Day Fifteen Hundred and Thirty-Three

The Newest Addition

AHOY!!

My beautiful baby sissy's having a little boy!!

Baby Yakesh is due in the beginning of February and so to celebrate his upcoming arrival, we threw him and his mommy a nautical party!

For now, baby Yakesh is being named Parker Benjamin(!) and that's unless Baby decides to enter the world on his Daddy's birthday. If that's the case, Baby will be named Richard James Yakesh III, in which case I've decided to nickname him Trip. Either way, our Newest Addition has quite the name!!

He'll have quite the personalized onesie stash too!

And even his own, very first personalized ABC book!

Amelia and I spent lots of time in Florida planning Ellie's shower. It was lots of work and lots of fun. 

We found funny games to play - like this one where each guest was asked to draw what Baby Yakesh will look like...with the piece of paper held to their forehead!

Clearly, Nana won!!!

We also copied an idea from one of my baby showers and asked Ellie's guests to participate in creating Parker'ss first ABC book!

It was quite the hit! And SO impossibly cute!

Just like these two!

And this one!

Baby Parker,

We can't wait to meet you and greet you and bring you home into our lives. You have blessed our family so richly already and my prayer for you is that you'll grow into a brother, a son, a nephew, a grandson, a man who serves others with a grateful heart and loves Christ above all else. You already bring us joy upon joy and waiting for you is something I'll always treasure. We cannot wait to finally scoop you up in our arms and kiss those chubby cheeks!!

It was an honor to celebrate you and Parker yesterday, Ellie. I love you infinitely and cherish more than anything, the friend you've become to me. I adore you as a sister and as a best friend and I know that Parker will realize - just as Hunter has - just how special you truly are. You're an incredible mother and one I look up to. We'll continue to pray for a healthy, uncomplicated delivery and that your new transition into motherhood of two baby boys will be a smooth and beautiful one. And too, that Hunter would feel the responsibility and excitement that being a big brother brings! We love you and we can't wait for February!!

(And a quick shout out to Aunt Kim for gifting me such a special printer, which made this party such a hit! With it, I was able to create all the hanging onesies and all the banners too! Yaaaay!)