Stationery card

Retro Wheel Bright Birth Announcement

Shutterfly cards for Valentine's Day, Easter & Father's Day.

View the entire collection of cards.

She has arrived!!

She surprised us all, but it is a GIRL. Nicollette Elizabeth Warren arrived on Dec 4th in case you missed the news. I updated the Snapfish album and Shutterfly Share Site and Bump Baby Website.

Games update

I scored the games that Kelly and Katrina played, but I didnt put the answers up yet, incase more people want to play them. So give them some competetion. There are "how many can you list" style games from before the "party" date, as well as the more recent "baby trivia" style games. Click the "games" label below to see just the game posts.

P.S. answers updated in each game's comment section on Dec 24th

update

So I guess I planned a bad time of day to have a virtual party, so I will leave up all the posts for everyone to play and post the answers sometime next week. Still the honor system of no googling the answers though. Hope everyone has some fun with the games posted.

Celebrity Baby Name Match - Round 3

Match the baby name to the celebrity parents.

1. Max Liron
2. Francesca Nora
3. Sunday Rose
4. Bronx Mowgli
5. Zuma Nesta Rock
6. Seraphina Rose Elizabeth
7. Stella Doreen
8. Lila Grace
9. Harlow Winter Kate
10. Bailey DeLuca
11. Nahla Ariela
12. Emme Maribel & Maximillian David
13. Sunny Madeline
14. Honor Marie

A. Jessica Alba & Cash Warren
B. Halle Berry
C. Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck
D. Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban
E. Renee & Scott Baio
F. Christina Aguilera & Jordan Bratman
G. Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony
H. Nicole Richie & Joel Madden
I. Jackie & Adam Sandler
J. Amanda Anka & Jason Bateman
K. Gwen Stefani & Gavin Rossdale
L. Ashlee Simpson & Pete Wentz
M. Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott
N. Kate Moss

Celebrity Baby Name Match - Round 2

Match the baby to the celebrity parents

1. Sean Preston
2. Milo William
3. Mateo Bravery
4. Ryder Russell
5. Bella
6. Coco Riley
7. Hazel Patricia
8. Sam
9. Dakota
10. Dylan
11. Zahara
12. Brooklyn
13. Lourdes
14. Scout
15. Parker

A. Courtney Cox/ David Arquette
B. Michael Douglas/ Catherine Zeta-Jones
C. Charlie Sheen/ Denise Richards
D. Julia Roberts
E. Madonna
F. Rosie O’Donnell
G. Britney Spears
H. Billy Bob Thorton
I. Benjamin Bratt/ Talisa Soto
J. Victoria Beckham/ David Beckham
K. Liv Tyler
L. Bruce Willis/ Demi Moore
M. Kate Hudson
N. Angelina Jolie
O. Melanie Griffith/ Don Johnson

Celebrity Baby Name Match - Round 1

Match the baby names to the correct celebrity parents. There will be 3 Rounds in total. I found some really bizarre names doing research for these games, some of my favorites: Jason Lee’s son Pilot
Inspektor and Penn Jillette’s daughter Moxie Crimefighter.

Round 1
1. Mathilda Rose
2. Lola
3. Henry
4. Phinnaeus Walter
5. Harry
6. Roman
7. Violet
8. Kal-el
9. Shepard Kellen
10. Quinlin Dempsey
11. Rumor
12. Apple
13. Maddox
14. Ava
15. Hudson

A. Nicholas Cage
B. Jerry Seinfeld
C. Ben Stiller/Christine Taylor
D. Bruce Willis/ Demi Moore
E. Marcia Gay Harden
F. Gwenyth Paltrow/ Chris Martin
G. Angelina Jolie
H. Reese Witherspoon/ Ryan Phillipe
I. Ben Affleck/ Jennifer Garner
J. Debra Messing
K. Charlie Sheen / Denise Richards
L. Heidi Klum/ Seal
M. Heath Ledger/ Michelle Williams
N. David Letterman
O. Julia Roberts

Nursery Rhyme Trivia

Fill in the blanks

1) Mary had a little lamb; its _____________ was white as snow.

2) Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any _____________?

