Baby Shower #5

Today after school our Minnehaha friends at north campus (the high school, grades 9-12) had a baby shower for us and the other teachers that have had a baby in the past year or so. There were 5 cuties that were celebrated - Mckenna, Josiah, Ellorie, Kate, and Keira. Here are some pictures from the shower. Mckenna has been having a rough few days - we think she is cutting some top teeth, so you can see in the pictures that she looks kind of tired and dazed... that's how she seems to be handling her teething periods so far - just kind of quiet and dazed, not really too cranky or crying. I'm happy to say that she is sound asleep at the moment, thank goodness! :)

Cute balloon cakes for all the babes!




This is Baby Lucy and her mom, Sarah. I work with Sarah's husband, David, and they have two boys also. The shower was actually celebrating Lucy's older brother Josiah. MA gives showers for the first baby born to a teacher while they are working at MA. Even though Lucy is younger than Josiah, her brother was the first to be born after David starting teaching at Minnehaha, so he was the guest of honor. Lucy is 4 months old and looks pretty tiny next to Mckenna, who is 6 1/2 months old. I still can't believe how fast they grow from week to week, month to month! As you can see, Mckenna is starting to fade...


Here is our good friend and colleague, Liz. I think Liz is one of Mckenna's #1 fans! Here Mckenna is getting more tired...


...and now definitely overdue for a nap. This is our friend and one of MA's Spanish teachers, Julianna. She and her husband Marvin are expecting a baby girl in August, their first child. Notice the top front of Mckenna's dress is darker than the rest - that is drool! She is quite the drooler these days.


And one last smile for the camera before leaving to go home for the evening. If you look really closely you can get a glimpse of Mckenna's two tiny bottom teeth - so cute!


A nice nap will do wonders! Mckenna slept in the car on the way home, woke up as we drove into the garage, and was all ready for a walk around the neighborhood. Again, look closely to see those two small pearly whites! :)

A baby shower for Jessica and Joel

On Sunday, April 5th we went to a fun baby shower for Jessica. The shower was to celebrate Person baby number five, Joel Andrew, and was hosted by a family friend named Kendra. At the time of the shower Jessica was 34 weeks along and looking great! Here are a few pictures from our afternoon together.

Love this cake! Who knew that a caterpillar cake could turn out this perfect and cute? :)


Sarah (age 2 1/2 and Person baby number 4) enjoyed helping Jessica open the gifts. Isn't she cute? Check out those dimples!




Mckenna and I posing with the pregnant ladies. At the shower Abby was 28 weeks along, and Jessica 24 weeks. Abby's due date is April 17th - just a few days away! And it's funny to see Mckenna in front of my belly and know that she was inside there just 6 short months ago! :) Mckenna was pretty tired at the shower, she has that glazed over baby look...


The cute, pregnant mommies.


Kristi and I were changing Mckenna on the bed in the host's bedroom... smiling as always!

Abby's Baby Shower!

On Saturday we had a baby shower for Abby! As I've said in prior posts, I am lucky enough to call Abby my long time friend, and now for the past several years, my sister-in-law. She is due with her and Dan's first baby in less than a month, and family and friends from all walks of life gathered to celebrate their upcoming arrival. As the ladies brunched, Matt and Dan went to hang out and play darts. Matt was really glad to have some time to spend with Dan. We had a great time at the shower - here are some pictures from our morning together.

The hostesses: Kristi, Jen, Abby, Missy, and Julie. Missy and Jen are sisters and friends of Abby's family from growing up as neighbors in Apple Valley.


The hostesses plus Abby's mom and mom-in-law, Kathy Benedict and Mary Person.


The excited grandmas! By the way, doesn't Abby look fabulous? She's definitely got that pregnancy glow about her. :)


Opening gifts! Abby got a lot of really nice things for the baby. What a huge blessing to be prepared with everything you need for baby before the arrival.




My mom and Aunt Barb were taking turns holding Mckenna while Abby was opening and passing her gifts. Mckenna was enjoying looking at all of the toys and books that were passing by... I think she wanted to put most of them in her mouth! :)


These last two pictures were taken on a walk with Matt and Mckenna later in the afternoon, after all of the shower guests had left. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and it felt so good to get outside and walk and enjoy the fresh air. Doesn't Mckenna look so cute?




Matt took this short video today of Mckenna in her johnny jump up... turn up your sound and listen closely - that squeaking sound isn't her per se, it's her chewing on her rattle! She is definitely try to put everything in her mouth these days in a big way - she can almost get that whole ball in her mouth! Pretty funny...

Baby Showers # 3 & 4

In the past several weeks we've had baby showers number three and four! In late November good friends from church, Kelly and Kari, along with my sister Kristi, had a really fun shower at our house. About 30 friends from church were there, and we had just enough room at our house for everyone. It was so much fun! Kelly is an elementary school teacher, and so creative. She handmade cute ladybug invitations, asked everyone at the shower to fill out a card with advice or a memory of us and put it into a book, and planned the whole morning perfectly. Kari is a phenomenal cook and caterer and made a fantastic feast for the shower - it was so yummy! She even made party gifts for each guest - decorated ladybug shaped cookies with pink frosting, so cute! Kristi did a great job helping out with party details and creating a fun shower game. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we are so blessed to have such wonderful, caring friends!

Kari, Kelly, Julie, Mckenna, and Aunt Kristi.




Note the ladybug cookies in the center of the table. I am so in awe of and impressed by Kari's talents in the kitchen!


That morning Matt had been at an open house at Minnehaha's Bloomington campus, but came home just in time to eat some of the yummy food and help open gifts.


Mckenna was pretty in her pink dress for the shower. Being the center of attention made her tired!


A few days later, Matt's co-workers at Minnehaha's Bloomington campus gave the three of us a shower on the last day of school before Thanksgiving break. It was a great time to do it because it marked the end of my staying home with Mckenna for several weeks and the beginning of Matt staying home with her through our Christmas break. The last day of school before Thanksgiving break is always grandparents day at Minnehaha, and the students go home early with their grandparents. So we had a nice lunch with the teachers and staff and opened some shower gifts from them. Both Matt and I feel so blessed to teach at a school where we have such wonderful, caring and supportive friends in our co-workers, a place where we can lift each other up in faith and where family is celebrated. It was a really fun afternoon.