Baby Boy, We Love You

Any day now, Debbie and Rundy's baby is due to arrive.  We couldn't be any more excited to meet him and smooch him and squeeze his (hopefully) chubby cheeks.  (And if they're NOT chubby, Deborah, we're pressing charges for raising false hopes.)  All babies are fearfully and wonderfully made, and we are thankful for every last one.  This little boy is an answer to much prayer from many corners, and we rejoice in him.

In multiple trips, Mom ferried all the boxes, food, and me and the children down the hill to the church the day before the shower so we could set up.  The roads were too snowy for our van, and she deserves a lot of credit for being a cheerful chauffeur in her little car.  

 The only things we bought for the shower were plastic tablecloths for the round tables and ingredients for food.  Oh!  And Becky bought some things for the prizes she put together, too.  I scoured the house for everything else, which means that either I furnished my house with a baby shower for Deborah in mind or that I have Too Much Stuff.  Let's be charitable and assume the former.

Someone had given us a remnant of gold-trimmed ribbon before Christmas, and we cut off the gold edging and cut it in half lengthwise to have just enough for the mason jars.  Coupled with yarn from the basement and stuffed with hemlock* branches the girls foraged from our little woods a few days prior, all perched on top of our "company" plates (which came from the dollar store-- ha!), the centerpieces were simple, pretty, and in keeping with a winter-born baby.

I had so much stuff I even decorated the gift table, even though 2 minutes after gifts arrived, it was piled with presents.

I made the same mistake with the food table, choosing to use silver, wood, blue, and white platters to unify through color, which we then covered with so much food that colors didn't matter one bit-- pickled beets and dill pickles, deviled eggs, tortillas and bean dip, chicken wing tortilla pinwheels, bread and chipped beef dill dip, vegetables and hummus, Italian cheese bread (ugly picture alert), fancy cookies from Aldi, buckeyes, peppermint patties, my sister Becky's famous miniature cookies (SO good...and I lost the recipe again, Beck), cupcakes, and cake.   And blue punch, 'cause every baby shower needs some poisonous chemical drink.

(Sarah-- recognize your leftover wedding ribbon?!)

I decorated the cake at the last minute, proving that sloppiness is covered by a multitude of sparkling sugar and some cute little animals stolen from my children's toys.





I had made 6 dozen cupcakes and a bunch of frostings ahead of time, and Millie, Annika, and Candida frosted them all before anybody arrived. They did a wonderful job!

We kept Cadence around mostly to coordinate with the 70's vibe going on in the church kitchen.

And what else?  WHO else?!  Deborah and the people who came to rejoice over this baby, of course!  Once people arrived, I replenished food and drink and didn't have time to leisurely take pictures...you know, like I did of inanimate objects before people arrived.

When I did pull out my camera, however, Mildred and Deirdre kindly obliged me.

Everyone blessed Deborah with a bounty of gifts-- useful, beautiful, and meaningful-- along with books, which just happen to be all three!

Mopsy finished his baby quilt in time, too!  Here Cassandra helps Debbie model it properly.

And the whole thing, without her glorious belly distracting us from the quilt.

Even though it was dark outside, I took a picture of Deborah in her forest-elf dress, looking beautiful in spite of the lighting.  We love you, Debbie and Rundy, and we can't wait to love your little boy, too!

*Credit to Regina and Mrs. Purdy for the positive i.d.!