Our Showers

Jim and I spent last weekend and the weekend before indulging in 2 baby showers that were thrown for us by our families. First, we headed to Dubuque the weekend of March 7th. Jim's mom and sister organized quite a nice shower. They have a conference room at hy-vee that they rented and provided all of the guest with vegetables, fruit, nuts, mints, cake, and punch. Most of Jim's family was able to come which was very nice because that included a drive for most of them. Some old family friends were also there, I had met them before at my bridal shower and it was nice to see them again.
Everyone got a chance to visit and be entertained by Jackson, he was quite the social boy! He especially likes Jim when he is around, and I can't blame him, Jim is pretty awesome! Barb organized some games including guessing what the baby animal is called (for example, a baby platypus is called a puggle). We also had to remember all of the baby stuff on a tray, which is always a fun game for the Mom-to-be! Barb picked out some awesome stuff for that game!
Gifts are always a good time! Everyone got us very nice things. We got quite a few clothes, toys, blankets and books. Jim's mom and sister had gotten us the crib and crib mattress so they passed around this picture to show everyone.

Jim's dad and his wife got us our travel system which is fantastic, because now we can actually bring the baby home from the hospital! One of our favorite gifts came from his cousin's wife, Annette. She is a nurse and got us the best of everything medical wise for the baby. We were especially excited about the thermometor she got is because they are newer, and they just roll across the forehead to get the temperature, and we had heard good things about them from a few of Jim's friends who had them but when we went to register for them, we couldn't find one so needless to say we were pumped.

The funniest part of the afternoon was when they decided they should try to guess what baby C stood for. The first guess was Chelsea, which is the 3rd time someone guessed that right off, which is funny to me of course, because of my sister. So I told them they could keep guessing because I really didn't think they would guess it. Low and behold the next name was guessed by his Aunt Sandie, and she was right! Not only did she guess the name, she guessed the nickname too, all in one fell swoop!! My jaw hit the floor, and my reaction in no way could hide that she was right. It was too funny and a great addition to our wonderful day. Thank you Joy and Barb for all of your work!

Last weekend, March 14th, we headed to Omaha for our next shower. My Mom and Cheryl worked to plan this one. They did a fantastic job! We had it at the librarry community room and the decorated it very springy and bright with pinwheels and more. Deb made the cake, and it was amazing! Not only did it look awesome (she made the topper herself) but it tasted fantastic too. They also served crackers and cheese, spinch dip and beer bread, sherbert punch, mints, and nuts. No one could go hungry!

I couldn't believe everyone who was able to make it to the shower. It was so great to see everyone! There was all of the family and lots of old family friends that I hadn't seen in quite awhile. We had such an awesome time visiting and spending time together. My Aunt Bobette was able to come which I was especially thankful to be able to see her. It was so great to be able to visit with her and also very hard. I am truly hoping we have the opportunity to introdue her to our little girl.

My Mom had planned some games as well. It started with a baby C guessing game, to see who could come up with the most names beginning with C. My Aunt Misty guessed baby C's nickname, so from there we had them guess until they had the name. We just had to let them after what happened at the other shower! We also had a remember what is on the tray kind of game, only all the items had been laid out on the table the whole time. When the questions came, it wasn't about just what was on the table, but specifics about it (color, quantity, what it said, etc...).
After games we started food, and while everyone finished eating we began presents. Holy cow was everyone so incredibly generous! We couldn't believe everything we recieved. Of course we loved everything we got, but we did have some favorites. Deb made us a mirror for the baby's room that turned out wonderfully. She also got us a quilt made with vintage chenille and other fabrics that I just love! It is so funky and fun! My Mom got baby C her very own big dog and ruby slippers, both reminiscent of my childhood. My Dad got her everything under the sun that she might need, he has apparently been accumulating it for months. Needless to say it was a wonderful time and I can't thank my Mom and Cheryl enough for all of their hard work!