Showered

Today was the baby shower for my side of the family and friends.  So many people came and we are so blessed!  Here are a few pictures from today.

Maya really likes this toy.  It's a My Pal Violet, and when I push the hands and feet, it talks and sings.  Maya will look at it and turn her head to the side, then try to bite at it.  It ought to be real fun to keep her away from all of the baby's toys!

Thank you to everyone who came and showered us with gifts.  We are so thankful and we are so blessed to have so many great people in our lives!

Baby Shower

My amazing sister-in-law threw me a fabulous baby shower today.  She started planning back at Thanksgiving, and when she came into town over Christmas, completed the remainder of it.  Once I heard that she wasn't going to be coming to the shower, I put my foot down and insisted on flying her up here so that she could be a part of what she planned.  It just didn't seem right that she did all of that work and then not be able to enjoy it.  So, Drew and I picked her up from the airport yesterday, and we just got back from dropping her back off there.  Yes, it was quite a quick trip.  But, the shower was amazing!

My sister was in charge of taking pictures, and she did a great job.  I have about a gabillion to choose from, but since I'm sure you don't want to be bored looking at all of them, I'll just share some that have a little story.

Drew's grandma gave me this quilt and told me that it was made by some women down in Florida where we like to go and vacation.

Drew's aunt made me a "Hooter Hider".  I'll use this when I nurse or pump if I'm in public and need to cover myself.  She also made one for Jessica when she had her baby shower and I loved it, so I am very honored that she made one for me.  I love that fabric that she chose!

This bag was filled with diapers and some baby wash and lotion and was a gift from Drew's cousin that lives in Africa.  This bag is crocheted from plastic bags!  Yes, plastic bags!!!  I was amazed when his aunt told me this.  There is a flower on the front of the bag that you can tell is made from plastic bag material, but you'd never be able to guess that the bag is made from plastic bags.  I love it!

This was one of Drew's quilts when he was a baby.  It amazes me what his mother has kept all these years. I think that Drew's daughter will love laying on there and looking at all the colors.

The cake matched the invitation perfectly!

We were showered with so many great gifts and our little lady is definitely spoiled!  We are so, so grateful!

Busy Weekend

I had a very busy weekend.  On Saturday, Drew and I went to his cousin's wedding.

Brad, who is Drew's cousin and was the photographer for our wedding, was the photographer for this wedding.  It was great to catch up with him.  The ceremony was at a beautiful church in Aurora.  I think it was one of the quickest ceremonies I have ever seen.  No complaints here though!

After the ceremony, there was a receiving line.  We met the bride's parents for the first time.  When Drew introduced me to her mom, she said, "Well, you look like you're about 12".  I know that people don't mean it bad, but it really is rather insulting.  People could at least say that I look legal :)

The reception was held at a beautiful golf club.  We were dubbed the "cool table" and we really had a great group of people.  They were all new people and we definitely made new friends.

This is Charlotte, me, and Ali.  Charlotte and Ali are from Tennessee and Ali has known Rob (the groom) for many years.  Rachel and her husband, Noah, were also at our table.  Seriously, such fun people.  During dinner, I decided to try a little White Zinfandel, basically because the color of it looked pretty.  Who knew that it tasted so good!?!  I had three glass of wine that night, which is about two more glasses than I usually have.  I was feeling good!

I looked over during dinner and saw Ibrahim snuggled up on Brad.  He was so sleepy and looked adorable trying to sleep.

Sunday, I went to Amanda's baby shower.  I'm lame, and didn't take any pictures.  Frankly, it was hard for me.  I really hope that I'm at least pregnant at the next baby shower that I attend.

The other Drew is in town this week with his family, so after the shower, I met up with everybody (Drew was already with them) and we hung out for awhile.  Emma is talking up a storm and I can't believe that she's going to be 2 in a couple of months.  Where does the time go?

