Superstitious

It's been a week of little talking here in the Frye household.  When you're a Red Sox fan, you tend to be a little superstitious...which means a lot of emotions and excitement went un-spoken this week.  Billy wore his Boston Red Sox tie to work; I decided that since I didn't update the scoreboard in the nursery after Game 1, then I shouldn't touch the scoreboard the rest of the series.  We watched inning after inning and would give each other looks...but said very little.  Didn't want to jinx any of it!

Well, the silence has been lifted and the celebrations have begun.  And I can finally say out loud that I know my baby's Red Sox room had something to do with all that glory.  It can't be a coincidence that we build a shrine to the team and they win the World Series the same year...can it?!?!

GO RED SOX!  BOSTON STRONG!

Weekend update

Happy 34 weeks!  Not too much to report this week.  Billy and I've had a relaxing weekend.  I find myself nesting in anyway I can.  I messed around with the car seat some yesterday...will plan to get the car seats bases installed in both cars in the next couple of weeks and head to the Fire Department to get them to inspect and make sure lil' fryebaby will be safe and sound.  Today I took all the coverings off our array of "baby-be-happy" devices (swings, mamaroo, playmats, etc.) and washed all of those.  It was nice to get all those hand-me-downs sparkling and new, and good to know that everything washed well...since I'm sure this will be just the first of many washes for those items.  I think I'm slowly running out of things to do to prep for baby...here's a list of what I can think of right now:

-Read books (reading book on childbirth recommended by our teacher; reading book on breastfeeding)
-Watch "Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD recommended by Joanna
-Continue to do pregnancy stretches and workouts
-Visit pediatricians in Ashburn and decide which practice we want to go with
-Tour the hospital (we've registered for a tour tomorrow!)
-Talk to hospital about ordering breast pump and other supplies related to pumping (thank goodness all will be covered by my insurance :)
-Read up on vaccines and vaccine schedules
-Decorate for Christmas in November (we decided we want to decorate for Christmas since ALL our family will be visiting in December...but can't wait until after Thanksgiving to do so)
-Hang baby monitor camera on the wall (played around with the baby monitor this morning...it is SO AMAZING...who knew these things were so advanced!)
-Enjoy final outings with friends before becoming a mommy :)
-Buy nursing bras
-Talk to neighbor mom about her teenage daughter, Olivia, visiting me while on maternity leave and be my "mommy's helper" occassionally...and hopefully have her become a baby sitter in the future!
-Make-ahead meals
-Pack hospital bag
-Take a day off from work and visit the daycare where we have pre-registered

Ok, guess I haven't quite run out just yet.  And, I bet there's more...let me know what I'm forgetting :)

For anyone looking for a baby bump update, here's a cute pic from Billy and I's anniversary brunch date at Hotel Tabard Inn in DC yesterday.

Just thought of another thing I need to do...

Update the Green Monster scoreboard in the nursery with the latest win by the Red Sox last night!!!  Red Sox defeated the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship series (4 games to 2 games) in Boston last night.  Oh how Billy and I wish we could have been there.  With that said, they're headed to the WORLD SERIES against the St. Louis Cardinals!  I plan on updating the scoreboard after each game during the series (even though the real green monster is not updated when they're away...) and will post the results for all of you.

Go SOX!

The chair is perfect!

The glider / swivel chair from Land of Nod was delivered yesterday.  I am so in love.  I'd been a little anxious to finally see the chair in person, since I purchased it online without having ever previously sat in it.  Looks like luck was on my side...it couldn't be more comfortable, easier to get in and out of, or look any better in the nursery!

The fabric is a microvelvet, color "Slate".  This was actually the darker of the two grey options...thank goodness we didn't go with the light grey option.  This should clean up well and be super durable.  The mini pillow and blankets make it look so cozy.  I curled up in it last night and read my book in the nursery (a book on breastfeeding...so fitting).

The nesting phase has commenced.  All clothes, blankets, etc. have been washed and put away.  The clothes have been hung up or put in the dresser, organized by size.  We are sooo ready to go!

Look at these little newborn clothes.  They're so tiny!  Already trying to decide which outfit(s) to bring for lil' fryebaby when we head to the hospital.  They're all equally adorable.

P.S. Tonight is Week 10 of our 12-week child birthing classes.  Billy and I have had "perfect attendance" so far and are so glad we signed up for these classes.  It's been a great way to bond, learn, share, and prepare ourselves for lil' fryebaby's pending arrival.  This weekend was our 5-year anniversary and I don't think we've ever felt as close and connected as we do this year.  Lil' Fryebaby has been such a blessing to our marriage...

