Baby Shower!

Well yesterday afternoon I had a baby shower. Paul remarked last evening at how I used to dread these events, and that now they are very enjoyable. :-) This was a traditional shower (first for me) in that there were only women present (well except for Paul's great uncle Herby who was there with his wife) and we played games. This shower was thrown by Millie (Paul's sister-in-law) and Paul's mom. For years Millie had said whenever we adopted or had a baby she'd be throwing a big party! :-) They invited LOTS of people; however most weren't able to attend. For example, Paul had given them 47 names/addresses of family and friends of mine and only 7 of those came (my mom, one friend from when I lived in Annapolis, two friends from the school where I was principal from 1996-2003, one professor from where I taught 2003-2004, one professor from where I am now, and one lady from my church).

I'm not sure how many they invited as far as relatives from Paul's side of the family, but there were about 10 women from his side of the family who came (one of Paul's aunts, his grandmother, a cousin's wife, etc.). My mom commented that she's never been to a baby shower where none of the guests were in their 20's or 30's - most of the guests were in their 50's and 60's (and a few in their 70's and 80's). The shower was held at the church where Paul's family attends, which was where we were married 7 years ago. I am so very grateful to Millie & Paul's mom for all the work they put into the shower. Millie always does a great job with catering parties like this. She was shocked when I requested vanilla cake (she had made both and knows I always pick chocolate), but I knew the chocolate cake wouldn't be worth having heartburn for hours!

We played 3 games. The first was to guess how many safety pins were in a little baby food jar. Sharon, a colleague of mine at work, won that one even though she was off by more than 100, LOL. Then they passed around a jar and had people throw some change in it. Paul's mom said the winner would take All. Everyone guessed how much was inside, and the winner was given a bottle of All detergent, LOL. The jar with money was given to me. My mom won the last game which was to complete a little chart saying which feature I was hoping baby would take after Paul vs. me (ex. do I want her to have my nose or Paul's nose). My mom said she never wins games like this but she won a game at my bridal shower and again at my baby shower - she knows me well! :-) The easy ones were legs and hair; I think everyone got those right.

Then after we ate (sandwiches, fruit, veggies, deviled eggs, etc.) I opened presents. Some who couldn't attend had sent gifts so I had a lot to open! The activity gym has already been assembled, and I'm taking that to the office tomorrow. The curtains have already been hung. I'm sure my dad would approve of the Steeler items I received (bottle, bib, socks). :-) Nadia was given lots of bibs, onesies, and footed pajamas. My favorite pjs were the ones with the frog feet. There were 2 handmade gifts. One of Paul's aunts on his father's side (she lives in CA) made a beautiful quilt, and Paul's aunt's (his mother's sister) best friend knitted her a beautiful pink blanket. Last night we went through all the gifts we've been given the last two months to figure out what we still needed and what duplicates we had that needed to be returned (ex. we received two of the same exact CD). The items we received the most of were bibs (42!), onesies, and footed pajamas.

Everyone says you can never have too many bibs, but I think 42 is too many! I thought I might have too many onesies, but as I went through them I found out that I had 7-10 in each size (newborn, 0-3, 3-6, and 6-9 months) so I decided to keep all of them. Same went for the pjs. I did have as many as 5 in one size (0-3 months), but I kept them all even though I'm not sure if she really needs that many pjs. She needs more "regular" clothing (play clothes, clothes for church), but she doesn't need more pjs or onesies! She also has plenty of pink clothing. I plan to stay away from pink in my purchases for her for awhile so that pink isn't the only color she ever wears. I am going to wait on buying any clothing though as I want to see how big she is when she's born and how quickly she seems to grow. The one exception is I do plan to shop on eBay in the near future for one dressy dress for her to wear to church this summer.

The funny thing is that many people told me that I would get LOTS of receiving blankets as baby shower gifts and actually I never received any! I had purchased one pack of 5 back in 2005; I'll wait and see if I need more or not after she's born. I also was told I'd receive a lot of diapers, and I didn't receive any of those either. I had purchased one pack of newborn size in 2005 as well as one pack of th next size up so I think I am covered until I find out which size she's going to start out in after birth. She received 3 rattles yesterday. That is something I need to keep buying more of for her (toys). I have been just buying books, but I know she'll need to have some toys at home and in my office. However, that's not something I need to run out and purchase immediately.

After I opened the presents the cake was served and then after that the ladies started leaving. My mom had traveled the farthest (3 hours), and there were two who came from the Philadelphia area (about 2 hours). I am very, very grateful for Millie & Paul's mom for making this very special event possible. I've waited many years for the day I'd attend a baby shower that was for me! I am also very, very grateful for all the gifts and also for those who took the time and energy to attend!