I'm Sorry I Made You Cry (Not Really)

This is an apology to my friend Lisa. Except that it'll probably make her cry again.  And I'm not actually apologizing.  But it's not my fault--she's pregnant and hormonal.

My dear, dear friend Lisa is having a baby!  I'm so excited for her and her husband Larry.  Their little girl is due at the end of September.  When Lisa texted me an ultrasound picture in March, I bit back a scream (Dave knew immediately from the gasp when I said it was a message from Lisa and since we were in the car--he was driving--he kindly asked me not to scream to loud), called her immediately and told her it would be a girl.  I could just see her looking at me funny through the phone and wondering why I thought that, but I knew.

See, in January after my Mom passed, I took all her crochet materials, yarn, unfinished projects, and brought them home.  As I started going through them, I found the very beginnings of a pink baby blanket, including the large ball of pink baby yarn and the pattern for a beautiful blanket.  My mom had always made a crocheted blanket for every baby--no matter if it was the first, second or fifth baby, family, friend, coworker or acquaintance--a blanket for every baby.  It's a tradition I started once I learned to crochet and my own friends started having babies.  Racking my brain, I couldn't come up with anyone she may have known who was expecting, or at the least who was far enough along to know they were expecting a girl.  But for some reason I was compelling to finish the blanket because clearly it belonged to some little girl...eventually.

Fast forward two months later but I couldn't tell Lisa why I knew she'd have a girl.  Then in May she told me my prediction was right, and still, I wasn't ready to tell her why I knew in my heart of hearts that Lisa would soon have a daughter.

Since Lisa lives in Florida and our friends are scattered everywhere between here and there, a traditional shower just wasn't logistically possible.  So I did the next best thing and enlisted our friends to quite literally shower her with presents, all shipping her our gifts in the same week.  So I put together a package of adorable outfits, a book, a stuffed moose (Dave had to pick out something), a few things specifically for mama-to-be, and this blanket.  I included a note to the baby, as well as a note to Lisa where I explained the origins of the blanket and why my convictions were so strong.  I will say, for my part I did write a line in the card to tell her to stop crying, it was just the hormones.

So yeah, I got a text from Lisa, scolding me and telling me I was in trouble.  But that's ok. Sometimes the only way to tell a friend you love them is to make them cry.

So Halfway Through April, huh?

It's been one of those times without very much funny stuff going on.  But that's not to say that nothing at all is going on.

Cindy and Keith welcomed little Jessie a couple weeks ago. On March 29th she finally made her entrance.  She's super cute and both Mom and baby are healthy (but a bit tired).

This is Dave holding little Jessie.  He'd never held a baby before.  Not that he hadn't held a baby who was three days old--he'd never held a baby ever.  Of any size.  He finally relented to my peer pressure and agreed to hold Jessie.  And he didn't even break her.

Yes she's wearing a pink hoodie.  And she LOVES it.

Before Lemon went back to her foster home, she got comfortable enough with us to snuggle up and go to sleep on us.  (See--she really is super tiny.)  We were so glad that she finally came around to us and let us treat her like a pet.  She still has a lot of confidence to build and I'm sure her transition to her forever home will be a bit of a challenge, but she is definitely a dog worth saving.  Amanda told me this weekend that she was supposed to have a meet and greet but it was cancelled.  We'll be watching Lemon again this weekend, so hopefully she'll remember us and be a good pup.  And on Sunday I'm taking her to Especially for Pets for an event sponsored by our group, All Dog Rescue.

I'll just help you check your email.

Dave and I have been enjoying the bursts of spring we've been getting, taking to the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail on our bikes as often as we can.  We can access the trail from the end of our street (well, the cross street at our corner), so it's been easy to just hop on the bikes and go.  At one end, the trail dumps into the parking lot of a movie theater.  With The Avengers, Men in Black III and other movies coming out this summer, I think I know what we'll be doing over the next few months.  And if we take the trail to the other direction and bang a left, we can be at Kimball Farm for the most delicious ice cream EVER in about 5 miles.  It is my understanding that the calories don't count if you ride your bike there and back.

Baby Shower!

I've been so excited for this post, but it's not really my news to share, so I figured I'd wait until a more public event to announce.

Cindy's having a baby!  Yay! 