3) Mary, Mary, quite _____________, how does your garden grow?

4) Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub, and how do you think
____________ _____________ ____________?

5) Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, _________________ ________________!

6) Little Jack Horner, sat in a corner, eating his ______________ pie;

7) Little Miss Muffet, sat on a tuffet, eating her ________________
and _______________.

8) Peter Piper picked a peck of ____________ _____________.

9) One, two, buckle my shoe, three four, _____________ at the door.

10) Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater, had a wife but couldn't ____________ her.

11) Old Mother Hubbard, went to the _______________.

12) There was an old woman, who lived in a _______________.

13) Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no ___________.

14) Hey diddle, diddle, the ____________ and the fiddle.

15) Rock-a-bye baby, on the __________________.

Complete the lyrics

Lets brush up on these famous children’s songs and poems by completing the next line.

1. “There was a little girl who had a little curl…”
2. “Hush, little baby, don’t say a word, …”
3. “There was an old woman who lived in a shoe…”
4. “Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man…”
5. “Jack be nimble, Jack be quick…”
6. “I’m a little teapot, short and stout, …”
7. “ Hey diddle, diddle, …”
8. “Twinkle, Twinkle little star…”
9. “This little pig went to market, …”
10. “Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn, …”

TV & Movie Kids

How well can you remember the names of the children who appeared in TV shows and movies that you have seen hundreds of times?

1. Name Darth Vader’s two kids in Star Wars2. Name the six Brady Bunch kids.
3. Name Fred and Wilma’s child on The Flintstones.
4. Name that annoying kid next door on Family Matters.
5. Name Charles and Caroline Ingalls’ three (oldest) daughters on
Little House on the Prairie.
6. Name George and Jane Jetson’s two children on The Jetsons.
7. Name the kids that fall in love in Titanic.
8. Name the five Huxtable kids on The Cosby Show.
9. Name the three kids on The Simpsons.
10. Name the stylish kid responsible for slaying vampires in her spare time.
11. What were the names of Ross Gellar's two children on Friends?
12. Name the 4 children on Family Ties.

Baby Name Meanings

Below are lists of names and then a list of meanings. Try to match up the correct name to the meaning. There is a set of girl names/meaning and then a set of boy names/meanings.

Girls

1. Abigail
2. Emily
3. Kaitlin
4. Sarah
5. Amanda
6. Mackenzie
7. Anne
8. Tamara
9. Vanessa

A. Loveable
B. Daughter of the wise leader
C. Princess
D. Gracious
E. Father’s Joy
F. Pure
G. Flatterer
H. Butterfly
I. Palm Tree

Boys

1. Aaron
2. Brandon
3. Drew
4. Gregory
5. Isaac
6. David
7. William
8. Robert
9. Todd

A. Determined guardian
B. Vigilant watchman
C. Enlightenment
D. Beacon Hill
E. Famous brilliance
F. Fox
G. He will laugh
H. Wise
I. Beloved

Trivia Games

So I have several trivia-style games planned and I have written them up ahead of time and scheduled to post every 5-10 minutes. I am putting everyone on the honor system not to just google all the answers. The winner for each game will be the first one with the most correct. After I think everyone has had a chance to play a game I will put the answers in the comments section.

Mommy's Tummy

So how big do you think my baby bump measures round my belly button?

Here is the baby bump picture to remind you:

Welcome to the Party

So the time has arrived for the "start" of the virtual baby shower. If you havent been playing along all week make sure to go back and catch up on the games/questions that have already been posted below.

The first game is the baby betting pool. So in the comments, tell us what you think will be the actual date of birth, time of birth, baby length, baby weight and sex of the baby.

The baby's due date is November 26 and the 20 week ultrasound wasnt that clear, but the tech thinks it is a boy.

Mad Lib

Fill in the blanks as requested then use the words to complete the story below. Don't cheat and look at the story while thinking of the words.

1. a number
2. The Mother's name
3. Exclamation
4. The husband's name
5. State of being
6. a place
7. a number
8. adjective
9. adjective
10. color
11. noun
12. Celebrity's name
13. noun
14. body part
15. vegetable
16. nasty adjective

Story after the jump:

Celebrity Baby Games

Here are a few games for you to try, let us know how you did.

