Donovan's Nursery

Josh and I knew that whether we had a boy or a girl, we wanted to do a modern, eclectic surf theme in the baby's room. We both love the beach, and now that we live a little further away from it than we did when we lived in San Diego, we wanted our baby to experience the joy of the ocean, sun, and sand...a little closer to home. We hope that Donovan loves his room--and surfing as much as his Daddy does!

Above: The photo above the mirrored closet doors is from one of Josh's surfing magazines that I cut and have been saving for almost two years now. It's a photo of an English Bull Dog (one of Josh's favorite breeds) chewing on a fin of a surfboard. We kept it knowing it would be so cute framed and put in our baby's room someday.

I want to thank Josh and my little sister Yoli for helping me paint the baby's room a couple of months ago! Thank you to Grammy SuSu and Papa for picking up this awesome Pottery Barn furniture I found on Craigslist for CHEAP in San Diego!
Above: A neat little art piece that Josh spotted when we were in Kauai last month. The cool thing is that 1.) we got it in the place we took our honeymoon; our favorite island in Hawaii, and 2.) it depicts a Hawaiian daddy surveying the surf with his boy.

Above: The triptych mural on the wall is a painting that our friend Daniel Furukawa did for the baby. We love it! We gave Daniel a few photos of what we had in mind and he took it to a whole other level! Written on the lip of the wave are the words "I have loved you with an everlasting.... love." "Love" is embedded in the sun. This a scripture from Jeremiah 31:3 in the Bible.

Above: I found these birds on my trip to Israel in May, in the heart of Jerusalem. The onesies I spotted in the gift shops throughout the trip were cute, but I knew Donovan would outgrow one fast, and I really wanted him to have something from the Holy Land that would really last forever. Josh and I fashioned them into a mobile we hung above the changing table.

Donovan thanks you for checking out his room! :)

Nearly 30 weeks!

I can't believe I've only got 10 weeks to go before I get to meet my son! It's amazing how much I love him and I haven't even met him yet. According to the books, at 29.5 weeks he's about 2.75 lbs. now, and his movements are so strong and distinct! The flutters have turned into full on belly-warping activity and Beckham-like kicks. I can definitely feel when he's pushing his head or butt up or turning, and I have felt limbs. He stills wakes up and does a slightly more restricted "happy dance" whenever I eat. We haven't seen hands and feet on the surface of my skin yet, as some people describe.

Strangers are able to tell I'm pregnant now, which is cool, but say I'm so small for seven months. At least I know that they don't think I've just got a gut, haha! My belly button is still an "inny," but I'm sure Donovan will take care of that soon!

Josh and I can't wait to see our little guy. We are also cherishing these last two and a half months we have of it being just the two of us, but we talk and dream about what he will be like and how our lives are going to be different.

I thank the Lord every day for this miracle and His amazing blessings. For me, there's no denying His presence and His goodness and His hand in our lives. "For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." - Psalm 139:13-14

Donovan's cousin Sienna's Music Video Premiere

Aloha, baby!

Josh and I went with Norm and Sue to Kauai a couple of weeks ago for a relaxing little vacation. It was neat because our honeymoon was in Kauai nearly five years ago (our wedding anniversary is August 23) and I never thought we'd be back with a bun in the oven and with Josh's parents getting to show them a few of our favorite places! We stayed in a condo right on the water near Poipu (South shore) where sea turtles swam up to the rocks every evening. I just had to buy Donovan a little sea turtle stuffed animal to go with his beach themed room and to remind him one day that he was in Kauai with Mommy and Daddy!

Baby is 29 weeks today and I am officially in my seventh month of pregnancy and loving it!

Showered with Love

On Saturday July 12, my dear friends here in L.A. County threw Baby Donovan and me an amazing and unforgettable shower!

Melissa, Daphne, Miriam, Carla, and Ashley (listed in order of appearance in photo #2 above, from left to right) put together the cutest, most creative "Jungle Babies" theme, with sophisticated tropical flowers as the centerpieces, safari fabrics and netting, adorable labels for everything, and even baby monkey, giraffe, and elephant stuffed animals peeking out from various locations. The baby shower was held in a big room in our church.

My sweet little party planning committee had some of the guest personalize/decorate baby onesies, beanies, and shirts beforehand, and when I arrived, they were hanging from the ceiling on clothes pins and twine. One of my favorites was the little shirt shown in the last photo that my friend Jenny painted that has a globe and the verse John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son; that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." Precious!

Baby Donovan was showered with gifts and received a lot of cool stuff! Opening all of these CUTE baby accessories, furniture, and clothes makes our baby's imminent arrival more "real." What was surreal (kind of like on your wedding day) was the fact that I was the pregnant lady at her baby shower... I'm the pregnant lady. I'm about to have a baby. I'm going to be a mom. WOW! There's no turning back now, haha!

Guests got to take home baggies of sweet treats from these fabulous candy bins, complete with little ties that read, "Can't wait to meet you. Love, Donovan." :o)

Thank you, my wonderful friends, for such an amazing day! I am still beaming just thinking about it. Your hard work and creativity was so evident, as is your incredible love for me and your little soon-to-be nephew.

Introducing...

Several of my friends guessed the name right away...you little geniuses you! So, the suspense is over. We are naming our son...drum roll please:

Donovan Briggs Merrill

Donovan means "dark haired, darke skinned warrior" and we just really like the name. Briggs is a Merrill family name. It is Josh's grandmother's maiden name, and his and his dad's middle name.

Pretty cool, huh?

Acceptable nicknames: Dono (i.e. "dawn-oh") or Van
Nicknames no-no's: Don or Donnie.

The Name Game

Josh and I chose a name for our baby...but we are going to play a little game before we reveal it to you. (I know exactly who's cringing right now. Hey, our baby, our name, our rules, heh heh heh!) A few of you already know it, so don't spoil it for the rest...

I'm going to give you several clues. You can leave your guess or ask a question by using the "Comment" button below. Your clues for today are:

Landon
Restaurant
Eagles but formerly Syracuse
Not biblical

The clues will get easier as we go along...

P.S. Baby Merrill turned 25 weeks on Sunday and is moving A LOT!