All's Quiet...For Now

And I'm not talking about the baby (but all is quiet with him for now too!). I'm talking about Toy Fair 2012. As I mentioned here, I was not able to be at the show this year for obvious reasons. So I've been manning my battle station from the comforts of home. But I have to say, it has not been any less stressful than if I had been there.

It was a hectic week and weekend as Toy Fair exhibitors and sponsors moved into the Javits Center for the greatest toy show on earth which began Sunday. My usual role - assist sponsors with set-up of their promotional investment. My role this year - stare at my Blackberry and wait for Rich or Anita to call to give me continual updates on how move-in is going. I've never paid so much attention to a phone in all my life!!

Luckily, between my Type A organization and the amazing skills of my onsite team, everything went off great. Sure there were some snags...will we be able to get the Tegu food truck into the building? Where exactly should we place the 15' Power Ranger statue? Will the App wall work? But all in all, things went very smoothly thanks to the teamwork of Rick and Anita. I can't express to them how much I appreciate their assistance this year!!

So now that the show has started, all is pretty quiet. A little eerie...but normal at the same time. Everyone is all set up and focused on conducting business. So things will stay quiet until Wednesday afternoon when it is time to dismantle. In the mean time, I now stalk Facebook and the Toy Fair website to see all the great happenings at the show.

Oh...and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Wah Wah...

It's official: I will not be at Toy Fair 2012. I've come to terms with it. Well... kind of. It's the right thing to do, but I can't say that I'm not disappointed. With my due date only weeks away, my doctors all agreed that the best thing to do was to sit this one out and not chance going into labor in New York City. I totally get it as I do not want to be the lady that is on the front page of the New York Post with the headline "Woman Gives Birth at the Javits Center". Not cute. But I can't say that I'm happy about it.

Not only is Toy Fair the culmination of a year's worth of work, it is also an opportunity to finally meet and see my clients in person...spend time with my fellow TIA colleagues...see all the friendly faces of the Freeman team...joke around with the Floor Managers otherwise known as "the guys"...and just have FUN. I mean that's what it is all about. It is Toy Fair after all!

Some of the things I'll miss:

1. Hiding out in the Opps Office making candy buckets.
2. Bear hugs from Stella and Sully.
3. Philly cheese steaks from Shorty's.
4. Seeing all the promos in place in the Crystal Palace and North Concourse.
   
5. Smiles on the faces of my clients with the thoughts of "renewal" dancing in their head.
6. The kid in the plexiglass box with the exploding soda bottle.
7. Jim Carney.
   
8. On site purchases because they just "had to have that exposure!"
9. Costumed Characters dancing in the lobby during the Opening Ceremony.
10. "Working" the Shuttle Bus line and getting people to do funny things for restaurant certificates.
11. Being with the TIA team.

Some things I won't miss:

1. The constant chirping of the Nextel devices.
2. The leaky ceiling of the Javits Center that impedes my sponsor's promotion.
3. Achy feet after a long day of walking the floor.
4. Hotel food.
5. Frowns on the faces of my clients with the thoughts of "refund" dancing in their head.

Seems like the "will miss" list is longer which doesn't surprise me, but I know that I've made the right decision for me and the baby. The show will go on without me and I know it will be a HUGE success as it always is. Good luck to all involved in making Toy Fair the best darn toy show in North America. I love you all and will be there with you in spirit!!

With Love, Daddy.

We did something very special for James this past weekend. Let me rephrase. Ed did something very special for James this past weekend. He thought it would be great to buy James a special little cuddly guy that he could hold onto for years to come. And by buy, I mean build. And by build, I mean Build a Bear!

You see, when I was born, my dad bought me a special doll that I still have to this day. So Ed thought he would do the same for James. Off to Build a Bear we went. Being that I'm a child, I LOVE this store. It is filled with smiles and love and I can't get over how cute all the bear options are. Ed is no stranger to this store either. He actually built me a Monkey back in 2006 and gave it to me for our first Christmas together.

Upon arrival he knew that he wanted to get James a stuffed dog. There were a few options including Fudge Pup...