Guess which celebrity these babies grow up to be.

Who is the mommy of these cute babies?

Who is the daddy of these cute babies?

p.s. some of tomorrow's games will test your knowledge of nursery rhymes & songs, celebrity baby names, meaning of names, and tv & movie kids

Also a baby betting pool and guess mommy's girth, so start thinking of guesses.

Diaper Bag

So we discussed the bag for the delivery, but what about the diaper bag. What should be in the diaper bag? What are those things you dont want to forget? What are those little things that make running errands with the little one easier? What are your favorite diaper bag products?

Baby Morpher

What will the baby look like? Just for fun, I tried this Baby Morpher from the Bump.

So feel free to play around with it yourself, even using celebrity pics instead.

Game

Time for another game. Who can name the most songs with "baby" or "babe" in the title? To get started think of "Baby, it's Cold Outside" or " I Got You Babe"

Game

Another quick and easy game. Who can name the most movies with family words in the title? Think "Father of the Bride" or "Sister Act" or "Parent Trap"

p.s. Other games are in the works. I'm saving some trivia-type games for party day since it would be easy for people to just google the answers. I also thought we could do a baby pool and set up a post for everyone to guess when they think the little one will really arrive, how big, and if it will really be a little boy. Perhaps also guess mommy's tummy size, we used toilet paper as a measuring device at the last shower I went to, so I guess on where we will have to use a tape measure and have everyone guess actual inches. So start thinking on your best guesses about mommy and baby.

PSA

March of Dimes is one of my personal favorite charities, probably because myself and my brothers were both premature. The current biggest campaign is addresssing prematurity and working to help families have healthy full-term babies. November is Prematurity Awareness Month with November 17th being World Prematurity Day.
Another of their campaigns is the Sounds of Pertussis to help prevent the spread of Pertussis aka whooping cough and encourage everyone, especially those that will be having contact with babies to get their Tdap vaccine. Race to Blanket America is an initiative of the Sounds of Pertussis campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of pertussis to infants. You can create a virtual quilt square and $1 will be donated to March of Dimes. It will take a few days for your square to go live, so you can share your square with others.

We have asked everyone in our families who plans to visit our little one to make sure their Tdap vaccine is up to date. I plan to get my vaccine and I scheduled Patrick a doctor's appointment so he can get his.

Party Game

Time to put some games up on here. So lets start with a quick and easy one.

Lets see who can name the most foods that sound baby-related. So to get you started-think of things like baby carrots, and peas in a pod.

Advice: Packing the bag

One of my goals this week is to pack my bags for the hospital. So what should I pack?

What are those possibly overlooked must haves for the delivery room, for mom, coach and baby?

baby room projects

One of the biggest projects for the baby room, was the cabinet. We bought it from one of Patrick's coworkers. It is Army surplus from a barracks, so it is very sturdy. I think it is a cabinet for a tv since it has a port for cords, but it also has dresser drawers. So I cleaned it up, added a shower tension rod, got new pegs for the shelf, added an organizer to the door, and added shelf liner to the drawers.

 Before

 After

The other project was the ottomans. Patrick got these ethernet cord spools from work. He had them in his office for awhile before I figured out how I wanted to do it. Putting them in the baby's room seemed like the best place for them and kicked my ideas into gear. I found a tutorial online and went from there.

 Before

After

baby room

A few photos of the baby's room. Just ignore that the room is still home to a few storage things we dont have room for anywhere else.

I put the bumpers on the wall since you arent suppose to put them in the crib anymore, but now I read you shouldnt put things on the walls above the crib, so I will have to take them down once the little one can pull on them, but at least for now the walls have some color. Not sure why they make them anymore since you really cant use them, maybe once the crib is a toddler daybed.

There are more photos in my Snapfish and Shutterfly albums.

baby bump

Several people are bugging me for a baby bump photo:

Registry Questions answered

There have been some questions about myRegistry . The biggest question being how to mark something as purchased if you dont purchase it from the store I have listed on the registry. According to the FAQ, you click on the item from the registry, which opens the store page, then after you close the store page, a page should pop up and ask you if you purchased that item. Clicking one of the "yes" answers should mark the item as purchased. Hopefully that helps you all.

