Baby Shower! Sept 8th, 2008

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL THE GREAT SHOWER PICTURES!

On Sunday, Sept. 28, Vanessa's sister, Jocelyn, came up all the way from Mississippi to throw us a WONDERFUL baby shower! 

It was at The Irish Rogue here in NYC and it was a great time. The place was adorable, we got to catch up with so many of our family and friends, and there was even football.  What more could you want from a baby shower?!

This is Jocelyn (above) making sure Andrea is wearing a very cute name tag!

Thank you so much to all of our friends and family who came and showered us with so much love and excitement. Vanessa's parents, Floyd & Joyce Shealy, came up from Oklahoma City, and Rick's parents, Roy & Deborah Younger,  came from Baltimore. So we had both sets of grandparents there - and it was Grandparent's Day!

And special thanks to Jocelyn & Greg McGee, and my friends Janet Dunn, Anna Oldham (who made the "diaper cake" above) and Tom Johnson for all your help!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL THE GREAT PICTURES FROM THE SHOWER!!

Belly in the City

Being pregnant in New York City in the middle of the summer . . . Ah the glamour.

Belly Pics Again.

As I approach pregger week number 36, I thought it was time to include an update with some staggering pictures . . . the belly gets bigger everyday! The baby is kicking up a storm and I haven't seen my toes in weeks!

Sneakier Belly!

My favorite place - in front of the air conditioner!

The Poll . . .

Last weekend my sister Jocelyn threw us a great shower here in NYC (pics and details coming soon!) and when people responded to the Evite they could participate in a Poll . . . These are the comments. We'll see who wins!

How much will the baby weigh?

• Althea Johnson - 8 lbs. 2 oz.
• Emily Barratt - 6lbs 8oz
• Melissa Attebery - 8 lbs. 7oz.
• Bethany Murdaugh - 7lbs 11oz
• dpowell - 7lbs 6 oz
• Sherry Fennessy - 7 lbs 10 oz
• Sarah Crest - 7 lbs 2 oz
• Emily Paige Ballou - 8 lbs.
• Ballenlaw - 7lbs 7oz
• Michael David Bryson - 8 pounds, 4 ounces
• Annie Richardson - 7.2
• Jaye Ballard - 333 lbs
• Joe Seifers - chubby
• Amy Snyder - 9 lbs
• Vanessa Shealy - 8lbs 1 oz.
• Robin Perry - 7.2lbs
• Andrea Dionne - 8 pounds 11 ounces
• Nichelle Rashid - 6lbs 7oz
• Greg & Jocelyn McGee - 7lbs 5 oz
• Bebe Dotter - 7 lbs. 2 oz.
• Darryl Boyd - 8 pounds - 4 ounces
• Karen Wight - 7 lbs 4 oz
• Joanna Briley - 6lbs 9oz
• Katherine Sanderlin - 7 pounds 6 ounces
• Sarah Gillen - 7lb 13oz
• Jerry Miller - 14 lbs

How many inches long will he be?

• Althea Johnson - 18
• Emily Barratt - 21in.
• Melissa Attebery – 14.5
• Bethany Murdaugh - 21.5 inches
• dpowell - 22"
• Sherry Fennessy - 19 inches
• Sarah Crest - 19
• Emily Paige Ballou - 20
• Ballenlaw - 20
• Michael Bryson - 21.25 inches
• Annie Richardson - 14.1
• Jaye Ballard - 36
• Amy Snyder - 22 inches
• Vanessa Shealy - 20
• Robin Perry - 20 in.
• Andrea Dionne - 19
• Nichelle Rashid – 18 inches
• Greg & Jocelyn McGee - 12
• Bebe Dotter - 21
• Darryl Boyd - 17 inches
• Karen Wight - 21
• Joanna Briley - 18in.
• Katherine Sanderlin - 19.5 inches
• Sarah Gillen – 21 inches
• Jerry Miller

Will he look more like Rick or Vanessa?

• Althea Johnson - Rick
• Emily Barratt - Rick, with curly red hair!
• Melissa Attebery - Rick...in an all red suit!!
• Bethany Murdaugh - A combination of both
• dpowell - Vanessa
• Sherry Fennessy - I am certain he will get the best of both!
• Screst - Rick
• Emily Paige Ballou - Rick
• Ballenlaw - Rick
• Michael Bryson - Vanessa. But with a penis.
• Annie Richardson - Rick
• Jaye Ballard - Nessy Bear
• Joe Seifers - Rick: although Vanesa is much better lookin, I think Ricks got the stronger genes!!
• Amy Snyder - Rick
• Vanessa Shealy - Ricky
• Robin Perry - Rick (The youngers have strong genes...LOL)
• Andrea Dionne - He'll look like a great combination of Rick and Vanessa.
• Nichelle Rashid - Vanessa
• Greg & Jocelyn McGee - Rick
• Bebe Dotter - Rick
• Darryl Boyd - A premium mix of both
• Karen Wight - Rick
• Joanna Briley - Rick with Nessa's eyes
• Katherine Sanderlin - perfect combination of the two
• Sarah Gillen - rick
• Jerry Miller - Rick

When will the baby be born?

