Knitting progress

I am pretty sure I said I wasn't great at knitting, here's the proof. The baby bootie will not have a match. It may just have to go on a present at some later date and a box or embellishment of some kind. I'm not terribly unhappy with the hat, but I think it's way to big. Anyway, here are my accomplishments.

Thank you!

Well, we had our shower the other day, and it confirmed one thing for us. Our friends are nuts! Helen's set for the next year at least, if not longer. Richard and I were both incredibly moved by everyone's generosity and thoughtfulness. We really wanted to extend a special thank you to Jill and Corey who hosted the shower for us. They were both so gracious to open their home to our friends and family and we cannot thank them enough. To all of you who came, thank you so much for sharing in the experience with us and for the wonderful array of presents for Helen. Below are some pictures of the wonderful things that Helen will have to surround her in her first years.

Dick's Thoughts

Here I am again, my second post.....

The other day I had a thought.....what do I know about babies? I mean really....babies? OK, so I know what to do with a child of 2+....you know, tell them "put that down!", "don't touch that!", "leave the dog alone!!" Kids of 2+ years are interactive. You can reason with them, mold them into little people (respectable or not), and teach them things that all kids should know before kindergarten... like math (2+2= pineapple). I think I can handle a 2+ year old!~

But a BABY? I've never held a baby. Change diapers? I hope for Helen's sake that Sara knows how to change diapers. Sara is really getting into the whole nesting thing. I come home and there are these little outfits laying around without manufacturer's tags. thinking that Sara is buying clothes and cutting off the tags so that I can not return them, I ask "Where did this come from?". "Oh that, I got bored and made that for Helen." (Sara) Sara is really impressive! I know she is nervous, but her motherly instincts are kicking in. Anyway, back to things about me.

So I go back to what I know about babies.....they poop, they sleep (while keeping you up all night from what I understand), they make people you don't normally speak with come out of the woodwork and give parenting advice. I made the comment to Sara that it would be nice to just fast forward to 2+ years....this was not warmly received. And have you ever seen so much, ahem, accoutrement's for such a small thing? Really...do these things make life with a baby easier, or do they just thoroughly complicate a simple thing. What the heck will a baby need with a wipes warmer? Helen's butt will have to get used to cold wipes (that is if it were up to me, LOL).

Oh well, I guess I will be learning about babies....and please feel free to give me parenting advice....Sara and I can always use a good laugh! (Poor Helen will never know what a "normal" family is like!)

- DICK

(A picture from history...anyone guess the year and place...and who is the "jewstallion" next to me?)

Aunt and Uncle are not Related....to HUMANS!!!!

With Helen's Aunt Christy (nerdalita) and Uncle JoLee living so far away, we want to make sure that Helen will always have pictures to identify the voices on the other end of the phone with. For those purposes, Sara and I have compiled some of our favorite photos of nerdalita and JoLee to blow up for a poster on Helen's nursery wall. Granted, these photos have been slightly edited so that Helen will not be scared by the images when she drifts off to sleep, but we felt that she should get accustomed before she meets them in person!

- DICK

Lamaze

Well, last week Richard and I began going to Lamaze classes. We were convinced that after the first class (of 5, ick) they would politely ask us never to return again. But that didn't happen as hard as we tried and they let us come back this week as well. Any of you who know us well can only imagine the following scenario:

"Please take your mats out and lay down on the floor next to your partner. We will be watching a short video aimed at helping you with your relaxation exercises with your partner. Feel free to touch each other if you like along with the suggestions on the video."

Needless to say, withing 3 minutes we both were laughing so hard we were in tears. Bless my poor husband's heart, every time he touched me, it hurt so much. Not to mention the lovely commentary. That didn't help. "Your right arm is heavy, your left leg is heavy." "Tense up the muscles in your body and release them one by one." Not a good thing to tell a bunch of flatulent pregnant women. I've been in some rather intense yoga classes with less sound effects.

So next week we "get" to practice the different birthing positions. Yea!?!?!?! I'm still trying to talk Richard into letting me skip that one. I mean seriously, has any woman ever really given birth like this?

Nesting

If any of you ask Richard, I'm sure he'll be the first to tell you that I've taken nesting to a whole new level. He'd never say that to my face of course. Recently I have felt the need to teach myself how to sew better (i.e. something other than a straight line) and have made some baby blankets and bibs as a result. I'm not Martha Stewart by any means, but I"m kinda pleased with the results. Not proud that I took time to iron them before I took the pictures though. I need more hobbies...



And some burp cloths...



My next goal...knitting a baby hat. I'm finding that much less fun...and rewarding. Maybe that's because I'm not very good at it.

Recent photo

Many of our friends have asked for a recent photo of me (Sara) and although I've had Richard take a few, I wasn't pleased with any of the results. But, I did go to a friend's baby shower this weekend and a few pictures were taken of me that I suppose I can live with. Elisa, hope you don't mind me using your picture...




And for good measure, here are a few recent pictures of Richard as well. :)

Middle Name

No resolution yet, but we really appreciate everyone's input on the subject! We have been given lots to think about. Hopefully we'll be able to decide something soon. Or at least before Helen gets to old...