#header-inner {background-position: center !important; width: 100% !important;}

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Odds & Ends: Baby Shower Edition

Pin It
odds and ends

Today instead of my usual template for an Odds & Ends post, I want to take a minute to talk about the baby showers I've had over the past few weeks. I haven't gone too crazy sharing about my pregnancy on the blog (at least I don't think I have!) and haven't been posting weekly bump pictures or anything (heck, I haven't even been taking weekly bump pictures!), but the showers thrown for me were too special to go without mentioning!
baby it's cold outside
First up, was a shower in Wisconsin, thrown by some of our dear family friends. I grew up in Wisconsin and have a lot of family and friends there still, so it was wonderful to see people I only see a few times a year, if that. The theme was "Baby It's Cold Outside!", and boy did the weather fit the theme! The shower was actually a mere one day before the Polar Vortex swooped in and there was already quite a chill in the air. Things were toasty warm inside, with adorable snowflake decorations, hot cocoa favors, and cupcakes topped in orange and turquoise (our nursery colors!). The shower guests filled out pages with advice for both Ryan and me, which we've had a blast reading! The highlight was seeing my best friend from childhood; we grew up like sisters and leaving her was one of the hardest parts of moving in 7th grade. Since then, we've only seen each other a handful of times, but we never fail to pick up right where we left off!
you are my sunshine
Less than twenty-four hours later, I was back in Illinois for a shower that my mom and another good family friend threw. This time, the theme "You are My Sunshine" did its best to counteract the terrible weather that had started to set in! After spending the week prior to the shower at home and watching my mom secretively hard at work for days, I was not surprised by how elaborately done this shower was. Plus, have you met my mom? She was born to party plan! Yellow and black everything covered the house, right down to homemade napkin rings, embroidered baby onesies and hats, and sunshine cake pops. I chowed down on lunch full of my favorites amongst some of our dearest friends before being showered with generosity in the gift department. My bump size was guesstimated via the string game and ambitious guests participated in the baby pool---people are pretty split on gender, but everyone's quite convinced I'll deliver late AND to a pretty small baby (spoiler alert--baby is measuring right at 50% still!).

baby cake
Last week I had the pleasure of celebrating Baby M with my coworkers over cake and presents. Again, I was touched by the generosity of my friends at work, who have been nothing been supportive and encouraging since I announced my pregnancy. I still can't believe I'll be "off" for 3 months, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to it a little bit... (even though I know the job that awaits me at home will be entirely more difficult!)
sprinkled with love

Finally last Saturday, my sister threw me a shower here in St. Louis with the help of my fabulous sisters-in-law and mother-in-law. Julia once again proved she is my mother's daughter by blowing everyone out of the water with her homemade decorations depicting her "Sprinkled with Love" theme. Unsurprisingly, the refreshments did not disappoint--my sisters-in-law Kate and Erin outdid themselves with the desserts, the highlight being the sprinkle cake! My cousin and one of my best friends, Ashlyn, made the trek all the way from Orlando to join me for the shower. It was so special to be in a room with so many friends from different walks of life coming together to celebrate the joy and anticipation of this sweet baby of ours.

Now with just about four weeks to go, I'm soaking every moment up. Baby McLaury has everything he/she could want or need. The linens and clothing have been washed. The car seat is getting installed and inspected later today. The nursery is nearly finished (more on that in a future post!). Everyone warns you how much your life will change, and as much as we are so ready and excited for those changes, I am also enjoying time with our family and friends, who have showered us with love and friendship not just in celebration of Baby M, but for as long as we've known them! I could not be more thankful for the blessing of people who have been put in our lives!

One Year Ago: Vegetable Minestrone with Pesto
Two Years Ago: Slow Cooker Balsamic Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Three Years Ago: Buffalo Chicken Cheese Bites
Four Years Ago: Thai Turkey Burgers