Also, many want to know why I didnt register for many diapers and wipes.Well most of you live far away and diapers would be difficult to mail because of the size of the packaging. I would love the traditional gift of diapers and wipes, I just didnt want to inconvience people.

As I have found some of my registry items at my local stores I tried to note that for you, incase you want to go the gift card route. Locally the available chain stores for baby items are Walmart, Kmart, and Shopko. I dont think they even have Shopko's where most of you live. We also have small Macys and Sears, both of which have just baby clothes, no other baby items. The local grocery stores here, which of course also carry baby items, are Albertsons and Safeway, which I also dont think any of you have near you.

Hope this info is helpful.

Recipe Ideas

So I need some ideas for easy meals Patrick (or I) can make after the little one arrives. Patrick can cook, but it is bachelor cooking, but he can follow a basic recipe.  After years of being in the Army there are very few convience foods that he will eat, so I can't just go get a Stouffers lasagna. We plan to get a new Foreman grill, since he is comfortable with that. I have a started a collection of Crock-pot and Dutch-oven recipes.  I have several good casserole type recipes but I have never tried to freeze them, so I am not sure how they will thaw, plus we dont have a very big freezer. I want to try to stocking up on as many recipe ingredients as possible now, so we dont have much to get at the grocery store afterwards.

So what are your favorite easy recipes?

Mom Advice Question

For all those moms out there: What is that baby product you could not live without? You know, that go to baby shower present, that you think every mom should have. You don't know how moms did it before this product existed.

Leave your answer in the comments. You can comment as an anonymous user if you wish, but make sure to leave your name in the comment itself.

Photos

Here goes my first attempt at adding a photo to a post:

This is one of the images from our 20 week ultrasound in July. I scanned and uploaded all the ultrasound photos to Snapfish. I started an album just for the little one and  I will also upload other photos there, such as nursery photos and photos of the little one eventually. I also have credits and coupons for Shutterfly so I will also be putting all those photos on there as well. You might also want to check out the Bump Baby Website I started, I have links to the photo albums there.

Edit: Shutterfly album has been started 11/2
Shutterfly ShareSite started 11/9

I plan to send out both e-announcements and traditonal birth announcements, so make sure I have your contact info. You can email me that info.

Poll - Chat Messenger

I'm debating finding a chat app feature to intergrate into the website or setting up a time for us to chat using a specific messenger at the same time during the virutal party. If you are interested in this, I put a poll on the sidebar, asking which messenger you like to use most.

Date Decided: Nov 11th 2:30 PST

I am sending the invites through the Facebook event app, but you dont have to use Facebook to be a part of the virtual baby shower. http://www.facebook.com/events/#!/event.php?eid=234341953294473

 

Here is the info if you arent a Facebook user:

 

We are having a virtual baby shower to celebrate Megan's and Patrick's upcoming bundle of joy, due near Thanksgiving. Currently living in Washington state, far from most of their family and friends, we decided the best option was to celebrate online.

What: I started a website to share update about the baby, as well as other fun things that one would find at a baby shower, like pictures, shower games and sharing mom advice.

When: I will have the website completely ready by Nov 11th at 2:30 pm PST (5:30 EST) There will be posts with pictures, games, advice questions, etc for you to comment on and interact with. I plan to post a few posts a day until then, so you can check on it between now and then or wait until the party day or anytime after.

How: All you have to do is check out the URL ( http://warrenbaby2011.blogspot.com/ ) and enjoy the posts. You can interact by leaving comments on any of the posts or you can just enjoy reading the posts. You dont have to create an account, you can leave comments as an anonoymous user, but please leave your name in the comment itself.

First post

So I started this website to use as a place for a virtual baby shower. It will have a start date (TBD) and by that date I will have several posts ready with baby shower games and discussions questions available. I am also looking into some sort of chat box feature. Being virtual, of course it could be viewed even after that time and date. After the party, it can be used to update everyone on the baby.