Happy New Year! Dan and I just got back to California late Sunday night after spending ten days at my parents’ home in Northern Virginia. We arrived early the morning of Christmas Eve, and I spent Christmas Day/my 28th birthday quietly at home with my family. It feels strange to think that this was my last Christmas and birthday without a child, and that future Christmases will probably be a lot noisier and hectic!
We had a memorable week spent with family, friends, and enjoyed a much-needed break from work during the holidays. My mom kept Dan busy half the time, enlisting his handyman skills to repaint the kitchen. (He did a great job and the kitchen looks like new! My mom is ecstatic.) Meanwhile, I indulged in stuffing myself with my mom’s home cooking, getting pampered by my parents, and treasured the time that I had to catch up with the friends back home whom I missed so much!
Two of my dearest friends and college roommates, Hanna and Yoon, threw us a baby shower the day after Christmas to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our baby girl! Since baby showers typically aren’t thrown until well into the third trimester and since I wouldn’t be back on the East Coast again before the birth of the baby, we initially hadn’t thought that we’d get to have a baby shower with our East Coast friends. We were so touched that they went out of their way during the busiest time of the year to still plan and organize a shower for us! Our friend Brian generously offered his house to host the celebration, and the decorations were absolutely adorable and the food was delicious! The girls planned some fun baby shower games and we were humbled by the generosity of our friends and by all the gifts. More than anything, though, it was just nice to see so many of our friends again, and we felt so blessed and fortunate to be able to celebrate the new addition to our family with them. Our baby (currently referred to as “eggplant“) is the luckiest girl in the world, to be surrounded by so much love before she even comes out!
Here are some photos from the baby shower…
For more photos of the baby shower, click over to the photo album.
(Special thanks to Pat & Theo for many of the photos!)
Some of my friends couldn’t make it to the baby shower, like my best friend Debbie, who’s back in Seoul with her family for the winter holidays. The night before we left for Virginia, we had received this very generous gift from Debbie and our friends Mimi, Michelle, and Stephanie, who all pitched in to get us the Beaba Babycook that I had been raving about a couple months ago! Dan and I were stunned when we received it, because although we’d put it on our baby registry, we were prepared to eventually buy it ourselves because it’s so pricey and we didn’t think anyone would actually get it for us. It’s such a great investment, and we can’t wait until the time comes for us to use it! 馃檪
January 4, 2011 @ 8:04 am
So glad you were able to go home for the holidays and enjoy family and friends. You look wonderful and I look forward to updates when baby arrives… you chose the baby name I always loved! I became a stepmom recently so I know christmas will be different too! Congrats:)
January 4, 2011 @ 9:51 am
Thank you Meg! It was really nice to have some time back in my hometown to enjoy the holidays with family and friends!
We actually haven’t chosen a name for the baby yet — Allen is our last name. 馃檪
Congrats on becoming a stepmom! Cheers to growing families! 馃榾
January 4, 2011 @ 9:02 am
AAugh!! The pressures on for your West Coast Baby Shower! lol. Your girlfriends rock! Such a beautiful shower! I don’t know if i can top it 馃檨 We’ll see though!
Happy New Year!
January 4, 2011 @ 9:55 am
Happy New Year to you too! ♥
My girlfriends did do an amazing job with the shower… We were so touched!
We really didn’t expect that we’d have a shower at all, so we totally understand if it ends up being too much work to plan one here. You must be super busy with your new job, and I know how much time and effort it takes to plan something like this, especially from far away. No pressure, and no worries if it doesn’t end up happening. 馃檪 We’re grateful just for your thoughtfulness and friendship!
January 4, 2011 @ 1:35 pm
wow, your friends did such a great job!! =)
the diaper cake, cupcakes, favors…..precious!!!!
January 4, 2011 @ 6:57 pm
They sure did! So much thought and detail put into everything… I feel so blessed. 馃檪
January 4, 2011 @ 5:57 pm
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January 4, 2011 @ 7:00 pm
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January 4, 2011 @ 9:57 pm
Awww it looks like Yoon and Hanna did an amazing job! I love the diaper cake and cupcake setup. And you look so beautiful with your baby bump, Misono! And Dan looks so happy and proud! Can’t wait to see the little one!
January 5, 2011 @ 1:10 pm
It was perfect. I loved everything! ♥
Thank you so much again for the VT bib – it’s going to be her first Hokie gear. Let the brainwashing begin!!! 馃檪 heehee*
January 5, 2011 @ 1:58 am
ahhh the baby shower decor is adorable!! i’m sorry i missed it 馃檨 lovelove the bee theme 馃檪
glad you had a wonderful time at your baby shower! was michelle there and did she give you our card?
January 5, 2011 @ 1:11 pm
No worries, bestest! Thank you so much for the card! 馃檪 Michelle couldn’t make it to the shower, but she met up with us later in the week to deliver it to us. She said you and Mimi entrusted her with it, so she was determined to make sure she got it to us before we left. It was such a sweet, thoughtful card. Thank you! 馃榾
More Than Words | Coupled Confessions
March 4, 2011 @ 7:52 pm
[…] just received these photos from our baby shower back in Virginia from December — they were taken by our talented friend Vinci! Looking […]
Carrots with the Babycook | Coupled Confessions
October 2, 2011 @ 1:11 am
[…] Mio has been eating rice cereal for a week now, and although it seemed for a couple days that she regressed in her eating skills, we tried making the cereal less runny and she has slowly been getting the hang of eating it. Since it’s been seven days, we introduced something new today — carrots! We were finally able to try the Beaba Babycook that our thoughtful friends Debbie,脗聽Mimi, Michelle, and Stephanie had pitched in together to give to us as a gift back in December. […]