Small Frye!

Maybe I should have named the blog "Small Frye"!??!  LOL

Showered with Love (and presents!)

Happy 33 weeks!  Can you believe we only have 7 or so weeks to go?!?  Well - rest assured, after these last two weekends, Billy and I are officially ready to go!  We were blessed with two wonderful baby showers, back-to-back weekends, where we received the most wonderful gifts and were showered with love, love, love.  I've never felt so spoiled in my entire life.  After the showers were over, I was telling a co-worker all about my fun-filled weekends and mentioned that I don't think there ever has been or ever will be a time when you feel as loved and cared for as you do when you're pregnant with your first child.  The whole world, especially your family members and friends, are just so darn excited about the life you're creating within you and from that excitement, they do, say, and give in ways that you've never experienced before.  Not to say that I haven't lived a pretty spoiled life...because I definitely have...but there's just something super special about all the love I've received over the course of this pregnancy.

And since the people I'm talking about are YOU...the readers of my blog...I say THANK YOU!

Here are some fun photos from both showers.  This will be the first time I'm posting photos of myself (other than the bump photos)...so for any remote readers, here's the proof that I really am pregnant and getting quite round ;-)

Baby Shower with Billy's Family in Wytheville, VA

**special thanks to hostesses Toni (Billy's cousin-in-law), Jennifer (Billy's cousin) and Aunt Linda (Billy's aunt)**

 the happy couple

 yum!  snacks, punch, and CAKE!

 Billy and I with my mother-in-law, Peggy...proud "Gigi" to be!

yay for gifts!

We received so many beautiful gifts and lots of clothes!  I love going into the closet in the nursery and just touching and feeling all his little onesies, sleepers, and outfits!

Thank you to Billy's family for hosting us and sharing your excitement for the future fryebaby with us! Can't wait to welcome a new member to the family!

Northern Virginia Baby Shower

**special thanks to hostesses Joanna (my bff from GT), Jenna (my bff from NoVA), and my mom** 

The shower was hosted at Jenna's place.  Check out the adorable balloons and baseball sign out front pointing the guests to the "Lil' Fryebaby Shower"...can't wait to get upstairs and see it all!

Preg-o-tini!

I'll have one of those preg-o-tinis, please!

Two Joannas attended the party...this Joanna is pregnant, too!  Happy 37 weeks to Joanna!

  Mom made this amazing pennant banner by hand as a decoration for the shower, and as a window treatment for the nursery.  Doesn't it look like Jenna painted her house to go with the theme of my "all star" shower?!?

The decorations were over the top...balloons, baseballs, red/white/blue decor, flowers, bubble gum, pop corn...

...and, then, the FOOD!  Look at this spread!  Luckily, there was lots leftover, so they sent me home with a couple platefuls for Billy to enjoy.

...and, then, the CAKE!  It tasted as good as it looks...or maybe better...apologies if this blog post is making you hungry :)

...and CAKE POPS for the road!  Every guest went home with homemade cake pops thanks to Joanna's handiwork in the kitchen.  For those of you that weren't salivating yet, these were red velvet cake pops...yummy!

This adorable (and totally useful) 4-tier diaper cake was thanks to Mom.  The best part was the baseball on top...which all the guests signed in lieu of signing a guest book...go TEAM!

Thank you, Mom!

 Now to the gifts...I can't even begin to post photos of every single amazing gift...but this one needed to be posted.  A special thank you to Kathy for representing my 6AM gym friends!  They showered me with "exercise themed" gifts, like this muscle-man onesie...

 ...and this baby barbell.  Isn't that so original?  Of course, I'd expect nothing less from this crew!

Another special present was the complete Red Sox themed gift box from Billy's co-worker, Alana.  Red Sox bin, Red Sox ABC's book, a stuffed baseball, and lots more.  So many of the attendees were mom's themselves, so I received lots of practical "tried-and-true" items that they knew we would need. 

 Thank you again to all my friends for making this day so special.  For those that weren't there, you'll laugh when I tell you that there were 5 construction managers at the party (including me) and ten of the twelve guests work in the real estate industry...it was practically a networking event for all my friends.  I hope they brought business cards and stirred up some new work!  LOL

Cheers to the beautiful hostesses, Joanna & Jenna!  Mom had so much fun planning this with you guys and I loved every minute of it!