Maternity Shots!

One of the great perks of my shower weekend was getting to have Shelby, one of my bestest friends in the whole world, here for the weekend. Perk: she's a photographer, so she immortalized Justin and me (and Chance) with the bump. What do you think? 

 

Colors and books and literary-themed food - oh my!

I had been looking forward to my "big" shower - aka the one people came from out of town for - since we scheduled it in something like September. Erika and Elizabeth offered to hostess, and I was overwhelmed (in a good way!) with the detail they put in to celebrate my pregnancy and welcome Risotto. At 36 weeks pregnant, I was showing plenty, and it was so special for me to have ladies from all different parts of my life come together. From family in Oregon, NorCal and Oceanside to friends from church groups, former work colleagues, Justin's classmates, and a friend for 18 years, I was incredibly blessed. Here's my take on the amazing afternoon - and for extra fun, read Erika's recap here or Elizabeth's here.


As soon as I walked into Erika's house, it was clear they had redone everything for the shower - wow! While our nursery is Very Hungry Caterpillar themed, E&E knew that basically means colors and animals, and they took that to heart. Splashes of color were everywhere, and the whole house had be reorganized for ultimate shower goodness. In reference to my extreme (and therefore, Risotto's imminent) love of great literature, they focused on using children's books for decor, had food themed to said books, and asked guests to bring a book if they wanted to be part of a raffle. As a result, Risotto already has a SPLENDID library. One of my favorite things was that whenever I opened a book present, at least one or two people in the room would say, "Oh, that is the BEST book!" Yes, they all are. 

One of the games we played was for guests to guess facts about my birth, as confirmed by my mom, and to guess Justin's answers to the same questions. All in all, Justin did pretty well - especially considering for two or three questions, my mom didn't even know the answer! I think that's a good sign that one needn't be overly concerned with keeping extraordinarily detailed records of things like, "When did this child first roll over?" The other lesson is that no one can tell you you're wrong if, as a parent, you make up your answer. 

Erika outdid herself with the caterpillar diaper cake. Not only did she find the wooden stacking caterpillar toy, she added the blue and green receiving blankets, red raffia and hid Very Hungry Caterpillar and friends bath toys within.  

Three generations! You can't really see one of them, but you get the idea. :) 

The food included:
- Gouda Night Moon Cheese Plate
- Kind of the Wild Things Fruit Salad
- Curry-ous George Chicken Salad
- Man with the Yellow Hat Cucumber Sandwiches
- The adorable caterpillar cupcake creation you can see above, complete with ganache centers - yum!

Babies and baby bumps abounded. Justin and I are so excited that Lauren and Derek are due with a little boy just a week after we are! We'll see who gets here first, but either way our sons have built-in best friends. 

When the shower started, Erika asked if I needed anything. Surrounded by so many amazing women in the room, how could I need anything else? 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Hiccups!

This morning, Risotto had hiccups for the first time! I loved it. At first I thought we were playing a game - he pushed, then I pushed back, and then he pushed again, and so on. But when the game kept going on for minutes on end, I realized he probably didn't know we were playing a game and maybe it was a reflex instead. 

Justin and I felt a little bit bad for him, because he can't have a spoonful of sugar or hold his breath to get them to go away.

General, hiccups are a good sign! They are teaching his body reflexes, how to swallow and breathe, and help regulate his heartbeat. They also mean that his central nervous system has completely developed. Grow on, little one! 

Goodnight Moon-Themed Shower

When Brittany, a lovely friend from my Marrieds Group at church, offered to host a brunch shower to welcome Risotto, I knew I was in good hands. Little did I know just how good! She went with a Goodnight Moon theme, and from invitations to food to decor, she outdid herself. Many thanks to her and her band of angels - Heidi, Devon, and Melissa in particular. 

From Italian-themed brunch dishes (including Lemon Artichoke Risotto) to a Goodnight Moon board game for decor (who knew?!), plus arts-and-crafty decorative goodness, it was a lovely afternoon spent with some of my favorite ladies, many of whom could share their mama wisdom with this mama-in-training.

Sangria I can drink? Yes please!

Guests completed a mad lib-style story "& baby makes three" to give Justin and I baby advice. The overview:

My name is name and I've known Justin and Laura for 7, 17, 44, 3, 1,231, 17. 19 47 years. Laura, remember to enjoy pizza, cars, foxes, cats, zippers, games, dogs, the President and you must buy a tulip, parachute dog, microwave, hangnail, photograph, sidewalk, shopping mall before baby risotto comes! Justin, Laura really needs your rocket ship, tangerine, baby, flounder, daisy, car, bus, stockings right now. You are both going to be such red, fuzzy, beautiful, pretty, slimy, handsome, hungry, sparkly parents. When you first bring baby risotto home you will love jumping, to yawn, running, to scoot, giggling, laughing, dancing, crawling and somersaulting, swallowing, jumping, eating, to tinkle, wailing, skipping, swinging. Just remember to meditate, pirouette, crying, sing, laugh, charge, Valsava maneuver, twirl during the first few months and enjoy being a family of three!

My prediction: Baby Risotto will be born on July 4, 2/28/13, January 15, January 18th 2017, Aug. 2, 1/18, 7/5/08, May 30, 1945 . He will weigh 327,252 ounces, 5 pounds, 27 pounds, 45 pounds, 521 pounds, 13 pounds, 10 pounds, 31 pounds and have prickly, splendid, funny, silly, spiky, fluffy, shiny, enthusiastic hair and magenta, teal, blue, red, mauve, magenta, purple  eyes. 

 

Royal frosting cow jumping over the moon... delicious!

Heidi and I didn't mean to coordinate, but it worked out well so we could bookend Brittany. :)

Our splendid Flood married ladies group.

Sophie le Girafe is now a member of the family