Three Hoots for Baby Alston!

 

Back on June 9^th we had our baby shower in Fair Oaks. It turned out wonderful! All of my friends worked so hard to put it together and make it amazing.

Bay was the originator of the shower plans and sent out all the invitations. Sally generously opened up her home for the shower to be hosted there. Jen was the party planning mastermind and spent HOURS working on all the designs, planning, decorating and making sure everything came together. Her ideas were so incredible and everything from the food labels to the advice cards and the prizes for the games was better than I ever could have expected! Candice helped with the crafts and games, Amanda and Noelle pitched in with bringing treats - sorry I didn’t get pictures of the pinwheels or the walnut cookies :( And I’m sure there were others that I’m forgetting, but seriously EVERYONE’S help showed and was much appreciated!

The focal point was definitely the food table. (I mean, c’mon – who doesn’t love to eat??)

There was quite an assortment of treats and deliciousness! All of the cupcakes were vegan, and the inserts were handmade by Candice and Jen. Even the plates were adorable :)

 

I love love love fresh fruit and veggies with hummus!

 

These little Russian Crème’s were so cute! I didn’t try one, but I heard they were delicious.

The olive tapenade was super yummy and we even had lemonade (my favorite!)

Jen found these cute striped straws online and has these glass jars for drinks collected in her party stash. Everything was fantastic. I loved the owls!

The bright colors were so fun and cheery and reflected the colors we are doing the baby’s room in.

We played a few games – like everyone sculpting babies out of play-doh, which I then had to judge. That was a tough one! I never knew my friends were so artistic. Everyone was also given a piece of string and had to guess how big around my belly was. It really cracked me up! The winner was Tiani, and Breanne was a close second.

The advice cards were also great. I loved reading through all of them and seeing everyone’s guesses on if we are having a boy or a girl.

Either way, Baby Alston was very spoiled! Everyone really went out of their way to make us homemade gifts, provide us with much needed diapers and wipes, and fantastic must-have items like bath towels, diaper bags, onesies, pacifiers, hospital bag goodies and more. I won’t be able to list or post pictures of EVERYTHING, but all of the gifts were sincerely appreciated. We would not be prepared without all of the help and great support from everyone around us!

-Here are just a few of my favorite cute things-

Bibs from Bay:

 

Owl quilt from Jen / her mom (this is the main baby’s blanket/bedding. The sheet set we got matches with green, brown and orange polka dots.) It is beautiful appliqué work and I was blown away!

Bathrobe and slippers from my sister-in-law Kelly, brother Josh and their boys :)

And this I just had to share. We were super excited about the bumbo seat – but what is with that kid’s hair?? The baby pictured on the front is like a mini Elvis. Baby toupee anyone? I could NOT stop laughing.

Unfortunately all the pictures I got with friends were on another camera and I haven’t gotten copies of those pictures yet. Hopefully soon! I know there were a lot of people unable to come – which is ok! I appreciate everyone who was there, wanted to be there, and was there in spirit. Everyone’s love was felt!

Friends who were able to come:

Michelle O’Keefe

Amanda Gray

Noelle & Joey

Emma Thurston

Debra Malenovsky

Jody Jensen

Candice Humes

Bay VanWagenen

Britni Nelson

Sally Nelson

Jen Holtry

Jess Spann & Heidi Wright

Kelly Bailey

Katie Roth

Karin Hart

Jenae & Laurie Payne

Valerie Anderson

Amy Douglas

Tiani Taylor

and

Breanne Weber

***

Meanwhile – Baby Alston and I have made it to 36 weeks.

We have a ton of doctor’s appointments and baby classes this week. It is also my last week of work! I can’t believe this whole experience has gone by so quickly.

So far I still love being pregnant. It has been one of the neatest experiences ever. I have been SO blessed that baby and I have made it to just about full term, I haven’t gained excessive weight, I still have my ankles, I can sleep through the night just fine, I don’t have weird cravings, I didn’t get gestational diabetes or high blood pressure, and still no stretch marks at all. I’m crossing my fingers that the delivery day goes this smoothly – because basically it looks like I was made to have babies :)

Thank you again to EVERYONE who has loved and supported us so far with our family. We can’t wait to introduce you all to Baby Alston in a few weeks!