The things men do best.

Don't get me wrong...I love putting things together with the best of them. It's actually something I enjoy but since I was knee deep in sorting our shower gifts, Nic made himself busy putting together a couple big items. Namely the stroller and co-sleeper. He wasn't even sure if it was something he should get into since I had already adequately made a mess of the living room. I told him to go ahead and do it. I've also heard some horror stories of waiting until items are needed to put them together only to find out that things were missing. The little nagging voice in my head was saying...do it now, don't wait, you'll be sorry! It was fun watching Nic dive into the daddy role. He'll be putting together a plethora of toys, bikes, furniture and I'm sure many other things that I haven't even thought of, over the years to come. Please pardon the quality of these photos...I was in documenting mode and not paying too close attention to camera settings. Nic only was going to let me have so many and even those he was trying to hide. I got what I could get. ;-)

Here he is getting started to putting together the Jeep Overland stroller. Nic's so good about doing things the right way. There's no doubt in my mind that he's be able to figure out how to put it together and not use the instructions. But why go through the hassle and possibly get frustrated or brake something when they tell you how to do it? Of course there have been plenty of times where I've seen him throw away instructions, curse the morons that wrote such a useless instruction manual and continue on putting the thing together without a problem.

It's all pretty simple really...front tire...

Goes on like such.

The rear tires too.

And tada! You have a rolling stroller.

Wouldn't you like to see a photo of it finished? That would be nice wouldn't it. Well sorry. I didn't get one. Yup that's right, Nic cut me off. No more pictures were allowed. I'll get one up here soon. It's a pretty sweet ride. Easy to fold. Stylish. A built in sound system that works great!


Here he is browsing through the instruction manual for the co-sleeper. This one didn't have as many parts but also wasn't as self explanatory about what went where. This was the first time Nic saw such an item in person. I'm not even sure he took a peek at the pictures when I was researching it. He did great though.

Here he is, making sure I got his back. I once thought that he would turn not realizing that I was trying to take a picture of him. I now know that it is, in fact, quite intentional. BUTTHEAD! (Don't you love my mess of baby clothes on the couch? I was trying to sort. What you can't see is another 6 bags on the floor that held: books, rattles/toys, bibs/burp cloths, receiving blankets, sleep sacks and hygiene items. I told you that I made a good mess of the living room!)

Here we are having a good laugh about it. I made sure to catch him as he had his hands full and couldn't get away! This is the end of my photo taking since he started to put up another fuss and I was needed to grab my side.

All in all, both items were quite simple to put together. The co-sleeper was much easier than many of the reviews let on and will be easy to do it alone if I need to take it with me. (Not likely but still a nice option if necessary.) Thank you again to the many family that purchased both of these items as group gifts for us. The wee man will use both items many times over!

I am BLESSED!

I have the best family and friends a girl could ever ask for! They trick me but I like their tricks. Yesterday Nic and I went to Rhode Island for his Auntie Lillian's' 80th birthday party. As it turned out, that's just what they told me. My amazing mother in law and many members of my family had feverishly planned a surprise baby shower for me! I had no idea! Nic had even called much of my extended family and many of my friends. I can usually tell when he's up to something but this time...I was completely in the dark. :-) They got one over on me big time! My family in Florida, mother in North Carolina, family in Kansas, family in Virginia and family in New Jersey were all in on it too! From what I understand, this has been in the works for months! :-D They are too good to me!

We had an all girl baby shower full of delicious food, cake, laughter and much generosity. I must say thank you too everyone that had a hand in putting it together. My mom, Nic's mom and Chris for letting us use her home as our party venue. We had many hours of opening presents from people both there and from around the country. My mother wasn't able to join us in real life but we were able to have her join us via Skype.com. It was a day full of excitement, joy and great conversation.

Here are some photos. :-) Buckle in...there's a lot.

This was what my present pile looked like. Believe it or not, there were more stashed in another corner and even more stashed in another room! I am blown away at the generosity!

These were the cute little favors that Mom DiOrio put together. They are little ornaments that have glitter, confetti and "it's a boy!" charms. They are too cute! Leave it to me to forget to get a picture of one out of the little bag!

Here we go...getting started!

