Aunt Michelle

In case you haven't heard...I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNT!!! Catherine is nine weeks pregnant and due on her husband, David's, birthday - December 30.

I'm currently an aunt to three nephews and one niece in Joey's family, but this time feels different. I don't think the amount of love I will have for the new niece/nephew (peanut from here on out) will be any greater, I think it has more to do with the relationship to the person growing the peanut. Since I was one of the first to have a child out of my group, I have thought of myself as the person people can turn to with any pregnancy or newborn questions. However, most of them have moms or older sisters to turn to, so I haven't been able to share as much of my "wisdom" as I would like. This time, though, I'm the big sister. Hopefully Catherine will feel like she can turn to me with the weird questions or things you think no else would think.

Another thing I'm excited about (and this one is a very weird thing) is getting to feel the belly. I've never really felt another person's pregnant belly or felt a little peanut kick (outside of my own belly). The only problem with this is that we still live quite a distance from each other. Dammit. Hopefully I'll be able to visit her at least a couple of times over the next 7 months and Lord knows I intend to manhandle her belly each time. She'll probably be thankful for the distance. ;-)

When she called to tell me she was pregnant, she began with "I don't think I'll be able to help you paint when I come down in June." I asked why and she said because the doctor said it wouldn't be good for the baby in her belly (by the way, I've since realized this is a sneaky excuse to get out of it - I painted with Grace in my belly and she turned out fine). My stomach leaped, but I immediately realized she was messing with me to get out of painting. So I proceeded with fake enthusiasm to ask how far along she was and when she was due. And as she answered all my questions, I began to realize she might not be kidding. "You're really pregnant?!" I asked in disbelief. After she confirmed it again, I started talking in a really high pitched happy voice, which sounded odd enough that the guy from the office next to me poked his head it to make sure I was okay. Needless to say, I was (and still am) crazy excited.

So that's my joy for now. Feel free to bask in the glow of my happiness.

Three Year Old Girl

Today my baby girl turns 3 years old. It's so difficult to believe. A lady that works at Grace's daycare, Miss Deborah, asked me if we're done having kids. Without hesitation, yes. We are happy with our little boy and girl and have our hands full enough without adding another kid to the mix.

We celebrated Grace's birthday this past weekend with a party at the park near our house. We invited a few kids from daycare (only one showed up, Grace's "best friend" Monica - a cutie patootie that looks just like a cabbage patch kid - in a good way), and a few friends from work. My mom came down and Joey's mom is still in town following his surgery, so she got to come, too.

When I went to bed Friday evening around 11 Joey and his mom were still up. I woke up at 1:30 in the morning to realize they were still up and there was a very bizarre noise coming from either our garage or outside. I got up to check it out, looked in the garage, and found them blowing up an air matress. I asked what the heck they were doing since everyone that was at our house was already sleeping in a bed. Joey gave me some bizarre answer about everyone needing to be more comfortable, which I didn't understand in that having just woken up way. I gave up and went back to bed. Joey followed me into our room to explain that his sisters, Missy and Becky (and their 4 kids) were on their way to surprise us. Ohhhh. Good thing I planned to have more stuff than I needed for the party.

I woke up in the morning to Grace's excitement over Mimi and baby Chastin coming for her party and a house full of people. Suddenly the 2 dozen donuts my mother in law had bought the day before made all kinds of sense. Mom and I escaped the zoo that my house became and went to run errands. We picked up the cake and got the balloons blown up and headed back to the house to grill hot dogs, gather supplies, and head to the party site.

Then we received another surprise guest in the form of Joey's Aunt Mary Ellen and cousin Shannon from Maryland coming to visit. I was thrilled to see them, but immediately began trying to figure out where the heck everyone was going to sleep that night.

Mom, Becky and I went to decorate the shelter for the party, which turned into putting some table cloths on the picnic table and trying to figure out how to hang the pinata. People eventually began showing up, including Monica and her parents, my friend Karen from work and her daughter Hanna, Rachel, my mom, Joey's mom, Missy, Becky, Dalton, Kaleb, Chastin, Breanna, Sidonie and her husband and son Jaden and daughter Shiann, our neighbors Julie and Chelsea and baby Bristol, and Joey's Aunt Mary Ellen and cousin Shannon. Everyone seemed to have a good time. We all ate hot dogs, Becky's baked beans, and chips. We had a lovely and delicious princess cake from Target. The kids got to swing a bat at the princess crown pinata, but Rachel got to do the actual breaking of the pinata. Karen brought some tents for the kids to crawl around in and they played with chalk and balls. In the end, all the kids were sent home with a balloon and goody bags that included bubbles, stickers, suckers, sunglasses, and princess ring stamps. Gracie got some wonderful gifts, although I think most of the fun came from pulling the tissue paper out of the bags to see what was inside.

All in all, the birthday party was a success and we had a wonderful time visiting with all the family who joined us. Now to start planning for Logan's July birthday.