• Althea Johndon - Oct. 16
• Emily Barratt - 10-9-8!
• Bethany Murdaugh- October 17, 2008 at 2:48
• pmdpowell807 - October 12, 2008
• Sherry Fennessy - When he is darn good and ready!
• Ballenlaw - 9/24/08
• Michael Bryson - 12:17 PM on his birthday.
• Annie Richardson - On due date 10/14
• Jaye Ballard - on his birthday
• Joe Seifers - Whenever he wants to be!!!!
• Robin Perry - when it's ready
• Nichelle Rashid - October 9
• Greg & Jocelyn McGee - October 3rd (Greg's Birthday!)
• Darryl Boyd - When God says so! :)
• Katherine Sanderlin - October 11
• Sarah Gillen - October 30th
• Jerry Miller - Trick question

Great Expectations.

This week we've been doing quite a bit of nesting. We rearranged our bedroom and decided where the baby will sleep. (We're staying in our one bedroom apartment until March, so things will be a little crowded for a few months.) We got a storage unit . . . no, not for the baby! Rick's friend Marc helped us put some of our extra stuff in it to make room for baby!

This is Rick with some sneakers for Rory! They're so cute. We get them out and play with them everyday. 

Babies Galore!

Babies!!

We've been spending good baby time with some other babies . . . getting some practice in before October! And who doesn't love baby pics! I mean, really!

This is cousin Maryne (and her mother Michelle, Rick's cousin) last weekend in Baltimore.

And this is baby Cooper and his parents Lauren and Brandon, who Vanessa worked with at Emergency Skills. They recently moved to Florida, so Rory will have to have a penpal instead of a playdate with Cooper.  

Then there's baby Elah, daughter of the Ocklers, demonstrating some scoot-crawling! 

What a cutie!

And this little guy is Austin spending some quality summertime with his Dad, Todd, at the pool!

So much baby cuteness!

Belly Pics . . .

These were taken last week . . . the baby belly's growing!

Sneaky Belly!!

Profile Belly!!

Baby Shower!

Rick and I had our first baby shower in my hometown of Oklahoma City, OK on Sunday, July 13. Thank you so much to all of you who came, and to all of you who could not attend but sent along such darling gifts!
Rick and I (and Rory) are very blessed!

It was such a lovely afternoon! Two of my family's dearest friends, Anna Stewart and Bebe Dotter, were our hostesses, and they decorated Bebe's home with a Peter Rabbit theme. So sweet!

We were showered with lots of love and so many wonderful things: adorable clothes, bath things, a bouncer, a diaper bag, a lamp for the nursery, cute musical toys, stuffed animals, blankets, a stroller, a stroller cover, toys, bibs, picture frames, Boppy pillow, a baby carrier, Snuzzler, thermometer . . Wow! And a beautiful photo album with the name we've chosen "Rory Clifton Younger" embossed on the front! We were overwhelmed!
My mother gave me a beautiful quilt made by my grandmother, whom I was very close to, and also an adorable child-size wicker chair that was hers as a child. My sister refurbished it and did a great job - its wonderful!

Birthday!

My birthday was June 11 and a small group of my dearest friends had dinner with me that night. It was fun - and the first night I got a lot of attention because of my growing belly. Plus Rick got me a camera - so expect more and more pictures soon!

Zee gendah!

These ultrasound pictures were taken in late May, in the middle of the second trimester. This appointment was our long awaited "anatomy" appointment. Our ultrasound technician was a very short, Slavic sounding woman who never smiled. Which was fine, because we were doing enough smiling for all of us. The baby was moving A LOT while we were watching - kicking and moving its arms. The lady was doing her thing and making sure all the organs looked good, etc., so we watched quietly and let her do her job.
Finally she said, "Do you vant to know ze gendah?"
To which we chorussed, "Yes . . . "
A long pause. "Is a boy."
Then I said, before I could help myself, "Are you sure?"
She replied, "I vill take a picture." Which she did - it's the one with his little "twig and berries" in relative close up. I'll let you play "Where's Waldo" and figure that out for yourself.