Daddy Hutch has fun playing with Baby Hutch's gear

We're getting closer and closer to acquiring the various tools that we want to have ready for Baby Hutch's arrival, and on Saturday, I spent some time fooling around with the stroller and car seat that we recently received. The car seat is a Maxi Cosi Mico, and the stroller is a Quinny Zapp.

One of the reasons that we selected these specific items is that they are compatible with each other. The stroller has adapters that work with the car seat so that we can swiftly move Baby Hutch from the car to the stroller without having to remove Baby Hutch from the car seat. Also, we have a bug net for the car seat, which will keep Baby Hutch mosquito free when we take trips to the park or an outdoor concert. The stoller even has a rain cover that will allow us to take Baby Hutch on walks in the rain!

This stuff probably doesn't sound all that exciting for people who don't have babies or aren't expecting babies, but to me, it's awesome! While Casey was attending Shannon Lindbloom's baby shower on Saturday, I spent some time figuring out how to set up the car seat and stroller. I found both items to be very easy to use, and I'm exciting about using them to help introduce Baby Hutch to the world!

Who's the baby?

Up until recently, the nursery was our office and it was off-limits to the cats because we were trying to have a hair-free room. However, I've heard that you should allow your animals to get acquainted with baby items so that they feel comfortable with them prior to the baby arriving - with the idea that then, when the baby does arrive, it won't be as much of a shock. Clyde and Wrigley have been loving going into the nursery. It's their favorite room, by far. Below you will find photographic evidence that Wrigley not only loves the nursery but is openly admitting that he's not ready to give up his status as the "baby" of the household...

33 weeks!

Today marks 33 weeks which means only 7(ish) more to go! We didn't take a picture of my bump today but here's one from Shannon's baby shower yesterday:

Showered with kindness from some beautiful women!

This past Sunday my friend Ashley (whom I met while I worked at Circuit City), my friend Virginia (who is a dear friend that I've known for 15 years), and my cousin (and friend!) Julie all threw me a tea-themed baby shower at Ashley's house in Midlothian. It was great fun with great food, decor, and most importantly, great company. There were many ladies that I didn't get to invite because invites went out first to family - so if you are one of those women, please forgive me!


After eating a bit and chatting for a while, we sat down to play a game that most women reading this post, if they've ever been to a baby shower, are probably familiar with. The attendees all have a chance to cut a string to the length that they think will fit around the pregnant lady's belly. Once everyone has cut their string, it is measured against a string that is the actual perimeter of the belly (or sometimes, each string is put to the test around the woman's belly). Although another pregnant lady, due only 4 days after me (my friend Shannon - see post below for belly pics), was present at the shower and had the advantage of measuring her own pregnant belly, Mrs. Wheawill (a very close friend of the Hutcherson family) ended up winning first place! My own mother even commented on Mrs. Wheawill's string length saying that it was waaay too nice and that nice doesn't win (yeah, thanks mom!) Shannon was a very close second. Turns out my belly IS bigger than hers...which is what I suspected :)




Next I opened gifts. Thank you again, everyone! You were all so kind and generous and I love everything! I know Baby Hutch will too.


Finally, we played a guessing game and Ashley took tallies of hands held high for each question she asked (we all had our eyes closed as we voted). The first question was "how many people think Baby Hutch is a boy?" of course followed by "how many people think Baby Hutch is a girl?" An overwhelming majority - 16 people!!! - thought that Baby Hutch was going to be a boy. I wonder though if some people peeked and voted either with the majority or with the mom-to-be :) That left only 1 person who thought Baby Hutch is a girl. Most people I talk to now say they think we're having a boy which leaves me to contemplate where the high number of "girl" guesses came from on this very blog. People that think it's a girl: where are you?!
We also voted on hair color: 7 people thought the baby would be blond, 7 thought brown and 2 thought red. Everyone agreed that the baby wouldn't be less than 7 lbs. and wouldn't reach 9.
Thanks to everyone again for making last Sunday such a special day! We're getting closer to having the nursery ready and will post photos when it's all done :)

30 weeks (+ 1 day) spent in Topsail Beach, NC