I am so excited for Cindy and Keith (and big brother Jake!) so I offered to host a baby shower to celebrate.  Little did I know the little at-home affair I had in mind would turn into 30 of Cindy's friends and family gathered in my living room to celebrate.  That whole think about 25% of people on the invite list declining?  Yeah, more like 10%.  And that was pushing it.

No bother, because I made a ton of yummy food (all to be featured on the cookie blog), a polka dot theme (complete with polka dot invitations, balloons, napkins, ribbons and bows, gift wrap, wrappers on the food, and even my shirt!) and a lot of fun watching Cindy open all the adorable gifts she got.  Can we talk for a second about the cute baby girl pants with stuff on the bum?  Cupcakes, monkeys, kittens and puppies all smiling cheerfully from the baby's bottom. 

We had a wonderful time and I am so thankful for Stacy and Erin who were a huge help in getting set up with food on the table before (and as) people arrived.  I probably would have lost my mind without their help! 

The only shower game planned was a diaper raffle (anyone who brought diapers got their name entered into a raffle for a gift certificate) and a I had a timer go off every so often and whoever's gift Cindy was opening got a prize.  Simple, but fun (because really--shower games can be annoying, especially with that many people). 

As a gift, I made Cindy an afghan, new born hat and booties and stuffed them into a basket full of essentials, books and a cute outfit.  I also put together a hospital survival kit.  I'd seen this one pinned on Pinterest and thought it was a great idea so immediately decided to put it together.

Cindy is due March 28th but thinks she'll go early. Last week we had to plead with the little one to not make an appearance before the shower.  I kindly told her she couldn't come early because she didn't have any stuff yet!  But now I think Cindy and Keith are well-prepared (well, as prepared as you can be) for her to make her arrival.

Congratulations on the new addition to your family!

Bad Influence

I've never crashed a party before I met Cindy.  You may remember the time Dave and I crashed a wedding because Cindy wanted more friends there.  Well, on Saturday I was sharing with her that I had no plans for Sunday because Dave and his friends were making a pilgrimage to their temple, the Harpoon Brewery in Vermont.

Cindy: I'm going to a baby shower tomorrow if you want to come crash it.

Me: A wedding is one thing, I'm not going to crash a baby shower.

Cindy: It's Dawn's (her coworker who I know).  She won't mind.

Me: I wonder if I have a gift...

Cindy: It's from noon to three.  Let me know if you want to come.

So I went home, noticed that I did in fact have an appropriate baby shower gift in my stock of "gifts I buy because they are cheap and I might need them in case I have to crash a major life event or forget someone's birthday" and also remembered that I had some extra yarn left over from a recently completely baby gift (that I actually was invited to the shower for) and a pattern to make up a quick baby hat.  Game on.

I texted Cindy to find out what time I needed to meet her.  Then she asked me if I had any extra baked goodies stockpiled in the freezer because she and Dawn were remembering some of my yummy treats and she knew Dawn would appreciate something.  Except I didn't have anything made.  I asked Cindy if it was potluck, because if so I would definitely bring something.  She said it was potluck, but I didn't need to make anything because I was her guest and she had it covered. Like that would stop me, I set about to find a yummy treat to make for the party.

Which I did.

And I crocheted a newborn hat.

And I wrapped it with the gift (a book and toy).

Crap, I need a card.

So Sunday morning when I arrived at Cindy's to go to the shower, she laughed at me because while I had an appropriate card and gift (wrapped in appropriate paper) and I made a baby hat and dessert even though I'd just been "invited" the day before (unbeknownst to Dawn), she on the other hand went to wrap her gift and found out she did not have appropriate wrapping paper.  Or a card.  She ended up having to use part plain Christmas wrapping, a gift bag with realistic fish on it and a "Thinking of You" card.  And she lost the recipe for the side dish she made, so she went purely on memory and was hoping it didn't suck (it didn't).  It was comical.

The shower was lovely and Dawn was happy to see me there (and not at all offended that I came without an invitation).  And she loved the dessert I made, which was probably the most important reason she wasn't offended. 

So now I've crashed a wedding and a baby shower of two of Cindy's coworkers.  Her other coworkers better consider what life events they have coming up because I'll probably be there too.

Priorities

I love this story and hope my friend isn't offended.

Moments ago I received an email from a friend, who is a doctor, telling me she was pregnant (yay, babies!).  So I immediately called her.  The following is our conversation.

B: Hello?

Me: Hi, B!  Congratulations!

B: Thanks.  I'm in the OR.

