Showered! | Hellobee

Mama Tricycle and MIL Tricycle co-hosted a baby shower this weekend in my home town. It was a wonderful event filled with lots of friends and family.

Above Left: Mama Tricycle made the centerpieces out of pumpkins, my bi-weekly bump signs, and alphabet train letters. Above Right: Mama Tricycle and I pre-shower.

I don?t love being the center of attention and it takes some serious effort on my part to make small talk, even with people I know, so although I was excited, I was also a little anxious. Luckily, Mama Tricycle is well of aware of this quirk, so the event was wonderfully low-key. There were about 25 people there ? honestly, most of them were Mama Tricycle?s girlfriends (boy, does she have a bunch!), but my friends were there too (minus those that live on the other coast), plus a small handful of relatives.

Above Left: Two of my girlfriends, both of whom are also pregnant! Love that we?re experiencing this event at the same time in our lives! :) Above Right: Another close girlfriend who gifted me with the best surprise present ever ? love her, but taking photos next to her always makes me feel like a giant!

They held the shower at a local banquet room ? no one had to clean their house or make sure they had enough chairs. The room is really cute, and provides catering. At my request, we had spinach salad with roasted chicken, cranberries and walnuts, minestrone soup, a southwest pasta salad, and a fantastic carrot cake.

Mama Tricycle is an artist, and she made us a growth chart that works with all the colors in our nursery. The guests were asked to make a predication about what our baby would be doing at different heights, and then write their guess on a line. So, for example, people wrote things like ?You?re eating your first cookie!? ?You can swim across the pool by yourself, now!? and ?Time to put your big kid pants on.? Love that I have this beautiful reminder of the shower for all our future kids.

Above: The growth chart Mama Tricycle made for my shower ?guest book.?

We only played a few games ? all of which were nice and tame. When people arrived they had to guess the number of diaper pins in a glass jar and cut a length of ribbon they thought was equal to the circumference of my belly. The winners got a travel mug and Starbucks gift card. Mama Tricycle also awarded a prize to the guest that was dressed in colors that most closely matched our nursery. They squeezed in one final game between lunch and cake. Using the wooden train letters that made up the centerpiece, each table had to come up with as many baby related words as possible. Everyone at the winning table got a bunch of Burt?s Bees lip balms.

And then it was time for presents. This baby was SPOILED! I know there are questions on the boards about exactly what people get at a baby shower, so here?s a little breakdown.? Almost everything we received was off our registry, including a changing mat, cloth diapers, diaper creams, baby lotions, a bouncer, a Rock and Play, crib sheets, swaddles and sleep sacks, diaper bags, bibs, pacifiers, and small toys. We registered at both Amazon and Target ? I?d say things were divided pretty equally between the two stores.

Above Left: I felt the need to try on every hooded towel and blanket I opened. I will probably regret sharing this picture at a later date. Above Right: The baby quilt made of our nursery fabrics.

The ?surprise? presents were all wonderful, too. MIL Tricycle made me a quilt, and Mama Tricycle?s college BFF made me one as well ? which, randomly, happens to be the EXACT fabrics we chose for the nursery. I love fate. We also received a couple crocheted blankets. We got five or ten items of clothing, but they?re all really practical, gender neutral things I?m sure we?ll use, and lots of books. We also received a fair amount of cash and gift cards. My friend Lisa, in her super generous way, surprised us with a certificate for newborn photos, which I can?t WAIT to use ? I?ve been drooling over the photographer?s website. ?We didn?t get any stuffed animals or disposable diapers. Everyone was so generous and I had a blast watching Mr. Tricycle go through everything that evening. I think he was equally overwhelmed by it all.

It was a fantastic shower, and exactly what I?d envisioned. It?s wonderful to feel so loved. Did you have a baby shower? Did it live up your expectations?

Source: http://www.hellobee.com/2012/10/11/showered/

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