Oodles of Love

Today is the big day: after seven years, I finally get to through Chica a baby shower! How cute is that invitation? (None of this is Chica's info, of course. I copied the picture from the My Expression website.) I woke early and hit the ground running. First I made the sangria. Nothing like liquor first thin in the morning! I had to sample a little. Tasty!

Next, I started on the diaper cake. Chica had made one for me when she threw the shower for Z's arrival. It was the kind that wraps the diapers up into one giant jelly-roll of diapers (as opposed to the kind where you bundle up multiple bundles into layers). Chica held mine together with a zillion stick pins. All the directions I read recommended rubber bands. So of course, rubber bands were the one thing I forgot to get. Luckily, mom-in-law is prepared for anything. She had rubber bands of all sizes - even the super huge one I needed for the largest layer (50+ diapers!). It took a while to get the hang of it, but it turned out so CUTE! Unfortunately, my camera is still being held hostage by the nice people at Precision Camera, repairing the flash I suspect was traumatized by Z. I used one of the other hostesses cameras and took about a million pictures of both the diaper cake and the rest of the shower. I was like baby shower paparazzi! I will post a picture as soon as she sends me one.

I hosted the shower with Chica's two sisters-in-law at her mom's house. I was a bit of a shower nazi, but they were a joy to work with. They let me do all the fun stuff like the invitations and the diaper cake. I guess that was practical, as transporting food over 100 miles would not make for good eats. We did mini quiches, scones with all the trimmings, a gorgeous fruit plate, chilie cheese polenta (okay, corn casserole squares, but polenta sounds so much fancier!) and adorable cupcakes with frosting booties on them.

Chica's mom was initially scandalized at the menu, but I think she came around. She was so impressed with how pretty everything looked. It should have; we used all of her stuff. It was like entertaining in a four-star catering facility. Gorgeous silver and crystal serving pieces. Heirloom silver baby cups and rattles. Beee-yew-tee-ful!

Baby showers are always so much fun. All the tiny little clothes! One of the other hostesses and I got Chica a purple Britax infant car seat (squee!). Purple is Chica's fave color. Mine too. Even though we got her the big gift, I couldn't resist buying Oodle (what the birth mother started calling the unborn baby) a tiny pale purple dress with brown polka dots. Adorable! I also tracked down the book Little Miss Spider by David A. Kirk. It is a lovely story that ends with this verse:

When finding a mother
There is one certain test
You must look for the creature
Who loves you the best.

Oodle is one lucky baby.