Baby Shower in Hudson Bay

The ladies from St. Patrick's Church here in Hudson Bay put on a co-ed shower for us earlier this week. A few of the guys told us it was their first-ever baby shower. (Isn't little Anastasia hospitable already?)

Here are the gifts that Anastasia received...

Stacey and Mya brought this cute elephant toy & blanket combo, along with the tie-dye-style hat. They know that the Golding Page household is a colourful one! :-)

Iola brought this gift of practical items that Baby will need.

Michelle gave us this frame (perfect for amateur photographers like us) and a pretty outfit. Don't you wish Carters made clothing for Big People, too?

Leah and family brought Anastasia a rubber ducky (everyone needs one, right?) and these books. They must know we are a bookish bunch...

Ray, Karen and Tyler gave Anastasia these nice little ensembles. Again, don't you wish the baby clothes manufacturers also made clothes for adults?

Lynne and Neil brought this book to keep school memories in - Julie had one of these as a child and loved looking at it as she grew up. And Lynne cross-stitched some personalized bibs for Baby, too.

Shirley gave Anastasia this beautiful bear blanket. We think it was homemade, making it even more special! Maybe Shirley will confirm that for us...

Kathy brought this sleeper and doggie book-toy. Everyone at the shower had to try out the toy, so it is already a hit!

Gifts were wrapped in all sorts of fancy papers and bags. Here is a selection of a few of them...

But back to the gifts...Anastasia also received some presents in the form of money, from Henry, Sandra, Paul, Caron, Dora, Joyce, Rob, Rae, Cheryl and Madison. Now she can start her own bank account. :-)

Laurel brought this corduroy suit (just right for the coming autumn), plus a pretty hooded towel.

Lexy, Harold and Chandra gave Anastasia this handsome outfit. It's so nice to see blue, as it's very unusual to find anything blue for a girl.

Ida and David brought this lovely patterned sweater, made in Peru. Don't you love the fun pattern?

And last but not least, Gail & Jeanette gave us a whole bin of items, both decorative and practical. How many different things can you find and name in the photo?

Gifts from Australia, Norway, Croatia, Germany, Indiana, Oklahoma & Saskatchewan

More gifts have arrived for Anastasia, from all over the world! Here are some of them...

Teri & Dave in Australia sent these pretty sleepers.

Ase-Grete in Norway sent a package that included these nifty items and more.

And Ivona in Croatia sent this handsome Noah's Ark cushion cover.

Tanja and Rudolf in Germany sent this kit, to make hand and foot impressions for baby to see later.

Julie's cousins Kim, Jimmy, Kyler, Mariah and Griffin in Indiana sent this Noah's Ark wall hanging and a blanket personalized with Anastasia's name.

Donna and Brian in Oklahoma are looking after Baby's teeth:

And Merv & Brenda from Arborfield (Saskatchewan) brought this package full of goodies.

Stay tuned over the next week for a glimpse of the gifts from our two baby showers, happening this week in Hudson Bay and Arborfield...

Gifts from the Middle East, Europe & Canada

Here are the newly arrived gifts for Anastasia from the past week:

Our friend, Efrat, sent this handmade wall hanger from Israel. Note the Noah's Ark theme. :-)

And our friend, Asta - short for Anastasia; great name, eh? - sent a package that included these colourful, whimsical gifts.

Vronica from Holland send these funky knit booties, and Georgie & Charlie in New Brunswick sent the hand-knit mittens.

Jocelyn and Carole in New Brunswick sent this assortment of pretty togs.

And Julie's mum & dad, Nancy and Gary, brought this selection of clothing with them on their first visit with Anastasia this week, all the way from New Brunswick.

Shirley in New Brunswick made and sent this beautiful, tied quilt. The polar bear motif is particularly appropriate, since Hudson Bay is one of the stops for the train headed to the polar bear capital of Canada - Churchill, Manitoba. Our street name is Churchill, too.

Liz, Barry and Daniel in Alberta sent these gifts. The Noah's Ark blanket has Anastasia's name, birth date and weight embroidered onto it. And little Daniel thought of Anastasia while he was on holiday at Disney - and he brought her back this pink T-shirt. Wasn't that sweet and thoughtful of him?