Me (laughing uncontrollably): I can't believe you answered your phone!

B: Yeah, that's how I roll.  I'll call you later.

Another Baby Shower

While Dave and I were camping, our friend Mere was honored at her baby shower. She's due with a little boy a few days after Kate is due. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go because the shower was in Maryland, and it didn't work out travel and work-wise. But I did send a gift.

Similar to Kate's, I sent a two sets of cute pajamas, a book so he can start reading right away, a gift card so they could pick up some necessities and something extra for Mere to pamper herself. And of course, I included my second baby blanket.


The dimensions were the same as Kate's, but I used a different stitch (a clamshell stitch) instead of the half-double/double crochet stitch pattern. I also made the little hat. Hey, he needs something to keep his little head warm when he leaves the hospital. He'll probably only be able to wear for a day or two anyway. It's really tiny.

Muchos good luck to Kate and Mere in the last couple months of their pregnancies! I can't wait to see their little guys!

Babies!

This is one of those good posts with lots of pictures!

On Saturday, Dave and I drove to Poughkeepsie for Kate's baby shower. This is Kate and her husband Andy.

We met Kate and Andy in college. Kate was actually the first person I met at college since we attended the same Orientation over the summer. I think we were in the same group and that's how we got to know each other. Funny thing--our moms also got along and when we got together for lunch they were already chatting away.

This is Kate's bump. And Mere's bump too.

Actually this is from 2 weeks ago since the pictures I took on Saturday didn't show good bumpage.

Anyway, the day was gorgeous. The humidity finally broke after a month and we had blue skies the whole way. We arrived a little early and were able to help Kate's mom and sister finish getting ready. Since the day was lovely, the entire shindig was outside. Kate's parents tented a portion of the lawn for the baby shower activities. And then the boys utilized other parts of the lawn. But more on that later.

Since boys were also welcome, we enjoyed lunch first and the followed it up by sending off the menfolk to do their thing while we ooh'd and ahh'd and made a fuss over Kate, presents and Baby Henry (shut up, Andy. That's his name.)

It didn't come out too well, but the suggested name on that entry is in fact Henry.

There was only one game which was pretty cute. Kate's mom had gotten a ton of baby socks and split them into two piles. Each team had to sort, match and fold their socks, the first team done being the winner. Some of the socks were pretty cute and Kate certainly shouldn't have to buy any for a while.


So while we were doing this, the guys were playing golf. On the premises. Yup. Kate's dad had set up a 9 hole course and split the guys into twosomes. Each twosome got 2 clubs and each player got a foam golf ball with which to work his magic. Dave said it was a great time (although he's says he won, so maybe that's why). They did seem to be having a good time, though.

Yeah, apparently half these guys never even played golf before. And the other half didn't realize they were foam balls.

Transcript of conversation between Kate and Andy after the golf game:

Kate: How'd you do?
Andy: I got a 46.
Kate: On 9 holes?
Andy: Yeah.
Kate: Is that good?
Andy: Uhhh...No.

Ok, so here's the part I'm really excited about. My gift to Kate and the baby! I've been itching for a month to tell you about this, but I know Kate reads this, so I couldn't spoil the surprise.

I'd gotten some great gift suggestions from another friend who recently had a baby, so I put together a basket with some essentials and some fun stuff. I bought a sturdy basket they can use in the baby's room for whatever needs to be corralled. I had to get some Boston Red Sox gear (Kate is a huge fan, her dad not so much. Stupid Yankees.), a book because every baby needs a library, and some essentials from the drug store because you don't know you need it until you need it. Dave's contribution was the Bordeaux's Butt Paste. It was also Andy's favorite part.

My favorite part, however, was this:

My first baby blanket! It's not perfect--there are a few imperfections on the blue edging that I attempted to even out with the border, but I'm proud of it. I did it in about a week (yeah, that first week in July where it was almost 100 degrees everyday I was playing with yarn), mostly during the drive to Allentown with Dave's mom for his cousin's fiance's bridal shower. Kate and her mom also crochet and Kate's mom made them an absolutely gorgeous crib blanket, but I know that babies like to spit up,so hopefully this can serve the purpose when the other is in the wash, or maybe work for travel.

The beautiful blanket from Kate's mom.

Overall it was a great day. I'm so glad we were able to go and see Kate and Andy again and celebrate with them. I can't wait to meet Baby Henry! (Andy--seriously, just accept the inevitable.)