... Black Lab ...

... and Dachshund.

But in the end, we fell in love with Shaggy Pup.

So off to the stuffing machine we went. Ed did the honors and made sure our pup was nice and full. We decided to add a barking sound to his hand and of course Ed kissed the heart and placed it in Shaggy Pup's back. The best part about it (for me at least) was that there was a birthday party going on so Ed was standing in the midst of about fifteen 3-year olds all making their bears!

After we stuffed, it was time to head over to the computers to make the little guy's birth certificate. While we couldn't come up with a name for the little fella' at the time, we now know that he will be called Petey. Here is one happy Daddy!!

We can't wait for James to finally get here so that Ed can give it to him. Not much longer!

MAURICE!!!!!!

You may remember from here, that I have a fixation with a certain stuffed giraffe that currently lives in the TIA office. His name is Maurice and my colleague and good friend Adrienne rescued him from the Melissa & Doug booth during our show in Dallas last Fall. Since he has been in the office, I have lusted over him, telling Adrienne that one of these days, I'm going to steal him for James' nursery.

Well, it looks like robbery is not in my future. Look who was on our door step yesterday:

MAURICE!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't even tell you how excited I am to have this guy in our house and part of our ever-growing family. I went nuts...seriously. Ask Ed. As soon as we took him out of the packaging I hugged him and then called Adrienne. I knew she was behind it and needed to thank her profusely. Turns out it is not the TIA office Maurice, but instead, our very own sent from the offices of Melissa & Doug.

Thank you Adrienne for making me smile bigger than I have it a while. And thank you Melissa & Doug for not only producing this adorable guy, but for sending one to James (and me). What a great industry I work for!!!

A Surprise in the Day

I don't know that there is anything more exciting than opening your front door and finding this box on the porch:

Well, I guess maybe seeing Ed McMahon's replacement from Publishers Clearinghouse with a big check trumps this, but it is pretty darn exciting for a girl to see a box of ProFlowers waiting for her.

I tore through the box (as any sane pregnant lady would) to see who the generous giver of the flowers was. Low and behold...it was my wonderful sister, Suzy Q.

She has been worried about me in my final stages of pregnancy and wanted me to know that she was thinking of me. HOW FREAKIN SWEET IS THAT!!!

Thank you, Sue, for the beautiful roses and for brightening up my day. You are the best sister a girl can ask for and I love you VERY much!!!

Click, Click, Click, Flash

This past weekend, we did something very special with a very special person. The very special thing: Pregnancy Belly Photo Session. The very special person: Ms. Beth Belluzzo.

I've referenced Beth before here, but to recap, she is my very best girl friend that I met back at JMU freshman year. She is gorgeous both inside and out and is the best gal pal a girl can ask for. She is hilarious, successful and one of the best darn amateur photographers I know. When asked if she would take some photos of our family with the baby belly, she jumped at the opportunity which made me love her that much more. It takes a truly wonderful person to agree to give up several hours on a Sunday afternoon to take photos of a big fat belly. It takes an even more incredible person to drive from Arlington to Centreville to do it!

After assessing the best place for natural light in the house we got started and just had loads of fun. We took some in the bedroom...

...and then some in the baby's room.

We hit the lower deck...

... and the upper deck.

The living room made the shoot...

...and we even managed to grab some in the snow.

All in all, the photos came out great - we couldn't be happier. But the best part was spending time with such a great friend. Thank you so much Poochie Girl!!! We love you tons and truly appreciate your friendship. For a peek at the rest of the shoot, check it out here.

Whoa

While I was in NY last week, my loving husband went all out and put together all the great stuff we got at the baby shower last weekend. So this...

...became this...

...and this...

...and this.

The house became a smaller version of Buy Buy Baby thanks to the generosity of our friends and family (thank you all again!!).

My original Cabbage Patch Kid, Julianna Vanya, got to get some action as did Lots-O-Huggin' Bear. They are just place holders of course, but that didn't stop Lucy from checking them out.

Talk about being prepared. :)