Best Aunties Ever!!

Auntie Jen and Auntie Sarah threw us an amazing baby shower in our backyard this weekend. WOW. We left early Saturday morning, and returned to... fabulousness.

The table where folks could make nametags (very creative, diaper-shaped nametags!), write out some advice for the new moms, and address thank-you-note envelopes.

The backyard itself, with the tent that kept it from raining at all. Seriously, it was the first sunny day in this area since... um... graduation.

And a very securely put-up tent it was!

There was also a tent over the food table... Auntie Jen seemed to have gotten a little carried away, however. It's a tent-raising, not a tent-revival. (Can we get an Amen?)

The gift-opening... with its concurrent and ever-deepening amazement at the generosity of our family, friends and neighbors. We may eventually pick our jaws up from the floor.

The two master-planner Aunties, always seeing to the details.

I have to say, one of the highlights for me was putting so many wonderful people, from so many facets of our lives, in one place. Baby showers are a place for common ground, for coming together in the mutual love of a little person... and, sometimes, for playing the keychain recording of the 2004 game seven ALCS Red Sox victory to a Yankee fan.

Oh, and practicing is always fun. May the Bean be as sweet-tempered as this little angel.

At the end of the day, the Aunties, along with Uncle Sam and Grandma and Poppy had brought everything inside, cleaned up the backyard, cleaned up the kitchen... we have never in our lives been so spoiled! Or so overwhelmed by how very lucky we are to have such people in our lives.

So very overwhelmed.
Thank you, thank you, a million times over and then some. If repetition helps at all, Bean's first words are going to be: "We are so lucky." And Bean will be right.

Right Here!

Right here, that's where the Bean likes to kick. Or punch, or head-butt. Depending on mood, I suppose. Keep on kicking, kiddo - can't tell you how much we love it.

Boston Pride!

No, Poppy, this isn't a post about the Red Sox. Although they *are* in first place.

Boston's annual Gay Pride Parade!

Watching the parade outside the Boston Common, and we couldn't have asked for better folks to watch with! (Including those lovely Bean-uncles who brought along a chair for M!)

Watching some friends in the parade, as well - unfortunately for the blog, it was more fun to shout out and wave than to snap good pics. The one of a classmate of mine, marching in her clerical collar with her church (yay straight allies!) completely bleached. The following, although I didn't manage to get his face, is still appropriate - on so many levels.

It was, however, embarrassing to two just-barely-former officers of the HDS LGBT group that Andover Newton had a contingent marching in the parade, and we didn't. OOPS.

This just cracked me up. This woman was the lone bike amongst a group of motorcycles - and she redefined "biker chick" in my head.

Given the recent increase in states allowing same-sex marriage, there was a lot of cheering for various marriage equality groups. This particular picture makes me smile, though - an illustration, perhaps, of just how marriage equality works?

Actually, we were quite pleased to see how many schools sent affinity groups or marching contingents to the parade - not just high schools, where gay-straight alliances have become more common, but preschools and elementary schools, where the diversity of the parents was far more important. It looks like our Bean is going to be in good company, which makes us pretty happy. (It was nice to see another lesbian couple with the stroller that we just got, too.)

Happy Pride!

More Graduation Pictures

From Dad. Thanks!

Class photo after the worship service, Memorial Church, 6/3/09:

Receiving my diploma from Dean Graham, Memorial Church, 6/4/09:

On to new adventures!

Silence, if not golden, at least expected

Mommy: finishing up the school year, fine-tuning report cards, finishing up and attending the 5th Grade Play, attending seminars on Responsive Classroom methods, and cleaning up her classroom. She has to be much more organized this year than she might be otherwise, as there's always a chance that it will be her maternity sub who's doing the unpacking and set-up. That's not the plan, but ya never know.

Mummy: celebrating graduation by diving headfirst into a summer intensive program of Clinical Pastoral Education. For those of you lucky enough not to know what that is, it's three days per week of hospital chaplaincy, and two days of lectures and group discussion, with at least two written assignments per week. A good program, and a good experience, but exhausting.

Bean: walloping Mommy... and occasionally Mummy, also. The kicks now have reverb, it's amazing. At about 27 weeks, we have passed another major milestone: although the Bean's lungs are not yet fully formed, it would not be a disaster if the baby were to be born now. (Which won't happen. I'm just sayin'.) Bean's eyes can open now, as well, so we can start playing with the baby like we do with the cat, shining a light on Mommy's belly and playing chase. Not that we'd ever treat the baby like a cat.

Family: practicing our birthing relaxations, trying to slow down and just spend time together, trying to get enough sleep, still making time to read to one another - so far, mostly us to the Bean. On tap for tonight? "Le Petit Nicolas." After the Sox game, that is.

Quote of the Day

For weeks now, M. has been letting me know whenever the Bean kicks by saying "blip!" After all, I can't have my hand on her belly all the time. But yesterday, all that changed. The baby still kicks, M. still lets me know, but it's not "blip" anymore.

"KA-POW!"

Graduation Day!!

Days, actually.

Yesterday was the baccalaureate service at Memorial Church. Lovely service, really, and completely true to Harvard Divinity School. Multicultural, multi-religious, multi-lingual... it was great.

Greatest of all? Hanging out with friends afterwards, of course.

Robes only, no hoods or caps, since the actual graduation would be the following day.

Look at the bump!

Introducting friends to family was pretty great, too:

There were plenty more friends and family, but I don't have pics yet - my camera didn't actually see much action these past couple of days. More to come, soon!

As for today, when I didn't have my camera at all (again, more to come), suffice to say that it was.... A LOT OF PEOPLE.

Morning exercises, sitting with my classmates. Yes, we wore pipe-cleaner halos. Or horns. Depended on preference. This is looking up towards the dais, where faculty and distinguished guests were, um... milling.

Afternoon Exercises:

That little speck in yellow? The President of Harvard University. At this point graduates don't get preferred seating. From where M. and I were sitting, the following is pretty much what we saw - some faraway people-like specks and jumbotron images that don't photograph well.

Our current Secretary of Energy is far cuter than this picture implies.

Today was long, beginning with a 5am wake-up call, but it was lovely - it became warm and sunny as we sat in Harvard Yard (not as much fun as it sounds, considering the yards of black polyester and velvet we were wearing), and since Wynton Marsalis was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music, we got to hear renditions of "America the Beautiful" and, for a benediction, "When the Saints Go Marching In". Phenomenal. And now it's 7pm, which I'm pretty sure makes it bedtime.