The Most Wonderful Baby Shower for Langston and Me

Today was my baby shower for Langston, and I can absolutely say, that it was the most wonderful party that I have ever attended. Never in my life have I been surrounded by so much love, kindness, cheer and good graces. Also, my family and my best friend's family really came together and hosted the most beautiful shower that I have ever seen. So here are all of the photographs that Tim and I were able to take, and hopefully more will come in from my friends and family. 

There was bright, mismatched China everywhere, most of which came from thrift store hunting.

The whole party took place in my parent's garden, and in the guest house. There were white umbrellas  that were beaded (which took forever; my mom even had Tim beading last night), and we gave some of them away to all the little girls that attended.

My brother, Nick, made these cookies from scratch, and they took forever. Days. Last night, it was funny seeing him in his welding shop uniform, rolling dough and baking hearts, and then mixing the perfect color blue to ice them, and eventually tracing all of the hearts. That is a serious act of love.

I hate store bought cakes, so this cake was made by my mom and my husband. Each layer is a different fruit flavor (my favorite was orange) which was layered in banana pudding, strawberry frosting, and covered in my favorite seasonal berries. 

Langston, Tim and i received a million presents.

This is Katie and Heather; I swear, all day I was smashed between beautiful women. Langston is going to be a very lucky baby.

This is one of my best friends, Meghan. We met in college, and she makes me laugh like no one. I swear, every photo I have with her, I have this same dumb look on my face. She also always says that my parents' house is like Wonderland, which it absolutely is.

This is my sister-in-law, Laura, and her sister, Sandra. They are both amazing and kind; Laura and my brother spent their Valentine's Day at my parents' house, helping out with everything for the party, and they were at the house all morning setting things up. I could not have a better looking, more good hearted family. And Sandra is pretty much a genius. Not only is she going to Med school, but she is the only one that interviewed my husband for the "Who Knows Mommy Best" Game, and she won.

All of the food was homemade, and it was absolutely devoured. I lived on the cucumber sandwiches, fruit salad and the cucumber mint water. Katie, Heather and their mom put together all of the arrangements of roses and hydrangeas, and they were all in mismatched, glass, antique vases. My mom, seriously, has all of these things just around the house. Aesthetically, my mom thought of everything I would possibly love.

This is all present time. I received a kajillion gifts; all of them were thoughtful and tons were homemade, beautiful quilts and sweaters for Langston.

My mom's friend Kathy Anderson made Langston this quilt. It is completely hand-stitched and called "Welcome to the Jungle". You can search "KandeKwilts" on Etsy to see her other work.

Lizzy, Katie and Heather's mom (they're all sisters) made me this amazing quilt, and she also made a matching button up sweater and hat. 

Even though all of the men planned on staying a way, my husband and dad helped out throughout the entire party, and they fixed up the gardens and set up the party all morning. My husband is such a stone fox. I swear, since I've been pregnant, I've put on 30 lbs of giant baby, and he's put on 30 lbs of muscle.

Meghan was amazed by my dad's long hair; she had not seen him since his days of the helmet cut.

Tim, my dad and my brother all hung around during the party to help out, even though they swore they weren't going to stay.

My mom is wonderful. Not only did she plan the party, make the food and focus on the details, but because I am so close to labor, she has been driving me to and from work all week, and I work at two schools. I see her running around all the time, doing insane things for our family, and she never complains or makes me feel like she doesn't want to help. 

And this is my Aunt Pat, cousin, Suzanne, and her daughter. I love her daughter. She is pretty fearless, and Pat and Suzanne are some of the most genuine people ever. I always get excited to see my Aunt Pat, and she always tells me stories about my grandma. Whenever a good party comes up, someone always mentions my grandma, and when I was younger, my mom, grandma and I would go to tea houses all of the time. 

So thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for such an amazing day.