take the train downtown for the 8:05 a.m. start. My mom runs in the race every year and Joe had signed both of them up as part of her birthday celebration (her birthday is St. Patrick's Day), but unfortunately, she had a hamstring injury and had to cheer from the sidelines with me. Joe completed the 5k race in about 28 minutes. After the race, Joe was rewarded with a complimentary beer and clam chowder. That's a great way to end a race!

A Crazy Weekend!

We started the weekend with a Friday night celebration for my birthday. I got ready for our date and then opened my gifts from Joe. I got some awesome Nike running shoes that have a space in the heel for an I-pod chip that records your running performance. This will be great motivation for getting back into running shape after Leo arrives. I also received a gift certificate from Sephora, which I used to buy the fragrance Code by Armani. Hmmmm….it smells great and is Joe approved (a very difficult task). I also received a set of 3 pairs of Nap socks for the hospital stay. Nap products, which are sold at Brookstone and various retail establishments are the best. I don’t know what I would do without my Nap pillow and blanket.

Leo’s/my baby shower was Saturday and it was quite an affair. We definitely crammed our little place full, but it was lots of fun. I was so preoccupied with all the activity that I didn’t get any digital photos (I also forgot to eat), however, my mom did take some photos and Joe recorded the gift opening, so I will post some imagery soon. Guests started trickling in around 1:30 p.m. and dined on the large assortment of foods including lasagna, fruit, sandwich rolls and potato salad. We also had mimosas and beer (but none for me and Leo), so that made the event even more festive. We had a variety of attendees from my work, Joe’s work, old friends and family; we even had a few brave male attendees.

After lunch, we moved on to the games. In the first game, the participants had to take the letters from LEO MORRIS and make as many words as possible. The winner created 13 words! On the game sheet, there was a photo of me and Joe and then a photoshop rendition of Leo, complete with Steelers cap. She took elements from my face and Joe’s face to create our son. Wow! All I’m going to say is he is something else. It was pretty awesome though. In the next game, guests were shown a tray with 22 items for 2 minutes and when the tray was taken away, they had to remember as many items as possible.

Next, I opened gifts. I find it a bit awkward to open so many gifts in front of people, but that’s what you do at a baby shower. Well, Leo scored big time. I see many baseball games in his future because he received 3 baseball outfits! Everything was so cute! I spent a good chunk of Sunday washing his new clothes and organizing his stuff. I think this is called nesting.

We ended the day with an amazing cake. YUMMY! I have had more cake in the last week than in the last year.

I feel that we are now officially ready for Leo. If he was born today, we would have all the essentials. We only have 23 days until his due date, so now it’s up to him!

A Very Public Birthday Announcement

Well, today is my birthday and Joe had quite a surprise for me. Every morning, we watch our local news and we are especially fond of Dave Salesky, the morning weather reporter. Just like every other morning, I was eating my breakfast, watching the news and the birthday announcements came on. They started with an elderly lady and then moved on to a whole line-up of children and then the last announcement was me! "Shelly Morris turns 34 and lives in the Beaverton area and likes bow tie Fridays!" Dave has a habit of wearing a bow tie every Friday and I always get a kick out of it. As you might imagine, I was so surprised...it's not everyday that you see your mug on television.

In retrospect, I should have known something was up. For starters, Joe was so anxious to get pregnancy photos of me. That is not entirely his style. Turns out that he wanted an updated photo for KGW. Secondly, as you can see, the time displayed on the screen is 6:21 a.m., but in reality it was 6:40 a.m. Joe had paused the broadcast so that I would see the birthday segment, which I always miss. Luckily for him, I am not a morning person and my tired haze prevented me from catching on. Joe is so cool. What other husband would go to that kind of effort?

The fun continued when I arrived at work. A couple gals from the office had decorated my desk after I left work yesterday and then my manager surprised me with a card, potted daffodils and a chocolate muffin. It has been an awesome day and I can't wait to see what else will happen.

Where it all Began

Today, Joe and I visited Leach Botanical Gardens which is where we got married. It was Joe's idea to get some pregnancy photos at such a scenic and sentimental location. I have to admit that I have the sweetest husband ever. He thinks that I am beautiful pregnant and wanted to capture this special time in our lives. It was a gorgeous day, so we were able to get some nice shots.

We also took a 3-hour breastfeeding class that was excellent. We learned so much and now I am armed with the essential information I need to feed Leo. We both felt that this was the best class we took. Now if only we had a baby to practice these skills with.

Ava

Ever since we moved into our new house, we couldn't help but notice a beautiful, collarless cat in the neighborhood. We figured she had a family and joked that she was always coming around our house because she was pining for Mookie. After a few months of hanging around our house, we decided to start feeding her and now she has taken up residency on our door step. Although she remains an outdoor kitty, we have basically adopted her. Joe started calling her Ava because she is such a "fancy cat," and we really enjoy having her around. We are considering taking her to the vet to get her fixed, but before we take action, we plan to buy her a collar and engrave a message on a tag asking if she has a home. You can never be too sure.

35 Weeks Pregnant

35 weeks and counting! We are almost at the finish line with the pregnancy and are eagerly anticipating the newest arrival to our family. Aside from the last couple of weeks of battling a cold, I have felt great. I still feel fairly comfortable. I also haven't had any swelling and have kept my weight gain right on track.

Since Leo could be born at any time, Joe and I have decided to get our bags packed for the hospital. Today, I bought a nursing bra, a nursing gown and a new pair of nursing pajamas from Motherhood Maternity. It is all so cute and naturally, I chose blue so that Leo and I can match. Joe also bought treats from Trader Joe's so that he can stay nourished.

By the look of my physique, Leo has grown a ton recently. He weights approximately 5.5 Pounds and is almost his full length. If he were born today, he probably wouldn't even need an incubator. He has also been moving like a champ. We have been interacting with him as usual with story time, but a few weeks ago, Joe bought Leo a glow worm that plays 6 lullabies. We like to put the glow worm on my stomach and play him music too.

We also just finished our last childbirth prep class, so we are good to go. Tomorrow we have a 3 hour breastfeeding class and then we are done with all our classes. We just need the baby to put all this knowledge to good use!