Richards & MacLaren's Baby Shower

This past Saturday, my brother, Jeremiah and his wife Janet put on a joint baby shower for John, myself, Kate & Travis. We had bar-b-que chicken, potato salad, baked beans, cole slaw, etc all under the pole barn. Afterwards, the soon-to-be dads (not moms) had to participate in a game! My brother explained that the point of this game was for the dads to empathize with the moms and what we've been going through. So first everyone blew up some balloons then they were placed so John and Travis "matched" the moms' new figures. Then Kate and I used panty hose and toilet paper to give them swollen ankles. Jeremiah then put dive weight belts around their stomachs'. Next the dads had to see who could change a diaper the quickest. I'm sad to say, Travis won by a landslide - of course he did think to use the water hose instead of wipes! Once John did finish, his baby's diaper was on backwards and their was still some chocolate left on it's legs:) Lastly, they competed to see who could chug beer the fastest out of a baby bottle - I'm proud to report, John won this game! We had a great time and a huge thank you to Jeremiah and Janet for hosting and for everyone coming!!

Pregnancy Photos

I'll admit that John and I both were a little reluctant to take pregnancy photos at first, but Wrenda convinced us otherwise and I'm so glad she did. These are just a few of the ones she took - I think there were probably around 100 or so! She did such a great job of taking and editing them. Also thanks to Trish for being her assistant:)

Creative Family Members

It's so cool to be surrounded by such creative family members - now I just need to figure out where my creativity is hiding!

The top picture is some of the things my sister-in-law has made for me and Warren. The green & brown diaper bag she gave to me as a gift at my shower and I passed it around so everyone could see inside (it has pockets, matching changing pad & burp cloth). For those of you who thought about "borrowing" it:) - here's Wrenda's website to pick out your own - http://www.handmadebywrenda.com/

The next picture is of two burp clothes that John's mom Gwen embroidered. They're so cute I'm almost nervous about using them. They may end up as decorations instead.

The last two pictures are of the amazing curtains my mom did for the nursery. She also sewed a matching crib bumper but I didn't take a very good picture of it. My mom was able to make these curtains just by me picking out some animals that I liked out of a coloring book!! She enlarged the images on her computer, then made the patterns herself. Special thanks to her for also coming over this weekend and helping me get everything washed, dried, organized, put away, etc. Aren't moms the greatest!!!!!

Fun 4th of July!!!

John and I headed up to Indian Pass (in the Panhandle) to spend a few days at a rental house with my oldest brother, his family, and some family friends. The first day we loaded up the boats and spent the day out on an island. It was extremely relaxing to just lay out in the water or on the beach and watch the kids building sand castles and swimming around.

The next day a group of us went fishing about 10 miles offshore. Yes, I realize going 10 miles offshore while eight months pregnant was probably not the smartest idea but I figured why not get the baby use to the lifestyle he will soon be a part of - plus doesn't the coast guard have helicopters?:)

Anyways, the boat ride out there was a little bumpy and I started not to feel so good once we stopped. Kate suggested I get in the water to help with the sickness. I was about half way in the water when she polity said maybe I should get back in the boat. So I climbed back in and then she pointed to the barracuda that was about ten feet away from the back of the boat!!!! I sat there for about 15 minutes just watching this huge barracuda circle around and surprisingly focusing on it made my sickness go away. Unfortunately, Travis was spearfishing down below so once he surfaced we were all focused on getting him (and the fish he shot) on the boat asap.

After all that excitement, we started fishing and had a blast!! It seemed like as soon as the bait hit the water we'd have a fish. Of course there were alot of shorts, but in all, we took twenty fish back to clean. A shark also managed to get on one of our lines. Luckily Travis and Steve were able to unhook him without anybody getting hurt.

That night John put on a legendary firework show for everybody. There's something so cool about fireworks over the water. The top picture is of my niece Aubrey with her sparkler. I think all the kids - little and big - had a great time!

More Baby Shower Pictures

The first picture is of our "North Florida" crew. Special thanks to Jen for coming, who just gave birth to Calvin Joseph just five days before. It's been great having them around to answer all my various questions and help with what to get, when, where, what doctors, etc.
The next picture is of the Grandmas to be. I'm sure they are just as excited as I am:)
Next is my mom and Grandma. I think it's so exciting that Warren will get to meet his Great Grandma. We'll have four generations all living on the "compound"!
Next is my cousins Cilla and Trisha. We had to temporarly post pone our annual cousin trip this year due to my pregnancy (I really didn't want to take the chance of giving birth on I-4 in Orlando at the end of July). So once Warren arrives we'll reschedule.
Last is just one of the cute outfits that I received as a present. John's mom got this and I can't wait to try it on the baby!

Baby Shower!!!

Many thanks to Miss Pat, Genie, and Alisa for throwing me such a great baby shower!! And thanks to everyone who took time out of their busy Saturday to come. The food, decorations, and games were perfect. We received so many great things for the baby. I think he'll be set till Middle School:) John and I are so extremely fortunate to be surrounded by such generous people.

The second from the top picture is of one of my close friends Andrea, who is due with her first child on July 19th. She lives in Gainesville so is been fun going through our pregnancies together.

The third picture is of course, my best friend Alisa. She wins the prize for traveling the farthest - all the way from Charlotte, NC. She is also pregnant and due with her first child on December 27th. She'll be able to find out what she's having on July 30th. Needless to say I can't wait to find out if I'm going to have another niece or nephew!

The last picture is of Miss Pat. Ever since Alisa and I have known each other, she has been like a second mom to me (and my mom to Alisa). Miss Pat has always been so giving and looking back on our high school years, also very patient:) Once again, I can't thank her enough for throwing me such a great shower!!