Augustine was embarrassed and upset to be the only man who had to attend Galentine’s Day.
How to throw a book-themed baby shower
1. book page wreath, instructions here
2. custom catalog card generator (I used this for the party favor tags), but with a bigger budget, you can buy blank catalog cards on Etsy
3. instructions on how to make a repurposed memory book (originally for weddings, but it seems like it’ll make a sweet baby book, too. I used a copy of Sea Star of Chicoteague older than my dad)
We kept our theme pretty loose, and also incorporated small story book elements, especially from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which inspired the invitations.
We threw a book-themed baby shower for Colleen and little Peanut last spring, and today I wrote a post for my librarianly blog about it.
We are trying to help our godson grow up to be the next (first?) American pope, but he aspires to be a noble and expert cabby.
Augustine goes on an adventure with his gender-progressive pacifier.
Augustine’s first Advent.
When was the last time you were this excited about carrots?
4 people I’m thankful to have gotten to know better in 2011 (4 days before Thanksgiving)
1. Jane is the coworker I’ve gotten to know best this year. I’m grateful for her sly sense of humor and ability to cheer me up on a rough day at the desk. We work well as a team, and save up absurd stories of front line public library work for each other.
2. and 3. Ben & Jess are an awesome couple we’ve gotten to know better over the course of 2011. They have two of the cutest dogs around, are both excellent cooks, and are always up for an adventure.
4. Augustine doesn’t really have a say in this, and didn’t make his way into the world until mid-year, but it cannot be argued that I know him much better now. I know his fondness for scratching, his abiding interest in water, and his goofy, gasping laugh. He is a nice little thing.
8 events I’m thankful for in 2011 (8 days before Thanksgiving)
- Our first really snowy winter. 2009 was a bit of a dud year, so it was fun to get some real snow. If you’re going to live in New England, you might as well have war stories to tell.
- This fall, my sister and her enormous-footed boyfriend moved to Brooklyn, just a few hours south of us. Since then, we’ve visited them once, and she’s visited us once. We’ll see them both next week for Thanksgiving and my birthday, and it’s lovely to have family so close again.
- Storms. The hurricane in August and snow storm last month both meant for that best kind of mildly inconvenient hospitality, the kind that builds friendships. Deb stayed with us; we stayed with Ian’s family; Steve stayed with us. And they are all great visits, despite the circumstances.
- The birth of our godson, Augustine James.
- My childhood friend Layne’s wedding to a really great guy.
- Another childhood friend, Cassi, is marrying her high school sweetheart, and I get to stand up with them.
- Our extended tour of the South before and after Layne’s wedding. We got to see nearly all our family and Southern friends, listen to a half-dozen books on CD, and sweat a whole, whole lot.
- A really intense (for me) camping trip with Jess and Ben. It really helped us to grow closer as friends, and reminded me not to be such a mouse — a lesson I need to relearn every few months.
Ron Swanson, April Ludgate-Swanson, and their fan-fiction love child, last week at Halloween.
We were stuck, but fortunately Hardwick is a friendly little community.
Colleen’s good friend Sarah (pictured) has a handy boyfriend who’d spent two hours excavating her car for a coffee run, and the couple kindly lent it to us so we could make it to mass, all the way across the state in Andover.
We hastily loaded up the little CRV, and set off.
