Pictures of the nursery

A work in progress...

Baby Shower Fun

I just had my baby shower on Saturday, September 10th and it was better than I ever imagined it would be. If any of you have ever known the feeling of wanting something so badly and thinking you may never get to experience it, well, lets just say that is me when it comes to the baby shower, or really just having babies. My friends did an awesome job at making it a memorable experience for me and it was of course, a very emotional day for me.

It all started the night before the shower when i met my friends Christie and Wendy (who were throwing me the shower) for dinner to celebrate Wendy's birthday. After I sat down at the table, out popped Christina, who came all the way from Sarasota to surprise me. I know it was so hard for her to leave her 10 month old for the first time and come all that way but it meant the world to me that she was there. We had a great dinner filled with many laughs, lots of wine (not me) and many silly pictures, so the shower weekend had begun!

Not only did Christina come from Florida, but Stefani from Tulsa and Maureen from California and a ton of family from Tuscon and Safford. I really never expected so many people from out of town to be there, I thought it would be a small shower, but actually there were so many people there and I felt so special all my friends and family came so far to see me and celebrate the babies.

The shower was a French theme, because I am in love with Paris. It was one place Tommy and I went on our honeymoon. The first game was matching English baby words to French baby words and you would think since I am trying to learn French through Rosetta Stone right now, I would have known more but I really only knew a few answers. I guess I have not gotten to the baby section of my studies yet. My friend Lauren won that contest. She came to the shower even though her new baby is only two weeks old. Bless her heart.

There was yummy food everywhere, salad, cheese, crackers, fruit, and croissant sandwiches which I am still enjoying today. Christie made her cake pops and I could probably eat about 10 of those they are so good! The cake was beautiful as well. The next game was where they cut the yarn to try to guess how big my belly was. A lot of people got really close but Ryan, my sister  in law, actually got it dead on! I thought it was so cool that she won!

The girls had a photo booth set up with a Paris poster in the background, berets and a fake mustache for people to take turns taking their pictures together. What a cute idea! We started opening presents soon after and that's when the water works began. All I had to do was open the card from my 11 year old nephew, Matthew and I was crying. I don't know why. It was just the sweetest card and I guess my hormones are just in full swing, along with the fact I have been waiting for this for so long. It was not the only card I cried at. It was hard to stop there. You could just tell my friends and family put so much thought into what they wrote or the cards they choose and even some of the gifts,  it just really touched my heart.

We ended up getting a lot of the items we needed and we even got some home made baby blankets. Someone my mom works with made us picture frames, one for each baby, with their names in different colors. So darn cute!

All in all it was a very special day, filled with good friends, family, great food, fun games, smiles and hugs. These babies will be so loved. Lastly I just want to say thanks to Christie and Wendy for throwing me the most amazing baby shower (they made all the food, desserts and even the banner themselves) and to Christina for coming all this way to help them out and be there for me, and to everyone else who traveled from near or far for being there to make it such a memorable experience for me. Love to all! God Bless!

Whats in a name?

Well, this is the first week in awhile I have not had a doctors appointment and I must say, its kind of nice. I thought I would take a few minutes, now that we have announced the names, to explain how and why we choose them.

Baby A is Georgia Dawn. I have always loved the name Georgia and ever since we lost my dad 2 and half years ago, I knew I wanted to name my first child after him. I thought, if its a boy, George, of course, but if its a girl, Georgia. I did not know then however we would be having three!! Luckily Tommy liked these names as well. Her middle name, Dawn, is after my grandfather (my moms father). My mother also lost a child (my sister) soon after birth and her middle name was Dawn as well. So, Georgia Dawn is a very special name to me. My dad was the best man I have ever known and my relationship with him was more than special to me, it was one of a kind. I hope to have the same relationship with all my children.

Baby B is Jolynne Marie. Tommy and I had a long list of girl names we liked but this one has little more meaning than the others. Joseph is Tommy's middle name and Lynne is my middle name, so we combined to two and came up with Jolynne. She is a part of both of us and we are each a part of her. We also like that it is not a common name. There wont be anyone quite like Jolynne! Her middle name, Marie, is from Tommy's side of the family. We wanted to honor all the Mary's and Maria's we know and love so dearly.

Baby C is Mickey Aaron, our boy. Mickey is such a great name! No, we did not name him after Mickey Mouse, but even if we did, Mickey Mouse is a pretty great guy! Mickey was another name that was not too common, that we thought was strong. There are a lot of baseball greats named Mickey and Aaron and yes, Tommy thinks it is a great baseball name. If our boy, grows up to play ball, he will fit right in. However, Mickey is not named after any one Mickey or Aaron in particular. We are quite certain he will be his own person and develop his own legacy.

So, Georgia, Jolynne and Mickey will be here is just few short months and we cannot wait to meet them. This past week, I have actually done a lot of reflective thinking. Up until this point, I have been so focused on making it to the next day, or the next week, or the next doctors appointment, so focused on if the babies are ok, I have not really done much thinking at all about the fact that I am actually, really going to have 3 babies very soon! This is weird for me because I am always thinking about the past or the future, but this pregnancy has had me really focused on the present. Its like I have not, until now, actually let myself fully believe this was going to happen in order to protect myself from heartbreak. Now that its sinking in - I must admit, I am getting a little nervous. I know in my heart it will all be fine, but the reality of the surgery and recovery is something I am preparing myself for. Mostly though I have been thinking about the kind of parent I will be and wondering what my children will learn from me. What imprint I will leave on them? I know and think all the time about how influential my parents have been in my life. I hope I can do as good of a job as they did!