A New Birthday Dance

We continued to celebrate my dad's birthday, on his actual birthday this time, last Thursday. I think he was really hoping the baby would come that day so they could share a name AND a birthday (with Philip's birthday too, whose middle name is Harrison), but alas... no dice.

That's a lot of candles on that red velvet cake!

Blowing them all out...

Trying on his new birthday sweater

And of course, lots of dancing

I love June and Dad's similar poses. I'm not sure what's happening here.

Uncle Nathan getting some dance lessons from the girls...

And this is why my parents are already the coolest grandparents around.

Whipped Cream, Early Birthdays, and Selfies

Last weekend we celebrated my dad's birthday a little early at Aunt Deanie and Uncle Bob's house with the family. We had some of my favorite foods including chicken fried steak and chocolate pie. I'm still dreaming about it.

Papa asked for his pie with lots of whipped cream. I think the plate is mostly whipped cream. I love this picture of him and June.

June took the rest of these pictures because I was laid up on the couch trying to get my cankles under control.

June's little selfie cracks me up. I have the best family.

Happy birthday, Daddy. I love you.

A Beautiful, Blessed Baby Shower

Nathan and I were really, really blessed by some wonderful friends in Atlanta who threw us a gift card open house baby shower. It was wonderful. We caught up with a lot of friends who stopped by, ate lots of yummy, diabetic-friendly foods, and just enjoyed being loved.

Beverly, Anne, Paulette, Mary Lou, Anwhitney, Laura, and Julie hosted it for us. Thank you so much, ladies!

This is Laura's youngest son, Peter. He's so darling.

Mary Lou is putting her famous peach pie (made with Splenda, just for me) on the table. It was quite a spread!

Apple slices with chicken salad and pecans

A colorful veggie tray

Fruit salad galore

Cheeses and dips and whatnot. That artichoke and spinach dip in the back changed my life.

Yummy cupcakes with little blue safety pins

A close up

Friends enjoying the food... I asked Nathan to take pictures for the rest of the afternoon of people who came. He actually forgot but did a photo blitz the last five minutes of our time there. 

Thanks to everyone who came and spoiled us with love and generous gift cards for little Michael. We are so grateful and feel so blessed to have you in our lives!

Happy 35th Birthday to My Love!

My sweet husband is 35! We went to the beach for the day to celebrate.

This spot is quite near where we went the day after we fell in love. Aww...

As I was taking this picture, some ladies behind me were hooting and hollering and taking his picture too. I love Americans.

The Pacific Ocean is cold.

We had clam chowder by the pier.

We got pretty sunburned too...

When we came home we had a great dinner with my family and a few friends and found out that Nathan now shares a baby with the new royal prince! This is blurry, but Winnie gave Nathan the sweetest birthday hug.

Nathan blew out his candles on a home made chocolate cake.

And then Winnie blew out some candles...

And then June blew out some candles...

Good times had by all. Happy birthday, my love!

We're off to Atlanta. More blogging from there will commence soon.

We're Having a Baby ______ !

My sister hosted a beautiful baby shower for Nathan and me on Saturday. It was so much fun to celebrate our baby's upcoming arrival with family and friends here in California. It was a "gift cards only" shower because we don't know where we'll settle eventually, which meant extra time chatting to people and building up the anticipation of the big gender reveal.

Here's our beautiful cake with either pink or blue sponge. What color is inside? You'll just have to wait and see like everyone else... :) Nathan is probably asking, "Do you think you know?"

Yummy punch... leftover from my brother's wedding last weekend.

Happy face cookies from Smith's Bakery, a Bakersfield staple. They went perfectly with the yellow theme!

June went swimming with her triplet friends across the street during most of the shower, but we got a quick picture beforehand.

Chatting to people...

And feeling the baby move around...

My sister and I (in the middle) grew up with these sisters, Vali (on the left) and Kiki (on the right). They lived right around the corner from us. Love these girls!

Nathan and I had a question-and-answer time (Where will you live? When is the baby coming? What kind of job is Nathan looking for? How was England?) and then opened cards together.

My sister's friend, Anamie, made this beautiful cake that matched the invitations perfectly. It was tasty too! Lemon poppy seed with cream cheese frosting. Yum!

My friend Allison Skyped in from Bangkok, Thailand, and some of my in-laws Skyped in from Atlanta. It was so great to have them there, if only virtually.

It's BLUE! We're having a baby boy! His name is Michael Harrison Parker, after my father and Nathan's father.

I wonder if my mom's excited... and I wonder if Winnie's arm is still attached.

Wish y'all could have had a piece.

My "Aunt" Linda and my friend Nancy, who gave a beautiful devotion at the shower

 My friend, BreAnne, brought her sweet baby girl to the shower too.

Many thanks to Amy for taking all of these pictures. I am truly grateful to each person who came to celebrate and to all those who wish they could have been there but couldn't make it, especially our English friends who were stalking our Facebook pages for news. We miss you and love you so very much!