Baby Shower!!

On my last full day in Idaho, Krista, Jessica, and I hosted Liz's baby shower. It was a lot of planning and it was my first time being in charge of a shower. I was probably wound too tight about it (big surprise) but I wanted it to be really nice for her.

Liz and Jason are having another girl. They already have and eight-year-old named Sydney. They have chosen to name the baby Maggie. Jessica and I worked on a clothes line of onesies to decorate the entrance into the dining room. I got the idea from another shower I attended here in Chicago. I thought it was so cute I wanted to try and put my own spin on it.

The food at the shower was really yummy and, let's be honest, it's how you get people to stick around. :) Just kidding. We wanted the shower to be really pink and somewhat elegant so we bought four dozen pink roses in different shades to decorate the table. We tied "It's a girl" ribbon around the vases. Our side of Liz's family was in charge of the sweet stuff. We had mint truffles, macadamia nut tarts, cranberry tarts, chocolate chip cookies and so much more I can't remember it all. Liz's mother-in-law did the savory stuff and brought these awesome mini sandwiches and stuffed mushrooms. I ate way too much!

Another thing I wanted to try was making my own diaper cake. They seem to be all the rage right now but they are really expensive to buy. Jessica and I worked on making one of our own. It was really fun to make and I love how it turned out. Liz said she'd be sad to break it down but maybe she's just being nice. :)

It was so nice to be able to be there when Liz celebrated the upcoming birth of her next child. I feel so far from my family sometimes here in Chicago. I feel really lucky to have been able to help out in this moment. She was so excited to open all the gifts. She is pretty much set with this new little one.

Being the only grandchild in our family for six years, and the only one in the Batey family for over eight, Syd is trying really hard to take all these changes in stride. I have to say how impressed I am with her. She's a great kid and is trying really hard to be happy about the baby. In moments of privacy, though, she's whispered her nervousness and apprehension. To help her through this tough time, my mom and Krista wanted to get something for Sydney, too. She fell in love with this stuffed puppy in Macy's when we girls had a shopping day. She held on to it as long as we were in the store. She's say to whoever was closest, "Isn't this the softest pupppy you've every seen?" or "Isn't this the prettiest puppy?" She really wanted it but none of us could get it for her. When we told Mom the story she got us in the car to go get the puppy for Syd. Krista had a hard time finding it in the store because Syd had hidden it. When Syd opened the gift her eyes welled up and her appreciation was clear. Her biggest fear in all of this is being forgotten. None of us can forget her and we wanted her to know that.

In all, I think the shower was successful and I had a great time. I hope all that we did will help Liz and her family ease into newborn life again.