baby shower and such

well i think i have recovered from my long list of ailments over the last few weeks.  steve and i came home from texas and i became sick shortly after.  i was home with laryngitis, then a cough and cold, then a sinus infection.  i finished my prescription of antibiotics today.  i still have a mild cough and some congestion but some of that is to be expected this time of year in new england.  right now my main goal is not to slip when i'm walking outside with all of the sleet and freezing rain we have had.  last weekend some girlfriends hosted a baby shower for us.  i was still sick so i was quarantined to the corner chair.  i felt antisocial but it was necessary for the purpose of my lasting the length of the shower, not getting anyone else sick, and not adding another symptom to my list.  we have received so much support and we are so grateful.  so included in these pictures you will see how much i've grown and some of the fun activities from the shower.  we played a fun game where you have to name the baby name for a list of animals...can you name the baby name for the following:   alligator, horse, elephant, rat, frog, giraffe, kangaroo?  we have another baby shower this weekend that steve's mom is hosting.  and before we know it my parents and kara will be here for the holidays.  two best friends from college, jamie and kristen, are coming for new year's and then we'll have a little more than a month before our little girl arrives.  blessings to everyone and happy holidays!

cute baby eric hernandez
hostesses (stacey, ellie, kc, dena, and karin)
ellie's mom made maddie a pink baby blanket...so soft
so many cute baby girls clothes!
who can drink the water out of the baby bottle first?
baby eric and aunt susie
guess the baby name for each animal game

here's the latest belly pic
the girls got us our travel system stroller...we love it

red sox baby

check out this awesome baby blanket that katy made for us.  steve got to open this one (C:

so it has been awhile.  here are some updated (although these were taken on halloween) pics of my belly.  i will post more pics from thanksgiving as soon as i get those pics from my sister.

we just got back from a short trip to texas for the thanksgiving holiday.  we flew in wednesday and flew out saturday.  but we were able to see both sides of my family and were blessed to have a baby shower at each gathering.  steve and colin (katy's husband) had never been to my grandmother's house in arlington so it was fun to share the holiday with them there.  my dad's side of the family came to our house the following day and since we were all full of our share of turkey we had ham and brisket...and alot of other food.  it was great to see everyone and catch up.  steve and i also met lucy (katy and colin's dog) for the first time.  we considered stealing her and bringing back so felix would have a friend but we figured that having a puppy probably wouldn't be a good idea when madeleine arrives (C:...and katy and colin wouldn't let us.

so it's back to the grind for us...although my work day today consisted of meetings, me clearing my throat constantly, and ultimately losing it by the end of the day.  so my laryngitis and i will be staying home tomorrow.  and steve is busy taking care of me buying chicken noodle soup and saltines as well as making sure i drink lots of water and warm beverages like tea and cider.

we're looking forward to my parents and kara coming for the christmas holiday and spending new year's with them and our friends plus a few friends coming up from the south (my girlfriends from college - jamie and kristen).  and before we know it...we'll be posting pics of our little girl.  we've had a new addition to our family since the last time i posted as well..a new mac laptop.  that i love.  so expect quality videos and pics to be posted routinely.

we're also looking forward to having friends and family over for a baby shower this weekend that my girlfriends are hosting.  we had a shower here for karin and it was fun to have people over.  we love having people at our house.  it will also be nice not to have to load and unload a car.  our church is going up to vermont the next day to cut down christmas trees which i am totally looking forward to since i haven't done that in a long time.  i'm leading a retreat for emerson students the following weekend, steve's mom is hosting a shower at her house the weekend after that and then my parents and kara are here.  so we are busy through the rest of the season and loving it.

that's all for now.  i'll post more pics soon.

two little visitors

we had two visitors with us last weekend while their owners were in texas. felix misses them so much. click the picture to see more photos from the weekend. billy is the black dog and jackson is the tan dog....and in case you forgot...felix is the large dog in the middle.

the great outdoors

so we have been working on several projects the last few weekends and have managed to squeeze in a trip to berlin orchards to go apple picking with church. here are some pics of our filled in pool area and the grass that has started to grow, the area that we are leaving for a patio space (to be completed next year), the cleaned out area in the front where we plan to plant perennial bulbs, a large pile of dirt, and our new vegetable garden to be planted in spring 2008. we also took a trip with our church to go apple picking this weekend so here are a few pics from that....notice the tractor driver with an apple on his head...eventually he had two but we didn't get that pic.

landscaping fabric for under the patio area...to be completed Summer 2008

a large pile of dirt in our driveway

our friend jeremy hard at work leveling out the dirt to fill in the crater that was once an above ground pool

steve in his colorful worker's outfit

felix blockaded on the porch...he didn't like this very much...he would much rather be digging in the dirt

our lovely sign that was donated by jack josti...we had to dig to find it...

filled in and waiting for grass seed

steve and his new toy

steve and his mom worked forever on these annoying bushes/ plants/ whatever they were...tools used included an ax (steve is using in this pic), a saw, a rake, a hoe, and a shovel. carolyn was so excited when they got both of them out.

just dug up some grass so we can plant some tulips and daffodils

grass seed beginning to grow after a week...there are some spotty areas

we will have a nice border of really green grass next to our not so green grass...

...and finally, the finished product of a lot of hard work and many aching muscles. we will be planting lots of veggies in this garden in Spring/ Summer 2008. we still need to put in a gate so felix won't start digging and i need to get a scarecrow in an attempt to keep other critters out.

here are our apple picking pics.

just pick 'em off the tree...cortland's are my favorite

that's alotta apples

tractor ride to and from orchard

mom, dad, ellen, allyson and i rode on the tractor with this guy last time...

well that's all. just enjoying a crisp fall new england day here. until next time...

it's a girl!

we found out yesterday at 2 pm that we will be having a girl in february. we are very excited to be adding a girl to the josti family as this is not a normal occurrence. her name will be madeleine leigh josti. of course there is always the possiblity that it might change, but it's not likely. so not only can we refer to the baby as she but we can now refer to her as madeleine. for those of you who like to know the origin of names, madeleine is the french form of magdalene, which is commonly used in the english-speaking world. magdalene is from a title which meant "of magdala". mary magdalene, a character in the new testament, was named thus because she was from magdala - a village on the sea of galilee whose name meant "tower" in hebrew. she was cleaned of evil spirits by Jesus and then remained with him during his ministry, witnessing the crucifixion and the resurrection. leigh derives from leah which means meadow. leigh is also a family name on kelly's side of the family. it is an amazing experience to choose a name for your child. here are some pics from yesterday's ultrasound and some additional pics of my growing belly. felix wanted to be in this picture. you can see the tip of his nose.

look at that spine. she was on her stomach at the beginning, then rolled over on her side for awhile, then laid on her back. perfect for getting good shots of her profile and seeing whether she was a girl or boy. good job...now you can go back to being modest (C:

cute babies

i wanted to post pics of the cute babies that are currently in my life...either daily or through email pics...

here are some pics of karin and eric's little boy, eric manuel. adorable.

i got these pics today from my cousin of their little boy, grayson, and my uncle. i couldn't resist posting them.