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Yesterday, our little Godson – Luke Mehlberger turned 1 and, to celebrate, his Mom (Lauren) and Dad (Steve) threw a major kiddy extravaganza!!

Mom and Dad wisely had a scaled-down version of the actual birthday cake made for single consumption.

Hey, slathering it all over your face works too!

There was music…

…games…

…Grandpa Chuck (makes a killer Bloody Mary!) and Grandma Karen from California…

…and gifts!

(Elana in the wee hours of the morning making Luke’s quilt)

Luke was thrilled!

…with the green spoon in front of him ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUKE!!

I’ve had a few requests now for a pic of Elana that shows her belly in all it’s glory. I figured this one shows it better than any other. We were actually at the beginning stages of painting the nursery (note the blank canvas to her right). Despite feeling more tired than usual, Elana’s been a real trooper throughout her pregnancy. I often find myself having to remind her that she’s pregnant and should slow down a little.

Ain’t gonna happen.

So I’ve decided that Chloe is the luckiest girl in the world and she doesn’t even know it yet! All of our friends and family have been so generous and thoughtful with gifts and cards for Chloe. James and I are very thankful and appreciative and we have been having fun (ok me more than him) planning out what is going to go where and how many loads of baby laundry we will have to do before she gets here! I can’t get over how tiny everything is!

Lauren Mehlberger (the mother of our God Son Luke), Erica S., and James planned a surprise baby shower for me (and of course Chloe) in the beginning of July. All of my NYC and Hoboken girlfriends were at our apartment armed with confetti for when Erica and I walked in the door together. I had been talking to Lauren, ok maybe hounding Lauren for baby advice on a regular basis, and never picked up on the fact that she had been scheming a surprise shower! Of course, I cried when I walked in the door and saw everyone. (hormones are my excuse even though you all know I’m normally emotional). It was a great night and so much fun to celebrate. I think it really hit James and I at that point that everything was real…even though I had the belly to prove it.

After everyone left, and James came back after hanging out with Steve Mehlberger, (too much estrogen in the house for him) we sat and looked at everything together making “how cute is this” and “how great is this” comments.

The next shower (I know, we are so spoiled!) we had was at my Mom’s house in Pennsylvania. Martha Stewart (that’s the nickname I’ve given my Mom, although she doesn’t have a criminal record) prepared a gorgeous shower in her front yard. Friends and family from home came to celebrate on a gorgeous Saturday, on July 26th. The weather couldn’t have cooperated more and my little God daughter, Alicia, was in charge of helping me open all of my gifts. Gretchen, Marji and Barbara had all helped Mom to make the yummy food, decorate, and prepare for the shower.

James had given me an amazing camera the night before for my birthday and turned into a professional paparazzi during the shower. There’s a slideshow below but if you want to see all the pictures in full-size, click on this link (Baby Shower). I hope you enjoy the pictures!

There’s so much to learn and know about what is needed when preparing for a little baby and we couldn’t do it without all of you!

Oh, the next morning I woke up at 7 am (this is not very typical for me). I went into Chloe’s future room where we put all of the gifts, sat down in the middle of the floor and read all of the cards and reopened all of the gifts all while tears welled up in my eyes. (It’s the hormone thing again) I can’t express enough how fortunate and grateful we are for all the thoughtful gifts you have literally “showered” us with!

Baby Shower at Mom’s House