Baby boy balloons were everywhere. I remember being obsessed with the tiny plastic babies, safety pins, and bottles for shower decor when I was little. Could I really be having my own baby shower?
The food presentation was still in progress. Sarah's boyfriend, Adam, is a chef, and he was happily busy slicing and arranging. These adorable little signs awaited.
A cupcake tower (gasp!) and a platter of favors (egg-shaped Jordan almonds with "nesting" feathers on the boxes) were first to grace the confetti-strewn table. I've eaten many grand meals at this table as well as lots of casual, chatty pizza dinners.
That's in honor of our baby. Three people at the shower mentioned this blog. I think it's pretty cool that something I started for funsies helps our family stay connected to us and know us.
Here are beautiful caprese kabobs (grape tomatoes and mozzarella) beside a photo of Josh and Sarah as littles.
Little shrimp with cocktail sauce curled beside caprese on ciabatta bread (grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, oil, and basil). I remember one Christmas in the mountains. Josh and I arrived at night after everyone else. Susan made simple pizza from scratch, and as she did so, she cut me a piece of fresh mozzarella. Oh my. I hadn't had it before. Is the taste or the texture more magical? In any case, this veggie head item (Sarah is a vegetarian as well, so the spread had a nice balance) may have been my favorite.
My mom said that these lime cups appeared to be pregnant with lots of berry babies.
Cracker, cheese, and grape goodness.
Aren't single-color M&Ms sweet? I swiped this precious sign.
Yes, those are tiny baby footprints on the mints.
Susan did assure us that this would not be a "nuts and mints" party, but we didn't see this coming. The nutty bruschetta didn't appear in the photos, but oh my.
Near the center are little chicken salad sandwiches. I couldn't believe anything was left for seconds.
These are just some of the gifts. After the feast, Josh and I settled into the designated chairs (lemonade on hand for my powerful thirst) and got started.
Oliver is going to be a well-dressed little man.
*Zach's (Josh's brother's) girlfriend, Tina: navy Polo onesie, a Polo shirt, Polo khaki shorts, and sporty socks.
*Grammy and Grampy: tiny red high tops, turtle onesies, a monkey outfit, and several little funny phrase body suits.
*Sarah and her boyfriend, Adam: "muscles" octopus onesie, Mickey onesie, and rock and roll themed socks.
*Hannah, Josh's cousin: navy onesie with leggings.
*Judy (Josh's aunt) and her son, Caleb: sock set, fall color and monkey-themed onesies with leggings, and tiny monkey sandals all in that cute Dr. Seuss bag.
*Zach: tiny Nike hat.
Oliver will have warm little feet. The clothes range from newborn to nine months, so he'll be set for a while! I have a lot of tiny laundry to do, and I can't wait to organize the clothes by size in the wardrobe drawers.
(Image: http://www.topit.me/item/901379)
He also got some fun little bits and totally necessary items.
*Grammy and Grampy: Pooh teething ring, rubber duckie, baby lotion, and four packages of diapers in various sizes (one N, two 1, and one 2).
*Marmee and Papa: super fancy breast pump (I was so scared no one would buy this since it's very expensive and very awkward...cue Mama! I had Josh open this. Now, I can feed my baby after I go back to work), bra pads, milk storage and freezing containers, and a set of five bottles. A surprise: the adorable Twilight Turtle! He projects stars onto the ceiling. Josh and I had swooned over him in a magazine and then saw him with Mom at Target. She remembered! She also found something astonishing at Michaels: little items (tiny tissue box, emery boards, notepad, and cards) with a new Mary Engelbreit design of a curly-headed baby boy riding a seahorse. "It's Oliver," she said. It absolutely is, and we nearly died of the cuteness. We also must find every available product with the image. See him here.
*Katie, Josh's cousin: a pre-decorated photo scrapbook. All we have to do is slip in the photos! That will be easy for the bleary days, weeks, and months following our little prince's arrival.
*Rachel, Josh's cousin: a precious plush baby Tigger.
*Grandpa and Patty (Greg's dad and his wife): a beautiful black and white high chair which will look so nice with the black table and chairs.
*Sarah and Adam: a blue baby tub, complete with bath toys and a thermometer. Squeal.
*Grandmom and Granddaddy (Susan's parents): the convertible carseat Oliver will use until he weighs 65 pounds and moves to a booster.
*Grammy and Grampy: a super play yard with a bassinet and changing station. This will be beside our bed and will be Oliver's sleeping spot until I return to work (or later, depending on his daddy's cooperation). It has little bees on it.
So we can now feed, dress, transport, change, bathe, and tuck in (not literally, of course) our baby. Basically all the big items are set except the crib mattress and bedding. The other most important items are the nursing pillow, the Boppy, the diaper...disposer?, the monitor, the bottle sterilizer (that no dishwasher issue makes it important!), and the adorable Puj, which makes bathing tiny babies in the sink easy (Josh keeps saying "But what about the Puj?? We need it!" I think the adorable baby on the product page and the fact that the word is so fun to say may contribute to his anxiety. We're probably saying it wrong anyway). I also want to make sure we have a coat for Oliver since he'll be just a few months old when the cold settles in (I registered for this one). But thanks to our incredibly generous family, we've reached the point that we have very few "There's no way we could ever buy that" absolute necessities. Isn't the number of items a tiny creature needs amazing? And that's not counting all the fun or convenient bits like swings and doorway jumpers.
Mom is planning the Charlotte shower with church friends for the end of next month. I'm amazed at how much people (and how many people) want to support us and welcome our baby. Now, I just need to go to Target and get some of those achingly cute baby shower thank you cards I've always wanted to buy because they were so clearly baby shower, and I thought I'd never have a baby shower.
Wow, what a shower! Your baby is READY! :) xo
ReplyDelete