party update

Our party on Saturday was beautiful. Everyone was so sweet and it was really warm and fuzzy to be surrounded by people that came from near and far to love on our little family and wish us well. Aside from the pile of presents it did not feel like a baby shower, for which I and the handful of men who attended were very grateful. I refused (gracefully, beforehand) to sit in a circle and open all the gifts in front of everyone but I did open things here and there throughout the evening with the person who had brought them. I think it is the happy medium of being polite to the party guests without having to be the primary focus of everyone's attention. It works for me anyway.

We brought the video camera but forgot to set it up and we were too busy mingling to take any pictures either. I did however put out a small scrapbook and some markers and had people write advice for the new parents, advice for the baby, and/or draw a picture. The results were awesome, better than any photos in my opinion. I love looking through it and it's a great keepsake.

In the name vote "Owen" won by a landslide, raking in half of all the votes. There were also a lot of write-ins. It was fun to see people's ideas, even though most of them were names I would never choose. We are still torn between our top two of Owen and Henry. Phil thinks we need to see his little face to be sure, and we may end up going to the hospital with two full names ready and just go with our gut feeling when he arrives. I never thought I would agree to such a thing, basing a name on looks, since babies are so wrinkly and their features change so much and so quickly when they start to smooth out. But when it comes down to it I'm sure we'll know. We'll have to, because there's no way I'm leaving with "Baby Boy H-----" on the paperwork!

We hardly got any of the items off of our registry, since people obviously have a lot more fun buying baby clothes than practical things. However we do have the carseat, jogger, and sleeper, a month of diapers and wipes, and plenty of cute clothes. The crib is on the way but we won't really need it at first anyway. So we are ready! Woohoo! Now baby just needs six to eight more weeks to get all his parts in good working order. I will be trying my best to keep it together until then.