April Baby Shower Fun!

So I have to admit things haven't been all that exciting around here lately which is why the blog has taken a backseat. Although I think the real reason is I have avoided the camera like a disease as I've come to find pregnancy weight just isn't all that flattering on me! 

However I did want to share my latest (and last trip before baby) trip to San Diego last month to see my family. It was a great week. My good friend Chelsey came down for a visit with her two boys! My sister Courtney treated us to a Padre game on Friday night which was a blast. Court works for the Pad Squad (the Padre's pep squad) and was able to not only get us park passes but free parking. We were expecting a spot in the parking lot adjacent to the stadium (which totally trumps a $20 spot in the twelve story parking garage that takes 30 minutes to exit after a game). Imagine our surprise when the Chief of Police escorts us to a private spot right in front of the stadium. Apparently it was law enforcement appreciation night, imagine our luck!

The next day my good friend Julie threw me a baby shower at my parent's house. We must have had a good time because we all forgot to take pictures! Thanks to Chelsey we did get a shot of the yard before the guests arrived. 

Navy girls! My good friend Crystal from Guam came with her adorable daughter Caroline. Mickey to my left made an amazing quilt (in ONE day no less!) for the baby. She rocks! Chelsey is looking AH-MAZING after having a baby last year. I hope I can do the same!!

Me in all my enormity with Courtney and my dad before dad escaped the mass arrival of baby shower guests. 

I received a ton of adorable gifts for the baby. Getting it all home was quite a challenge but with the help of my mom and the USPS, we managed to get it home to Virginia. It really makes me realize how fortunate I am, I haven't lived in San Diego in 3 1/2 years but so many women made time to come to my shower! I really had a great time in San Diego and can't wait to bring Baby Girl back to see everyone in a few months!

As if one shower isn't enough my sister Carissa and friend Tessa threw me ANOTHER baby shower in Norfolk last weekend. They did a spectacular job and once again Baby Girl came away quite the winner!

She'll be rockin' some sparkly pink TOMS thanks to Andrea!

Every heard of a diaper wreath? Isn't this awesome? Thank you Sara!

Humble pie moment. My reaction to this object? "Aww, a chew toy!" That's Tessa next to me letting me know that dogs have chew toys, babies have teething rings. I guess I still have a few things to learn....

Rissy made Baby Girl a quilt and diaper bag, The quilt has this awesome yellow minky backing that is super snuggly!

My good friend Mary.

Team J&A: My coworker Kristyn and my boss, Amy. I love them!!

Team Guam. My Guam girls who now live in VA and NC came to celebrate with me!

My neighbor Joanna who gave birth to a baby boy just 8 days before my shower. Isn't she amazing??

The fabulous hostesses with the mostesses! Thanks Tessa & Rissy!

Baby Season = Baby Gifts

It seems like it's baby season around here. Ever since I took up quilting I've found myself trying to "make" something for my expectant mommy friends. One (or three) thing I figured out in Guam was:

a) it's a freakin' baby factory

b) baby showers had the frequency of happy hours (mostly because it's an excuse to have a party) 

c) it was very difficult to find an original gift when your shopping options are limited to the BX and NEX. 

So of course I started to wish I had the ability to make unique baby gifts that the mother could actually use. So fast forward to this year when I finally learned how to sew. One thing my sister warned me about when making a quilt for a friend was to never promise a finish date. Well that just confirms I am a slow learner. Because the following two quilts were made in a combined total of four days. I'm the queen of procrastination but I promised (really, myself more than anyone) I would get these done in time for a baby shower and Thanksgiving. The first one was made for my friend Mary who is expecting a baby girl next month. It was my first time trying applique and while a bit time consuming, I think I'll get better at it and therefore I can venture into names or at least initials soon!

The next quilt has been in the works (ie: my head) for months. My dear friend and former Guam neighbor Julie is having a baby girl next month as well. I called her up a few months ago to let her know that I wanted to make her daughter a quilt. Based on her plans for the baby room I picked out some fabulous Moda and Michael Miller fabrics along with an adorable shabby-chic-esque pattern. In my usual ways I started it but didn't get serious about it until about two days before we were headed down to North Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with Julie and her family. Yikes! Since I just don't trust the post office with a hand made piece like this I was determined to hand carry it with me for the occasion. Fortunately when I get working on something I can't stop and I guess that worked in my favor last week. I finished it up the morning we left and whew! It's done! It was my second attempt at machine quilting (sewing patterned lines throughout the quilt instead of tying little knots over the span of the quilt, like the first one) and while it takes twice as much time to do, I think the effect is fabulous!

I think I'm going to take a short break on quilts for now but I am sure it won't be long before my mind is conjuring up another creation. 

Ice Cream Martinis anyone?

So my good friend Julie and I threw a baby shower for our friend Kate yesterday. She's having a boy! It was such a great time, I decided that hosting at someone else's house is way more fun. Not to mention my friend Andrea took some awesome pictures of the event.

Since Kate is a fan of ice cream and the party was to be held after lunchtime we created an ice cream martini bar. I once went to an event where they served mashed potato martinis, it was awesome! So we went out and purchased some adorable martini glasses and adorned them with different bows and ribbons for each guest to have and take home.

The stems on the glasses had a zigzag design which was not only cute but great for tying ribbons as identifiers (instead of wine glass rings).

Between Julie and I, I think we came up with every ice cream topping imaginable. As a result, it was a huge hit. Even the kids loved it (of course, what child doesn't love ice cream?).

Even though I have yet to have children I have been to enough baby showers (maybe that's a hint) to realize I didn't want to organize games in which guests were to smell a candy bar in a diaper or measure Kate's waist or keep their legs uncrossed. To say there are a lot of baby showers held on this island is a clear understatement. There isn't a whole lot to do so of course, we throw baby showers for the second, third and sometimes fourth child! So Julie and I decided to lose the games and just have a fun activity guests could do as they mingled. I created an acronym board which I have yet to name, suggestions are welcome. I cut out sheets of paper and using letter stickers, put the name "Sean" on them. Guests were invited to come up with adjectives or sentences to go with each letter of the baby's name. They then stuck them up on the board and after presents, Kate would pick her favorite one. The winner would announce herself and win a prize! It was certainly a challenging game but I was impressed with the creativity that came through. We also held a door prize raffle for two other prizes, including the floral arrangement we had at the table.

Acronym Game

Kate went home with a new wardrobe of baby clothes and a fabulous diaper cake made by our friend Andrea. I think I might try to make one some time, it looks like fun!

All in all it was a sweet success. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and as long as that is the case, I am happy as a clam. Even if we did forget the whipped cream in the refrigerator...whoops!

Caitlyn

Kate, adorable as ever. Can you believe that's what six months pregnant looks like??