Baby Avance Reveal Party

Tonight was the big moment for Tim and Stephanie (and family and friends) to find out what baby Avance's gender is.  Is baby Avance a boy or a girl?

Stephanie had yummy food for everyone, and the table was very cute with touches of pink and blue.

It was so special that Tim and Stephanie shared this moment with friends and family.  I am excited that we were able to be there to share this with them.  Everyone was anxious to find out if they are having a boy or a girl.

I wanted to take something, but since I didn't know what to buy, we played it safe and got both.  Which gift will Tim and Stephanie get to open...pink or blue?

Stephanie's friend Celia had made delicious cupcakes for dessert.  One of them was filled with either blue or pink frosting.  Finally, it was time for the big reveal.  Tim and Stephanie led the line to get a cupcake.  Tim tried to cheat and pull the toothpick out of a few to see if he could get  a sneak peak.

Once everyone had a cupcake, it was time to dig in.  Stephanie could hardly stand it and looked around expectantly waiting to see who had THE cupcake.

I had been waiting to catch their reaction, but when no one spoke up, I decided I'd better bite into mine.  Meanwhile, Stephanie was instructing parents to make sure their kids bit all the way into the cupcake!

Low and behold, I was holding it in my hand.  Once Stephanie realized I had it, I had to get a picture before I turned it around.

It's a GIRL!!!

Here are some pictures of the reactions at the front of the room.  Lots of excitement!

Gayland and Brenda had brought a gift that was quickly transferred into a cute pink bag.  It was a precious Willow Tree Musical Figurine.

A little later, Tim and Stephanie got to open the pink gift that Michael and I took.  I love the monkeys!

Stephanie's brother and SIL bought their niece a pretty silver piggy bank.  It was engraved with a quote that Chris and Stephanie's Nanny used to always say, "Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves." - Nanny

How sweet and thoughtful!

Congratulations Tim, Stephanie, and Baby Avance!  You're halfway there.  We can't wait to meet your precious pink bundle of joy!

Baby Shower

This morning, I went to a shower that some of April's friends planned for her.  The diaper wreath and other decorations were really cute!  After having two girls, I think April had fun getting boy things.  I didn't get pictures of the opened gifts, but she got a lot of cute clothes!

Holly's Baby Shower

This afternoon we got to celebrate Holly and impending arrival of little Lainey!  I hadn't seen Holly in a while, and she is looking amazing!  I can't believe Lainey will be here in about five weeks.  I am glad that we got to plan a special day for Holly.

We had tea at Lavendou.  They did a great job with the service, and it was all delicious!  The tea that we had was some kind of chocolate tea.  It sounds weird, but for someone who doesn't like tea (and loves chocolate), it actually wasn't bad.  The scones were amazing!

Lindsey added some pretty flowers and yummy lemon covered almonds for guest favors.  Her mom made the cutest corsage for Holly.  It was made out of tiny frilly baby socks!

Holly got lots of great stuff for Lainey!

We had almost all the girls from our old Bible study group together for the first time in a long time.  It was good to see everyone and catch up.  Holly's wonderful SIL and one of her close friends and mentors were also there to make it a special day for her.

Love you Holly!  I am so glad that I was able to share in a small part of this exciting time with you.  I can't wait to meet Lainey!

Weekend in Arkansas

This past weekend, Jenni, Kristin, and I got to travel to Arkansas for Britney's baby shower.  I had so much fun with my college friends, and I am so glad that we were able to be there!  It was great to catch up with Jenni and Kristin on the drive up, and it was so fun to see Britney pregnant.  Of course, she looked amazing as always!

We were all able to stay at Britney's parents house, which was a lot of fun.  It felt like old times.  We also got to see Zach and Britney's house, and they have the nursery fixed up super cute!  Everything is ready to bring that precious baby girl home!

Yesterday Britney's aunt and cousin hosted a beautiful shower for her.  All the food was delicious, and they had everything set up very cute!

We played a game to see who could get closest to guessing Britney's waist size right now, and we also got to guess how many M&M's were in the plastic bottle.  I didn't do very well at either game!

Britney got lots of great gifts as well.

This baby is going to be smothered in love and spoiled rotten!  Zach and Britney, we love you and can't wait to plan our next visit to meet your little one!

Baby Shower for Josh, Suzie, and Liam

Liam was born four weeks ago, and today we had a sip 'n' see for him, Josh and Suzie.

Rumor had it that Josh was going to be at the shower and requested that it be a co-ed shower.  At some point during the day, someone told Josh that was a good call, and he said that it wasn't his idea.  It sure did get pinned on him somehow.  Regardless of whose idea it was, it was a lot of fun!  I don't know that the guys were super pumped beforehand, but I think they all enjoyed it.

All the decorations turned out really cute!

Melany made a diaper wreath for the front door...so cute!

The sign-in table was the perfect spot to display the stuffed letters that Lacey made.  Can you believe she just made these without a pattern?

Liam's nursery has a woodsy theme with wooded creatures.  Lacey did a great job finding fabric to use!

Sara found these cute birds, and used some of her plants and decor to make the dessert table more "woodsy."  The stuffed hedgehog that Kristyn found was a great touch!

Of course, we had to have a cute name banner.  Before the shower was over, it read "MAIL" instead of "LIAM."  As we noted, that's what happens when you have boys at a shower.  :o)

Sara also came up with a fantastic idea for a diaper train.  How cute was this idea?

All the food was fantastic!  We had mini-burgers, baked beans, chips and queso, fruit, brownies, and delicious creme-filled cupcakes that Lindsay made.  I didn't hear any complaints from the boys on the food.

We all had a great time hanging out.  All the babies were great!  Avery was content to be held by Joey for most of the afternoon, Jaxon enjoyed being fed by Melanie, Brylee seemed content the whole time, and even though he slept most of the time, I think Liam enjoyed the attention!  Somehow, I didn't get a picture of Addi, but she was great too.

Since it was co-ed, it was a little more laid back, but we did have a few games.  The first game started with 10 numbered diapers.

The objective was to open each diaper and guess (no, Josh, not which baby did it!) what kind of candy bar was crushed/melted in it.

I think Brian was trying to pin this one on Brylee.

Michael was a willing volunteer for the second game.  However, when he was handed a bottle, I think he had second thoughts.  The objective was to see which of the four boys could finish the punch in their bottle first.  They were all surprised at how difficult it was.

While Michael, John, and Daniel took off to start the race...Josh had a little trouble...

It was a lot harder than it looked.  With everyone cheering them on (and laughing at them), they pressed on.

Josh continued to have problems.

He couldn't get the punch to come out.  Maybe you can milk the bottle...  :o)

In the end, Michael was the first one to finish his...remember how competive we both are?  Yes, that does extend even to drinking punch from a baby bottle.

We had a wonderful turnout, and Josh and Suzie got lots of great things for Liam.

Jaxon enjoyed the gift-opening too.

Both of Liam's grandmothers were able to be there.

For hostess gifts, Suzie made these adorable aprons.  The pocket was stitched with Liam's shower and the date.  So cute and so thoughtful.  I love it!

Josh and Suzie, we had a great time.  It was wonderful to see you and celebrate with you guys!  Congratulations!