baby shower!

At nearly 8.5 months pregnant (33 weeks), I had my baby shower this past weekend. It was such a great time! From Thursday night until Sunday afternoon, we had a house full of family and friends. Sure, I was deliriously exhausted by Sunday night, but it was worth it!

Friday night we had pizza and beer at the house while everyone started coming into town. The big surprise Friday afternoon was my step-mom and step-sister who showed up at the house! My best friend Heather, her husband and little girl Isabella also arrived. The last time I saw Isabella, she was about one month old and she's now almost one year! I included a cute picture of little Bella eating spinach.

The shower was Saturday afternoon and took place at a beautiful historic bed and breakfast in a nearby town. The rain that we had all evening and morning cleared in time for the shower and made for a sunny, blue-sky afternoon. The incredible lunch was topped off by an array of fruit and cake served with chocolate fondue, but even more exciting for me was the bucket of crushed ice! One of my few pregnancy cravings (aside from donuts and cherry coke) has been crushed ice. The gift opening was fun-- lots of "awwww" and "how cute!" comments, and plenty of laughs. Everyone who came was asked to bring a favorite child's book for the baby and to explain why it was meaningful. We had a lot of fun revisiting our own childhood memories with the books people brought. Jason and I are grateful for the wonderful things we received and we are touched by the thoughtfulness of so many people.


Since there were so many out-of-towners in for the weekend, we had everyone over to the house on Saturday night for some traditional, down-home Southern barbecue. Plenty of ribs, pork sandwiches, beer and peach cobbler to go around!

Jason and I spent Sunday afternoon catching up on sleep and putting baby toys together. We were amazed at the functions on some of these baby toys-- I'm not sure who they will entertain more! Thanks again to everyone-- we can't wait to see you all (and those who weren't able to make it) after the baby is born!