My MVPs

Brian & I celebrated Super Bowl Sunday with his fantasy football league, an annual tradition. Our friends know us to be Chiefs fans, so we got some good-natured razzing when Brian showed up in his New Orleans Saints Drew Brees jersey. Bandwagon fans we're not (exactly). Here's the back story:

Brian has had Drew Brees as his fantasy football quarterback for three years. So we tend to flip to the Saints games during football season (especially when the Chiefs aren't playing so hot, which tends to be often these days).

For Christmas, Brian requested a Drew Brees jersey. On Christmas morning, I surprised him with that ... and a miniature version for Baby B.

I love the fact that my MVPs will be wearing the jersey of the Super Bowl MVP this fall. Who dat?!

Super baby bump update

It's Super Bowl Sunday, and it's been five weeks since my last baby bump photo. Here's the latest installment. Click to see previous photos.

Feb. 7, 2010

Here's a photo of Brian from his baby bump photographer vantage point. (You can see that Dakota & Lilly wanted to help ... a little bit too much.) Meow Meow was no different.

A quilt for Roo

Now that our Classic Pooh-themed nursery is well-established, I have my next task ahead: sewing a Classic Pooh quilt. Baby B. will not be short of quilts, even ones handmade by me. I think it's wonderful and that a child cannot have too many. I already have visions of picnics in the park, chilly afternoons at the zoo, snuggly movie nights at home or at the drive-in, etc. And this is too wonderful an experience to pass up, especially after making more quilts than I can count to coordinate with friends' baby nurseries.

I've kept my eyes open and had quilting friends watching for Classic Pooh fabrics in local quilt shops, with no such luck. So I rooted around on eBay and put together this collection of fabrics:


Mom & I plan to shop for additional pieces to round out the collection. And I still have to pick a pattern before I get the project started. (I'm considering the Lucky Stars pattern by Terry Atkinson. It's one of my favorites.)

Meow Meow gave the fabrics her official kitty cat approval by lying on them when I spread them out for the above photo, so I know I'm on the right track.

A peek inside the nursery

Baby B.'s furniture (from Munire's Essex Collection) arrived last week, and Brian & I have been having a blast setting up the room. We bought the crib mattress and have (we hope, with the help of a squirt bottle) trained Meow Meow to stay out of it. (We did catch her taking several unwelcome naps in the crib, looking mighty cozy.)


Lots of beautiful and sentimental Classic Pooh items decorate the nursery. We were given many of the items at Christmas by thoughtful and generous friends and family.

Here are some photos of Roo's room:












Obviously not Classic Pooh-themed, but Brian & I did add two little stuffed puppy dogs to Roo's room. Can you guess who inspired the addition?

It all started with a little book

Several years ago, before Brian & I had the opportunity to celebrate that we were expecting, my sweet hubby bought a little book online.

Before Classic Pooh was called classic and Disney got involved, there simply was a charming children's tale, "Winnie-the-Pooh" by A.A. Milne.

Brian purchased a hardback copy of a 1939 22nd edition printed in Great Britain. He bought it from a woman living in England by way of eBay and saved it so it could be the first gift he gave me as a mommy-to-be.

A simple, gently worn blue cover wraps the book, which features "decorations" (illustrations) by Ernest H. Shepard -- some of which have been colored by a previous owner. To me, that only adds to its delightfulness.


It is in fantastic condition, all 160 pages.

I was surprised and touched that he had thought ahead in such a sweet way. It represents our love of reading and respect for antiques.

Inside is this original printed dedication:

TO HER

"Hand in hand we come
Christopher Robin and I
To lay this book in your lap.
Say you're surprised?
Say you like it?
Say it's just what you wanted?
Because it's yours --
Because we love you."

The book has inspired our Classic Pooh nursery theme. It also has inspired our nickname for Baby B.: Roo. Throughout our pregnancy, our imaginations have been captured by Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Owl and Rabbit. And then there's sweet Baby Roo, offspring of the fierce and affectionate Kanga. Appropriately, little Roo rides safely in Kanga's pocket in the storybook.

For now, we'll keep it close to our hearts until the day we can read it together to our Little Roo.

Time with the fam

Brian & I spent all day today with our families, and my heart is full.

My sister Amanda is in town from Stillwater, and she and my sister Jen have been busy working on a special project with a certain preggo sister in mind. (Let's just say the forecast shows a chance of a shower! Yay!)

The most exciting news of the day, though, is that Janice, Mom, Jen & Amanda all got to feel Baby B. kick for the first time. What a magical experience to share with these special women.

Brian & I started out the day with a homemade pancake breakfast with his mom. He helped her install four new light fixtures in her house while I kept them company and watched the cheesy but cute movie "Hotel for Dogs" while our dogs all played together.

Dakota playing tug, one of his favorite games.


Lilly loves this silly stuffed squeaky raccoon toy. It gets annoying, but it sure is cute.

Then we grabbed sandwiches with his parents at Schlotzky's (yum!) before I headed over to my parents' house for the afternoon/evening.

At their house, my sisters were excited to show me the things they've been working on for my baby shower later this spring. I can't wait!

I can't spoil any surprises, so my lips are sealed about what they're planning. After throwing wedding showers for each of them in the past few years, it's wonderful to be on the other side of the fence this time around. And don't you think I won't be enjoying every minute of it!

Before I arrived, my sisters went through Mom's cedar chest with her and had quite the peek into Mom's past. They told me about funny and sweet journal entries she made in calendars in the 1970s. My favorite? An entry about how she moved a load of her belongings into Dad's house before they were married ... and that she wore flowers in her hair.

With all the ongoing talk about the new baby in the family, Mom also pulled out a couple of items from my infancy: a cross-stitch my Aunt Denise sewed and frosting baby booties from a cake my parents had to celebrate my Baptism. We admired the cross-stitch and laughed about the booties:


My adorable and photogenic nephew Kaden was at Mom & Dad's, too, so I got to play with him a lot. He loves getting his picture taken. Here are a few of the images I snapped of him throughout the day. (See more adorable images of him on Jen's blog, The Happy Couple.)

Mommy & Kaden. Note their coordinating Stillwater Summit Co. T-shirts that they got for Christmas from Auntie Amanda & Uncle Kurtis.


We were having fun with those spacer stickers that come in a book of stamps.

I was relaxing with Mom & Dad's awesome foot massager, but Kaden thought it was fun to play with. (Auntie Amanda said Kaden looked like he was posing for his senior picture in this shot. LOL.)

Brian, his parents and my brother-in-law Ryan joined the rest of us for pizza and the KU basketball game.

The moms had a late Christmas gift exchange ...


... and the dads kept up with the game. KU won, making the evening only that much better.


A fun, full family day.

"Too Cool for Drool" take two

I finished a second batch of burp clothes for Baby B. using recycle T-shirts. That puts my total made to a nice baker's dozen. (I think I may need every single one here in about three months!) Click to see photos and my blog post about the first batch I finished last month.

As with the first seven I made, the above burp cloths were make from T-shirts that represent some great memories, including:

• my years as a scholarship recipient and cast member of Gridiron, a Wichita journalism variety show.

• an Aldersgate youth group trip to Biloxi, Miss., where we performed volunteer relief work for Hurricane Katrina victims.
  

This project has been rewarding. I like the symbolism of taking something that represents my past and remaking it for my future. From where I stand, both look full of love and blessings.