Surprise Baby Shower

Surprise!!

So, my best friend Vanessa probably never expected a party of the sort that we had on Sunday.  Especially when I remember back to that day she first called me with the news…   V:  “I have news.”  Me, joking: “You’re pregnant?”  Her:  “You weren’t supposed to guess!”  Or something like that.  Ha!

Anyway, when I started to plan the baby shower with our friend Christine, she suggested a surprise shower.  I was very nervous because I am terrible at keeping secrets (especially from my best friend!) but I am SO glad we did.  Great idea, Christine!!

So, here is a run-down of the hustle before the event.  Vanessa’s husband, Stephen, was in on it. He gave us the okay to have it at their house (woo hoo, no transporting gifts!).  We asked him to take her to church and out to lunch to keep her occupied.  But then, she asked me to come visit for my birthday.  Uh, seriously?   I couldn’t say no because then she would know something was up.  So, then the plan was for us to go to spend the night, get up and go to church with them, but one of us would suddenly “come down with an illness” right before church.  Stephen would still keep her away long enough to get the party underway.  THEN, Stephen actually got sick.  Bad sick.  Poor Stephen!  So, we didn’t know what to do.  He told us not to cancel.  (Such a sweet hubby!!)  So, we had to really work at it, but we finally got her mother-in-law in on it.  She was going to take V to church – same plan as before.  But then Vanessa wanted to do breakfast before!  Golly.  So, we ended up going to breakfast and then I said I needed to run back to the house for something, and then messaged her that I wouldn’t make it back to church.  Her mother-in-law did a fabulous job of keeping her away… and when she got home - boy, was she surprised to see all of us!!

Soooo --- The invitation…

A “Pack Party” is where you bring a six-pack and a package of diapers… Yeah, I made it up to keep all the men occupied. :)

 

The surprise….

She knows something's up... but still doesn't realize it's a baby shower.

Ooooh!  A baby shower!

The décor…

Diaper wreath with special center for Baby Tobin

Wall hanging with Tobin’s name as the entry table décor (I wish I got a better picture of it)

Paper onesies with guests' advice, well wishes, and congratulations strung up on a "clothes line".

Diaper Chair (made from diapers, a romper with matching hat, and baby wash cloths)

Diaper Cake and Stork bundles (made from homemade receiving blankets and diapers)

The corsages (made with baby wash cloths as backing)

The food…

We had all that food you can see on the table, plus a crock pot full of little smokies and about a million more cupcakes and cookies (Christine made them all, and they were delicious!).

You can see the diaper carriage I made in this picture.  (and you can kind of see the intricate detailing on the cookies Christine made – they were sheep for Vanessa with Camo for Stephen)

The guitar cake was meant for Stephen (who actually plays, for those of you who don't know him), but since he was sick – we just all enjoyed it a little extra for him!  My mom did a great job – it looked awesome and tasted great, too! 

Vanessa said her theme is "all things boy".  So, we had everything from lambs and camo to dots and puppies.  I think even though everything was mixed and matched with different colors and prints, it all came together to make a pretty cute shower.

The guests…

The gifts…

Diapers from the guys…

 

oh, right – the guys!

They enjoyed the backyard pack party, anyway.

Then, the keepsakes…

The center of the wreath.
This, the onesie papers on the clothesline shown way up above, and the onesies we used to record the gifts were all put together as a shower memory book.

An autograph plate

And we even played a game that had a prize…

Vanessa’s mother-in-law won it… and gave it to Baby Tobin!!

All-in-all… that was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.  Fun with family and friends always makes me smile.

Oh, and Natalie matched some of Tobin’s presents from me… Love this dress I made with her initial on it and a matching flower bow, too!

I can't believe it, but she’ll be 4 months old on Saturday.  We can’t wait for her new friend’s arrival... due July 4, 2011 – Baby Tobin Ricky Stewart!