Closer to home, Munden & Linda, from Arborfield (Saskatchewan), gave Anastasia this fuzzy fleece suit. Now she's ready for autumn! :-)

And last but not least, this little outfit and teddy are from Sis in Hudson Bay.

Gifts from Europe, USA & Canada

Another busy gift week for Anastasia - what a popular gal! Here's what arrived from friends far & near this week...

Carole in Luxembourg sent this beautiful towel, embroidered with a Noah's Ark print and Anastasia's name.

And Birgit in Germany sent this fun doggie-themed gift.

Then a handmade receiving blanket arrived from Elizabeth in Louisiana. Check out the detail of the Noah's Ark print:

Julie's aunt, Ruby, in New Brunswick, sent a whole boxful of lovely (and super-colourful!) things. A small sample is in the photo below.

Also from New Brunswick, Steve's aunt, Gladys, sent this pretty little lamb toy.

And friends from Alberta - Kim, Alan, Liam, Fiona, Callum & Alanna - generously sent us a ton of great stuff in several boxes. Here is just a tiny fraction of what we received.

Not to be left out of the celebration of Anastasia's birth, several people here in Saskatchewan dropped off gifts this week, too. First, Gloria from Hudson Bay came by with this nice assortment of presents, including the cozy, furry blanket that serves as the photo backdrop.

Reta & Josh from Hudson Bay and Harold & Rosemarie from Arborfield brought these pretty pink gifts.

And Donna & Garry from Arborfield gave Anastasia these yellow-themed clothing items and her very first doll.

Gifts from Hungary, New Brunswick, Ontario & Saskatchewan

Another busy gift week for Anastasia - see how tired it left her! Here's what we picked up at the post office or had dropped off by friends:

This cute little onesie with butterflies on it arrived from Kinga in Hungary.

Julie's cousin, Sarah, husband Pat, and children Jack and Maggie, in New Brunswick, sent a care package of coastal-themed items from their trip to Maine. It was all in honour of Julie & Sarah's shared childhood at New River Beach.

Another cousin of Julie's, Susan in Ontario, sent this elegant box, engraved with Anastasia's name.

Another package arrived from Ontario, this time from Steve's uncle, aunt & cousins - Leon, Nancy, Lisa & Heather. They sent this lovely little outfit.

Their gift, and a few others we've received, came wrapped in this cheery Noah's Ark paper, in honour of our theme for Anastasia's nursery.

Not everything arrived from far away, though. Teena, Raymond and Sarah dropped off this nice parcel here at our home in Hudson Bay.

And the Rev'd Pat & husband Allan, from Melfort, where Anastasia was born, made our daughter this beautiful sweater.

Gifts from Europe, USA & Canada

Anastasia has been receiving so much mail lately, that we've had a hard time blogging it all! Here is more from the past week...

This array of gifts arrived from friends across Europe. The socks are from Ursa in Slovenia; the address labels from Tarja in Finland; and the ornament and Chicco di Felicita from Scila in Italy.

Julie's cousins in Indiana, USA, also sent packages this week. Janice sent this outfit  - but we hope the cheeky saying on it will not come true!

And Janice's daughter, Diana, sent this beautiful snowsuit, perfect for our wintry climate here in northern Saskatchewan.

A number of parcels also arrived from New Brunswick this week. First, one came from Julie's cousin, Amy, and her husband, Nick. It contained this pretty outfit (Julie has always loved brown and pink in combo), plus a classic fairy tale book.

Julie's aunt, Linda (Amy's mum) sent this lovely package, containing a warm, knit dress in an interesting black & white pattern, a cute rattle toy, a book about a baby being born, and a finely crafted set of baby silverware in a seaside theme - very appropriate, considering that we are originally from the coast.

Finally, a package arrived, too, from Julie's aunt, uncle and cousins - Donna, Geordie, Michael & Thomas. It was wrapped carefully in a fancy basket and contained these pretty outfits, plus a book of photos of Julie's aunts, uncles, cousins and grandmother on her mother's side of the family. Now Anastasia can "meet" everyone through pictures, even before she makes the long trip to the east coast!