Nursery

Nursery

The nursery is just about finished. We are awaiting Addison(obviously) but we are also awaiting A D D I S O N, as in the 7 letters that will be hung above her crib. As soon as the UPS man (what can brown do for you) delivers those special letters, we will hang 'em and be 'done' with the baby's room!

Our good friend and co-worker, Meg Walton, provided us with the calligraphy above. She dabbles in it a bit and does an awesome job! I do not think the photos do her work justice. The letters are 3-6 inched long and she does it all free hand! It added a wonderful personal touch to Addison's room. Thank you Meg!!

PREGO IV

Baby Showers!!

Steph and Melissa

Melissa and I were very grateful to have two baby showers over the past few weeks. Our first one was on June 10th here in NJ. It was put on by Melissa's long time friend Stephanie Brown, along with her mom, Barb, and step-mom, AnnMarie. There were a lot of family and friends and the amount of gifts was overwhelming. Not to mention the amount of pink! =]

The Ohio Shower - More Pink!!

Our second shower was in Ohio on June 24th. This was hosted by my gracious mom, Bonnie, and sister, Beth. A lot of friends and family from my side were present. The guests included my 2nd and 3rd grade teachers, and real treat for me and for them. With me now being a teacher, I have an idea of how they feel seeing me, knowing how I feel when I see my former students. Of course, none of my former pupils are 30, so I can only connect with them to a small degree. =]

Again, the amount of gifts was overwhelming!!! Melissa and I feel very blessed to have so many friends and family members who are willing to help us out as we prepare for Addison. Melissa has been busy the last few days writing thank yous, but I do not know how we can ever fully express our gratitude...thank you to all of you! Melissa and I truly appreciate all of your help and support!

Miss Manning(3rd grade), Joe, and Mrs. Duff(2nd grade)

Shower Cakes

NJ Cake

Ohio Cake

Prego III

The following are 'pictures' from our last ultrasound.

At the time of these pictures Addison was 23 weeks and just over one pound.

"Get your thumb out of your mouth, young lady!!"

C U T E =]

Profile

Cuddling with her foot

Nap Time

Things are going really well here. Melissa is doing great and we are still very excited as we await the arrival of Addison Grace Canney!!

Hairspray

Melissa and I recently traveled to NYC to see the show Hairspray on Broadway. I bought Melissa tickets for her birthday.

On Saturday(3/31) we headed up for our trip. We drove to Newark, NJ and took the train into the city. Subway riding is always an experience - but I love it. I would use public transportation on a daily basis if I could. By three we were checked into our hotel and began to site see.

We had no set agenda. We just roamed around and took in the city. We visited the NYC public library, which was amazing.

After a bit, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the 8pm show.

We then were off the show. The theater was a little less than I expected. I thought it would be larger and have a more formal feel. However, the show FAR exceeded my expectations. It was amazing - the acting, the props, stage, everything - it was awesome. Melissa and I had a great time!

After the show we took in a few more sights.

And then called it a night. The next day we did some more sight seeing. I headed to Central Park to run, but my foot was bothering me, so I decided to walk around. There was a race about to start - a 10K, Scotland Run. I watched as they started the race - there was a lot of runners. It was neat to see. I then went back to the hotel and Melissa and I headed out together. We decided we wanted to go the the WTC site again. We were there 5 months after 9/11 and now it is 5 years. It was interesting to see the progress/development.

We had a fabulous weekend, despite Melissa being attacked...by a bird.

NYC is always interesting to visit. I enjoy it and think I would have liked living there briefly when I was younger.

Before we left, we made sure to eat a dog from a street vendor.

And then headed home...

Nursery Surprise

Melissa was out of town for the weekend for a wedding shower, thus I decided to surprise her by painting the nursery. I could not have done it without helpo, though...so I entrusted my co-worker Lisa to 'help' me. Help as in tell me what the heck to do, because I have not painted in a few decades - I was clueless.

Lisa the Leader

We knew what Melissa wanted - pink and brown, separated by a chair rail. However, it was a bit tricky. Lisa came over around 2 and we went to work...buying paint and supplies, prepping the room and finally beginning to paint.

Things went great and we knocked out the nursery in a day!

Melissa was happy and very surprised!

Gender Day 2007

Yes! It is daddy's little girl!!!

On March 12th we had our 2nd ultrasound. We decided we wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl. We also decided that we wanted to celebrate when we found out.

'We' decide that we would have the ultrasound tech write down the gender and put it in an envelope without revealing it to us. 'We' then decided to go to dinner where we would privately and quietly find out whether we were having a boy or a girl.

Little did Melissa know that my wheels were turning. I decided to surprise her with a Gender Party!! When we arrived at the restaurant there was about a dozen friends and family waiting for us. We ate, fellow shipped and opened THE ENVELOPE!!

It was a great night. We took votes before we opened the envelope. The final wotes were 12 voted girl, 10 votes boy - majority rules!-)

We are very excited as we await the arrival of Addison Grace Canney in July or August

Track

I have officially begun my career as a track official. I went through training over the winter and I am now working area high school meets. I enjoy it, and get paid, so it is fun.
Today was my third meet. The other two were good learning experiences, as I was paired with another official. Today the Starter said "you got the high jump." I have never worked the high jump, and I have never had more than a passing glance of a high jump competition. I do not think it took long for the girls to realize I was a newbie. After some warm ups, I got the girls ready and glanced down at the roster of jumpers. My last two were named Mildred and Bertha. Ah...the joys of working with high school kids. I got a good laugh out of it.

Prego I

Prego II

Well I figured it is time to start to try to keep this Blog up to date. As many of you know, Melissa and I are expecting! We are due August 10th. Melissa had a rough few weeks, but she is feeling much better now. We have been doing a lot of planning, saving and preparing. We are very excited and words cannot express how we feel right now.

SURPRISE!

Dirty Pop

On Oct 28th my wonderful wife threw a very surprising surprise birthday party for me. I was extremely shocked, but the shock wore away quickly with the opportunity to visit and celebrate with so many family and friends.

Words cannot express how happy and touched I was to see everyone. I think at least 13 people had come from out of state. My buddy Saul and his wife Michele have already sent some photos, a few of which I have posted here.

I had been praying and hoping for a party. Needless to say, my prayers were answered. Melissa had done enough 'stuff' to keep me off guard...I did not expect a party. Thus, I was overcomed by everyone that was there. I had a hard time keeping my emotions inside, which was fine by me.

The Canney Clump

Thank you to everyone! I appreciate your coming and your gifts.

If you were unable to attend, clear your calendar for October 2016!

POP QUIZ:

Identify the Canney

A. Jim on left, Joe on right

B. Joe on left, Jim on right

C. They are both Joe

D. They are both Jim