I had my first “official” baby shower on Sunday. It was not a surprise. I think surprising a 7 ½ month pregnant woman is the last thing you want to do! Plus I wanted to be prepared and look my best because God knows I’ve been forgoing a lot of my regular beauty routines to save my dwindling energy.
The shower was so great and everything was perfect. My mother in law, Theresa Mazzarella and her daughter, Kristen co-hosted the shower. We had a lovely sit down lunch at Lucas restaurant in Edison. All of my husband’s family came, a few friends and coworkers of mine and the “Women of Winfield” – the women and wives of the people who work with Frank. We had about 50 people in all and we had a great time.
Each table was decorated with shiny blue confetti and a small balloon bouquet surrounded by four story books. “Story books” was the theme and each guest brought their favorite book to put in a “story book wishing well.”
Each guest received a bag of chocolate marshmallow bark, homemade by Kristen, to take home along with a scratch off game to get the party started. This was a special baby shower scratch off game where you had to match the three items and we had several winners.
It was so nice to see everyone and I am still astounded by everyone’s generosity. We had many, many presents to get through and we had an assembly line of sorts. Kristen enlisted the help of my friends Jen and Leeanne along with Ali, a long time friend of the family. Kristen and Ali would open the card and semi unwrap each gift. I had a chair next to me to place the gifts so I wouldn’t have to bend. Jen dutifully kept a log of who gave me what. The guests were playing Baby Shower Bingo, so I had to be sure I loudly announced what I was opening. I heard lots of “BINGOS” and the winner got to choose a prize out of a basket. Leeanne was our muscle who picked up each opened gift and carted it back to the pile.
We received some really nice gifts – most from our registry, which is exactly what we needed. Being first time parents, we are starting from scratch. So everything from the high chair to the baby bath tub to the adorable little outfits – we are extremely grateful.
Frank’s Aunt Lena made us homemade flannel receiving blankets – one with a puppy dog pattern with pugs on it! We also received a beautiful hand made afghan from Colleen, the daughter of one of Frank’s colleagues. The afghan had a matching pillow and ducky! Colleen also made us a beautiful blue sweater with matching booties - just adorable. She has her own business I think, making these gorgeous creations! The blanket and sweater came with personalized tags and washing instructions. I’ll get her contact info and post it.
It was an amazing and humbling experience to have so many people who cared so much about us and our little one-to-be. Special thanks to Kristen and Mom Mazz for doing such an outstanding job. Making sure every detail was covered and everyone had a splendid time.
It took two SUV’s to get everything home and thanks to Frank for being a trouper and carrying everything in. We now have a HUGE pile of gifts to sort through and I have many, many thank yous to write.
We’re getting down to the wire – about 10 weeks to go before little Mazz’s arrival. We have one more shower, for my step-dad’s side of the family on February 7. My mom and sister-in-law Chrisi have been keeping busy and I’m excited to see what they have planned! It will be nice to celebrate with all of my south Jersey and Virginia family and friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment