Coming Soon... Gabriel!

Michael and I drove to Vermont with Lucas and Elleigh on Saturday where a group of family and friends came together to help me celebrate the pending arrival of Gabriel! It was so much fun, but I am exhausted and sore today! Opening gifts is hard work! And best of all, I got to see some folks that I just don't get to see as often as I would like now that I live in Hew Hampshire.

The event was held at the Brandon Senior Center and there was a whole spread of the homey kind of food you only get from a potluck. Mmmm. I can't stop thinking about Barb's homemade chicken wontons with the peanut sauce. And the cake had both chocolate and yellow cake layers, and a layer of the same filling that goes inside jelly donuts. Very nice!

I knew this baby was going to be spoiled, so I have been very good about not buying too much for Gabriel before he's had a baby shower. But clearly, there have been plenty of other people out buying for our kiddo! And some even handier people have been crafting for him!

Michael and I could barely get all of the gifts we received into the back of my CR-V. The dogs were not impressed with the traveling arrangements! Lucas especially didn't like the balloons that went home with us and that hovered over his side of the seat. We got home just before 9 pm last night, so we left the car loaded with our gifts.

Michael and I will unload the car today and then I will start sorting, washing, and making a game plan for putting everything away. Keep watch of the photo slide show on the right side bar for all of the gift additions we received.

And here's a photo of both Michael and I at 31 weeks and 5 days gestation.

Thank you so much to everyone who spoiled our family rotten at the baby shower!

Brandon Gap

This is the view from the trail head at Brandon Gap in the Green Mountain National Forest, a point on the Long Trail. It's one of my favorite spots on the drive to Vermont to see my parents. Once here, the view is gorgeous in good weather. And even better, I am within 5 minutes from my parents' house and I probably won't need to hit the gas pedal again until I am pulling into their driveway. It is also this span of the drive that I have seen the Moose before and Michael and I have hit some of the scariest inclement weather driving. I looked forward to driving over yesterday because I knew the foliage change would have started through the mountains. I was actually surprised that the foliage wasn't further ahead than it was. Unfortunately, it was gloomy most of the drive over. And it poured most of my drive home. There were plenty of oranges and yellows, but they would have been better with the sun on them. It brightened slightly as I hit the gap, so I pulled over for a photo. The flat area is Champlain Valley. You can see an area where the narrow part of Lake Champlain is, and then the mountains on the other side (with the cloud coverage) is the Adirondacks of New York.

99 Days To Go... But Who's Counting?

I am 25 weeks and 6 days into gestation today, so only 99 days left to go until I hit my due date. Kimi Sprague snapped this photo of me and "Gabriel the bump" while I was in Vermont today. According to my audio pregnancy book, I start the third trimester on Monday. It just doesn't seem possible. I picked up the crib bedding set today from my parents' house and it is definitely time to get Gabriel's room in order.

Quincy's Baptism

After a night full of hard rain from hurricane Hanna, Michael and I found clearing skies as we left our house before 6 am this morning. We went to the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Pittsford, Vermont for the 9 am mass because Quincy was being baptised during the service. I think technically Quincy was the youngest guest at our wedding since he was still in the womb during the festivities. Quincy was such a trooper through anointment and the water dousing; he never made a peep. And he looked so cute in his little white outfit. We last saw him in June, but already he has changed and seems to be the spitting image of his older brother Noah. After the service, we headed off to the Pittsford Recreational Park for a reception with the whole Bruttomesso & Eugair clan and a home style luncheon. I also got to see Amy and her boys as well. And it was a beautiful day. Those in the sun playing volleyball were comfortable in shorts. Those of us under the picnic table covering needed a light jacket. Just the right temperature in my opinion.

Michael and I visited with my parents on the way home. It's definitely harvest season since we came home with a winter squash, two bags of black berries, another big bag of white potatoes freshly dug from the garden, black berry jam, and a tomato. Oh, and Dad had made a batch of baked beans too so we have a container of those for an upcoming meal as well.

Let me know if anyone has a good recipe for black berries.

Michael and I also took a break from driving home by stopping at the Powerhouse Mall in West Lebanon and visiting the Rugged Bear children's boutique. We got a few more things for our little man.

Happy Thanksgiving

The past several years, Michael and I spent the actual Thanksgiving Day with his family. But this year, we packed up Lucas and Elleigh and drove to Vermont. Vermont trips are always whirlwind trips because I try to do so much in the little time that I have. I don't get back home often enough it seems.

Lucas and Elleigh slept entwined with each other on both the ride over and back. This was the first time Lucas got to meet his Grandparents on the Doaner side, and his cousins: Brandi and Angus.

I took a tour of Grandma's house, and the work my brother and an electrician have done on getting the house in shape to be rented. My brother is hoping to be able to move in before Christmas with his family.

Brandi's birthday is in early December, so I usually bring up her birthday gifts around Thanksgiving time. This year, she got a new assortment of books and a little cash.

Angus was in high energy mode on Thursday, so it was hard to get him to sit still long enough to photograph his new missing front teeth.

We had turkey and all the fixings: potato, gravy, coleslaw, deviled eggs, stuffing, squash, and rolls. This year's forgotten item was the yams. There's always something that never makes the table in every house.

Brandi, Angus, Mom and I sat down with the felted ball kit I got on my Grand View Knitting Retreat weekend. We wrapped yarn and used roving to make fluffy balls, and then stuffed them inside old nylons and put them in the washer for one cycle. It was quick and fun, and now we have four felted Christmas ball ornaments. I think next time, I would use more traditional Christmas colors. The fancy ornament hangers came from Target.

Michael helped my Dad open their new computer up and get it hitched up to the printer. Mom and Dad were working on my old hand-me-down Gateway that must be 10 years old at the very least. They were getting to the point where they could run errands between mouse clicks because the computer was so slow. They are now running on Windows Vista and Dad can't believe how fast his fantasy football website loads up.

Mom and I had little pieces of mince meat pie and maple pecan pie before it was time to pack up the dogs and drive back to New Hampshire in the pouring rain.

Lucas and Elleigh shared a small can of Thanksgiving Dinner dog food made by Merrick when we got them back home. Mmmm!