Some Assembly Required

Of course Mark's job started when we returned from our showers.  We had an SUV packed front to back, top to bottom of baby gear.  I even felt guilty giving Ruby only a few feet of room for the drive back.  Thankfully, she made it :)

While I still had all the receipts in tact, Mark wanted to assemble the big ticket items to make sure all the pieces were included and not damaged in any way. 

First was the pack 'n' play.  Not too hard - if you read the directions.  While I completely understand that Mark can look at something and completely "get" how it all fits together, sometimes the instructions are important.  Had he listened to me,  he wouldn't have had to restart the process multiple times.  But it turned out great, I learned to how to fold up and assemble, and everything worked on it!  Ruby was a little afraid of it at first, but now that it's sitting in our basement and she walks by it, she's completely used to it!

Next was the stroller.  This was a little more complicated.  Mark listened to me and let me read him the instructions while he followed the steps.  This would have worked out perfectly if the instructions contained words and not just really hard to determine diagrams with random "SNAP" and "CLICK" words.  Oh well - it got assembled pretty quickly and correctly :)  I learned how to use the brakes,  check and tighten the wheels, and of course fold it in half.  Super easy to work and I'm so glad we picked this one.  Love it!

The car seat was last.  Of course we didn't need to assemble much, but rather read a ton of safety instructions and learn how to use the little gadgets.  How to tighten the straps easily, adjust the padding as your baby gets bigger, attach it to the stroller safely, and of course attach it to the base  properly in the car.  Mark headed off to the SUV to install the seat.  It seemed more difficult that I ever thought.  Kudos to him for sticking with it and trying multiple approaches until he got it right.  I think I'll still make an appointment to  have it checked for safety - this is our first time and we're not sure if we did it properly.  And of course why mess with your baby's safety!

It was a fun night together - envisioning putting our baby in all this stuff.  And of course watching Mark do what he does best!  Because if I would have had to do it by myself, I probably wouldn't have any hair left on my head :)