This is my helper. Jamie was my right hand the whole afternoon. She helped me get all the paper into trash bags, move the opened items to another pile and pick up things I couldn't reach. I still can't believe how much more difficult bending and reaching is becoming! Whew!

Me, Nic and Mom. Sorry mom this isn't a better picture. It's the only one of the 3 of us and the best shot of the giant belly! Maybe Chris got a better picture than we did?!

Here I am trying to get Mom O'Brien linked up with us via Skype. For some reason we kept losing our connection? :-(

Of course my mom is great at sentimental presents too. This was a card giving me a few details on one of the presents in her box of goodies.

See?! This is me crying because she is so thoughtful! I opened a hooded, Syracuse sweatshirt that I wore when I was a baby that came from Grandma and Grandpa Rieth! Man do I miss him! He was a Syracuse nut! Our little man will wear it in style! That one present not only got me blubbering but also mom and the entire room of women watching me open presents! Happy tears of course!

OK. We're over the tears and back on our way with smiles.

This is one of the two security clutches we got for the little guy. Would you believe they are both puppies?! We have an overwhelming array of puppy/dog themed items. :-D That's fine by me! I'm sure this little man will be a animal (especially dog) lover just like the rest of the family!

More cuteness. I love baby stuff!


This is the stroller that I've been drooling over for a while now. This gift was a collaborate effort from family in Florida, Kansas and Virginia. See, there is power in numbers! I wasn't able to get a picture of the Ergo baby carrier but that also came from this group. Two items that will be invaluable! This picture of the stroller is a little funky. Check back in a few days for a post on the fun Nic had putting it together! :-)

This is Nic's Auntie Kathy.

On the left is Auntie Lillian. I was told that it was her birthday party. Happy 80th Auntie! On the right is Nic's cousin Chris. She is our generous host that opened her house to this group of estrogen! Thank you Chris!

Here we are again...barely making a dent in our present opening. That was the 'bundle me' that I got from Grandma O'Brien, Aunt Therese, Valaree and Kimberlee.

This is the play mat that I got from the same group of ladies. I can't wait to let little man play with this. I'm sure there will be many hours of discovery and learning!

Here I'm having a good laugh at Auntie Cheryl. I thought for sure she was trying to keep me out of this box because of the way she had it wrapped. Turns out she was just trying to hide the fact that it was a Christmas box! hahah And she still let the cat out of the bag!

This is a neat bouncer that Chris got us. Turns out that it was a favorite of her son Jesse.

Wrist rattles. Who think of this stuff? Awesome! Anything he can't drop or throw is right up my ally!

One of many adorable outfits!

This is a nifty little swaddler for in the car seat or stroller. It's not as heavy as the 'bundle me' but will work well when just a blanket is needed. He can be nice and snug in the restraints yet warm and cozy. Perfect!

Cousin Marissa and Auntie Gina! It was great meeting Marissa and her mother (Auntie Dawn)!

Auntie Marion and Cassandra. It was fun meeting this pair too! What chatter bugs! Love it!

Auntie Arlene getting a little stir crazy after so many hours of opening gifts! Happy 75th birthday to you too Auntie!

I love this picture of Jamie! She's getting so big! I can't get over how much of a young woman she's becoming. She was our flower girl just a few short years ago!

Here's Mom DiOrio cutting up the cake for us. Mmm....Mmmm...was it yummy! WOW!

See?! Chocolate cake, vanilla cake, and pudding! How could you go wrong!?

Auntie Gina liked it.

Auntie Jen liked it too!

Hi! Thanks for signing the baby book!

This is Grams Aceto. This is the lady that took care of all the packages. If someone out of town wanted to participate...it was her house that things got mailed to! Thanks for keeping it all sorted Grams!

Whew! Those are all the pictures that I'll bore you with. It was one heck of a party and we had a ball! Thank you again to everyone that had a hand in making this happen. I was a little bummed that I wasn't going to be able to celebrate with the ones I love. I was feeling a bit outcast and far away here in Vermont. Hmm...outcast isn't the right word but I was deffinately missing my family in this joyous and exciting time. It means a lot to me that everyone went through so much trouble to make sure we had a great start to this amazing little life growing inside me.

I just can't say THANK YOU enough!