Michigan Baby Shower

Today was our third & final baby shower - this one was with my Michigan friends. Carrie, her mom Betty, Niki & Andrea all hosted the event. Several of our Michigan friends attended, including our landlord Debbie, neighbor Kay, my boss Marge, hairdresser Cristin, former student & friend Jen, and my teachers from dance, Jessica & Amy. It was a gorgeous day --- the weather was sunny and warm for a change!

We started by eating some delicious food, then begin to play a few games. The first game was "Do you have these items in your purse?" ... guests were asked to find random items in their purses, such as postage stamps, 17 pennies, a grocery receipt & a dollar bill with 2 "7s" in the serial number. Cristin won the purse game, and she definitely had the largest purse to find buried items in!!! :-)

The second game was "Let's try & guess how large Keely's belly is!" Each guest had to take streamer ribbon & guess how big my belly was .... after they ripped off their guess, we measured it around my belly to see who was the closest. It was a two-way tie - both Debbie & Marge were extremely close! (FYI - my belly is currently 43.5 inches around). Here's a few pics from the game:

Amy's guess was WAY too big :-)

Marge's guess was close! Carrie is the "judge" :-)

After the games, I opened gifts & then we had some delicious cake. It was a wonderful afternoon spent with friends, and we are so blessed to have such thoughtful people in our lives. Our Michigan friends do a great job of making us feel "at home away from home" and we really appreciate it! A special thanks to our hostesses for throwing a wonderful shower. And, a few more pictures from the event:

Family Baby Shower 9-20-09

My shower hostesses - Aunt Bettie, Me & Aunt Lois

Sunday brought on "round 2" of the baby showers - this shower was hosted by my aunts Bettie & Lois, and was held at my parents' house. The majority of our female family members were in attendance, including both Grandmas-to-be & Great-Grandmas-to-be, Aunt Cindy, Great-Aunt Renate & Lois, Cousins Kristin & Valerie, Second-cousins Dagmar & Claudette and my sis-in-law Ashley. Several family friends were there as well, such as Jeanette, Beverly, Barbara Hogan & Hazel. My friend Kim attended too - she had a wedding to go to on the "friend shower" day, so we were happy to have her with us on Sunday.

My aunts have a knack for attention to detail - everything was planned perfectly, from the baby shaped sandwiches to the baseball-themed cupcakes & favors. We started the shower with a "Mom-to-be" fact game .... each guest was given a list of facts about me and had about 10-15 minutes to memorize them. Next, they were given a blank sheet of paper & had to write down as many facts as they could remember. I think my friend Kim had an unfair advantage - she won with 18 facts! However, my aunt Cindy came in a close second with 15 correct, so she must have studied well! :-) Below are some photos from the shower - it was a perfect day with the family!

Top to bottom: the food spread, beautiful quilt made by my Great-Aunt Renate, "Easton" pillow made by aunt Bettie (using doily from Jason's deceased Dad's house), Diaper wreath from my friend Kim & finally, ALL of the nice gifts!

Friend Baby Shower 9-19-09

Hostess Steph, Hostess Martha, Prul, Hostess & sis-in-law Ashley, Me & Stacy P

My Lobster Girls! Betsy, Prul, Me & Mayhan

The "Amys"! Amy Hill, Me, Amy TB & Amy Stan-Dan

Last weekend kicked off with my friend baby shower on Saturday afternoon. What a fun day! The shower was held at my best friend Martha's house, who hosted the event along with my good friend Stephenie & my sister-in-law, Ashley. SO many people traveled from all around to be there for this special time - friends traveled from Raleigh, Charlotte, Wilmington, Jacksonville, Lynchburg & Richmond .... but the "furthest traveler" award goes to my friend Amy TB, who came in from Tennessee! I was amazed at the turnout and how generous and thoughtful everyone was. The food was delicious & nothing can beat having so many friends in one place at one time. Here are some pictures from the shower:

The gifts & the food!

Time to open the gifts!!

A cute bathrobe from my Mom

Handmade burpcloths from Betsy - this one is camouflage! :-)