Baby Shower!

I've been meaning to get this post up for a little over a week now! Even though I'm now officially on maternity leave, and not working- I've somehow kept pretty busy and struggled to find time to write about this fun little get together we had the Sunday before last! It was our first baby shower, and we had a great time! The party was hosted by Judy and her daughter Jennifer at their beautiful home in Paso Robles, along with my Mom. Judy did an amazing job with the cake and the food, and was incredibly hospitable! She is actually the one who made my wedding cake, as well as my parents wedding cake. She seriously makes the worlds best cakes, I'm pretty sure anyone who has tried them will agree! I'm going to use this opportunity to plug her new website (click here), which you all should check out and keep in mind next time you need a cake for any occasion! Here are the cakes she made for the baby shower... the blue one is a Chocolate-Chocolate Chip with Chocolate filling, and the white one is Coconut with Lemon filling- both were a huge hit!
And here is the beautiful and talented Judy... responsible for the above masterpieces:

I was not exaggerating when I said the food was amazing as well. She served up Champagne, Mimosa's, Tea, and Ice Water along with an assortment of canned Sodas and this beautiful array of food!
There was a very delicious veggie lasagna, a beautiful fruit tray, a greek salad, and some really yummy wraps with an assortment of deli meats and fillings!

At first we all relaxed and had lunch, enjoying each others company! The first activity was a devotional my mom put together, along with a stack of gifts she presented me. I was to open one at a time, while she had each guest read a verse from the Bible and some helpful guidance in raising a child. This was first of the stack that I opened, a pack of receiving blankets. To go along with that 1 John 4:7 was read: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." Along with that came the advice: "Be sure to wrap your child up in the love of Jesus and keep him warm. Fill your home with love for each other. The more the love of Christ is shown in your home, the less there will be of bickering, fighting, and arguing, which is something no child needs to grow up with." I really appreciate all the time and trouble my Mom went to, to put together this special devotional. And of course the supply of baby necessities that came along with was very nice too!
Once that was over, it was time for games! It seems most baby showers I go to have the same games- so we tried to mix it up a bit and I actually spent some time online searching for some unique game ideas to help my mom with the planning. The first one was adapted from one that is sometimes played at co-ed showers- where the men will race to drink beer from the baby bottles! We thought it would be just as fun with the women, we also played the "non-alcoholic version" and used water. Each participant was handed a bottle filled with 3 oz of water, which had to be sucked out through a "slow flow" nipple! It was rather amusing to watch a bunch of grown women drink out of baby bottles... which is why for your viewing pleasure I can't resist posting these:




I forgot to mention that this was suppose to be an all gals event! No boys allowed... however, at the last minute we decided we should have my Dad and my Husband tag along! At first Sean really wasn't up for coming to a Baby Shower. But we lured the men there with promises of delicious food and cake. But he ended up being a great sport and even participated in the embarrassing baby bottle game!
After the bottle game, we got everyone in a circle and passed around two gift bags to this very cute story I found online about Mr. & Mrs. Wright, and their trip to the hospital to have their own baby. It was a cute story about them heading right to the hospital, and to get there they had to turn left out of the driveway. But quickly discovered that they had left something important at home. It went on and on filled with the words left and right and each time the bag would be passed to the person in the specific direction being called out in the story. In the end I believe Stephanie and Kyle took home the prizes!And finally that delicious cake was served, as I mentioned it was a huge hit and I was sooooo glad she let me choose two flavors because we had left overs and ate got to enjoy that cake for almost an entire week! Also pictured here is my very pregnant friend Ariana, due just three days before me. I was glad she could make it, along with my other friend Jen who is also pregnant and due two days after me! There were three of us there that were due the same week... there must be something in the water!

Once cake was served it was time for gifts!
Here are just some of the great gifts we received... I love the adorable onesies!

This had to be one of my favorites, and Grandpa's too! He's a huge Angels fan as I'm sure we will brainwash our son to be! I can't wait until he gets to wear this. It's just the right size to fit him in time for next season!

This was handmade just for Brody! Isn't it beautiful?
Another something we can't live without! The Boppy... this will come in very handy for feeding time!
Not only was this little stuffed puppy incredibly adorable, it's the quite soft and cuddly and sure to be Brody's little best buddy for a while!

See, I told you he was cute!
I'm so glad to have gotten some great books to read to him! This one was a touch and feel book about the ABC's!
I also really loved this very soft... super cuddly... baby blanket!
I've always wanted to get him some of these adorable shoes by Bobux!
And I think this one is more for my sanity then for the baby! It's a Fisher-Price Papasan Cradle Swing!
For those of you who were there, THANK YOU so much for coming! It was such a special day for us, and I appreciate all the awesome baby gifts!

We do have one more shower planned down south for our friends and family that live in Orange County. This will be a co-ed gig, and more of a "Welcome Brody!" party, as it is planned after his arrival! Mainly because we don't get down there too often, and I know people are going to want to meet him! Also, now that I'm getting closer to thirty-eight weeks I don't feel much like traveling!

Oh and in case I haven't mentioned, we did finally decide on a name. We've had it picked out for a while now, but I just haven't found the right opportunity to post it on my Blog! His name will be: Brody Lawrence Griffin. This was the name we had chosen for our first boy even before we found out we were pregnant. The first name is just something I really liked, and the middle name is in honor of my Dad! We did some second guessing somewhere along the way, which is why there is a name poll still up. I'm going to leave it running until he's here I guess! But unless the ultrasound played tricks on our eyes, and this baby turns out to be a girl... something at which I would be completely shocked! Then we are excited to be welcoming our baby boy- Brody Lawrence- in just a few short weeks!