Baby Shower Wreath

Since I'm sure that everybody would like to know how to make the absolutely adorable wreath that I made for some decoration for Jessica's shower, I thought I'd share the instructions with you. Want to hear a confession about how I found this wreath? The mail person accidentally left our neighbor's Woman's World magazine in our mailbox a few weeks ago. I decided to flip through it before taking it back to her. Totally illegal, I know. But that's how I stumbled across this little gem. (And don't flame me, I would never open mail or anything, and I usually take it right over to the neighbor's house, it just happened to be raining this day.) Anyways, I knew right away that I just had to make this for Jess's shower.

So, I used all of these blankets and toys. Well, most of them anyways.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 16" Styrofoam wreath
• DecoArt acrylic paint in Taffy Cream (I didn't use this exact brand, and I used a greenish color since the nursery is sage green and baby blue.)
• String (I didn't use this either, I rigged up some ribbon to hang it with.)
• 1 1/2 yds. 1 1/2"-2" yellow printed ribbon
• Strong, fast-drying glue, such as Beacon Fabri-Tac (You don't need this if you make it the way I did.)
• 3 receiving blankets, about 30"x40" (I used four just for symmetry.)
• Corsage pins; straight pins
• Assorted baby things - soft toys, rattles, toiletries, brush-and-comb set, pacifiers, lullaby CD
• 3 yds. 5/8" yellow dotted ribbon
• 2 yds. each 3/8" pink, blue and green dotted ribbon
• Scotch double-sided tape (I didn't use this either)
• 1 1/4 yds. each 1" pink, blue and yellow ribbons
• Soft animal for top center
• 12-15 flat faux flowers and 1/2" pompoms (I didn't use these either.)

Note: As you can see in the above picture, I didn't follow the instuctions for the ribbon, I just bought a couple different options and in the colors of the nursery.

1. Paint wreath.
2. When dry, make hanger: Poke two holes through wreath, 2" apart, front to back. Thread string through and tie. This is the top. Glue printed ribbon around wreath's outside edge. (I didn't do this. See step 6 for my instructions.)
3. Fold blankets lengthwise; roll tightly. Place first blanket on wreath along inside edge; center at bottom. Pin on; ends may overlap at top. Place second blanket next to first; pin on. Add third blanket near wreath's outer edge. Ends probably won't meet at top. (This just didn't work for me. So, I wrapped the wreath with the blankets. I folded the blanket lengthwise, picked a starting spot, and wrapped the blanket around the wreath. I pinned the blankets in multiple spots and was able to use the pins to create a smooth finish with the blankets.)
4. Tie toys to wreath with ribbon. (I even used pins to pin the ribbon so that it wouldn't slide and would hold the toys in place.)
5. Pin flowers to empty spaces; glue pompoms to center
6. Here is what I did to hang the wreath. I wrapped thin ribbon around the wreath on either side of the large toy on the top and used pins to be sure that it would stay in place. I then threaded large ribbon underneath those thin ribbons to create the way to hang the wreath. Worked like a charm!

I am so proud of this project! What do you think? Will you be making one soon?

Baby Shower Part 1

I don't think that I've shared it here on JTT (Journey To Together), but I'M GONNA BE AN AUNTIE!!!!! Drew's sister and her husband are expecting a little boy due August 18. This afternoon, her mom and I hosted a baby shower for her.

Here are Jessica and Gaupy.
I flexed my creative muscles for this shower. This is only the second baby shower that I've been to, and the first one that I've co-hosted. I was very nervous! Here we are posing with the baby toy wreath that I made for her.

A couple of group shots. You can tell that we had a good amount of people.

One of the games that we played consisted of all of the guests making something baby related out of Play-Doh. Jess had to then pick two winners. Guapy didn't waste any time and made a large pair of boobies. I even heard her say that they are a baby's favorite thing! Lauren is in the middle and she made a really cute train!

Jessica and her "Hooter Hider"

Jessica and Betsy.

Overall, I think Drew's mom and I threw a fantastic shower. It seemed like everyone had a great time.