Some baby shower pictures

Here are a few pictures from the baby shower for my brother and sister-in-law, and their new little man who will be coming soon, Cael McCoy. I have to mention now, that after we were done setting up I think I got one more picture during the shower, luckily my great friend Katie (the photographer) offered to take pictures for us, so I will share those with you soon. Until then . . . enjoy!

The diaper cake . . .and I MADE IT! I rolled up close to 100 size 1 and 2 diapers and arranged them like a tiered cake. I used a cylinder of bath toys to anchor them in the center, and started making layers of circles of diapers around it. So fun! Of course the best part was finding cute little things to decorate the cake with onesies, pacis, rattles, bath toys, stuffed animals, etc.

We opted for cupcakes versus a whole cake for the day. The pastry chef at the venue made them for us. They were chocolate and vanilla swirl cake with chocolate ganche filling! The icing was so light and airy. They tasted wonderful! But my sweet tooth has ALWAYS loved things like this (pregnancy being no exception).

The other day, Katie and I made the favors. We melted a bag of Wilton white chocolate and put it into a piping bag. I snipped off the tip and drizzled it on the pretzel rods. We added large and small sugar crystal sprinkles (blue and green), put them in pretzel favor bags and added a little animal print ribbon because they were too cute. And the pretzels tasted great!

Here is a "far away" shot of how the tables looked. We had blue and green napkins alternating, jungle themed centerpieces made by my very talented family members, place cards, and of course favors. The food was great too! We opted for a trio of food options: salad, soup, and sandwiches.

Kelly got some GREAT gifts!

Here is the sign we made for the shower. And yes, we made the animals with the "Zoo Animal" Cricut cartridge. They turned out SO cute!

So cute I had to show a few close ups! Here is our little pink-polka dot hippo, hiding in the pond and grass.

Here is the little elephant squirting some water from it's trunk.

Here are the cute little lions!

Here are a few centerpieces up close! My aunt hand hand-made these cute little animals to match the crib bedding for Baby Cael. We've got some talented people in my family!

We made a jar of "well wishes and thoughts" for Kelly. For the moments when their little one is getting her frustrated (which babies NEVER do), and when she just needs a little word of encouragement.

Here is a table detail. We made cute little place cards, with rub-on jungle animal stickers.

And the last picture I have from the day is of my good friend Katie and I. She took pictures for us, and is also the one I went to Celevland with. She is super talented! She and her hubby are the one who have been living with us for a bit this summer because they are moving to Texas. As in, her husband is already there (sad), and she is leaving Friday afternoon (SAD!!!!). So I had to get a nice picture of the two of us before she leaves me for the Lone-Star state!

I'll share some of Katie's amazing pictures soon.

I hope everyone had a good weekend! Mine was busy but relaxing at the same time, with the shower on Saturday we were busy from the morning until around 5. Then we went out to dinner at Outback with our great family friends, the Allen family. I have known the Allen's youngest daughter, Marnie, since 2nd grade. We became instant friends and our families started hanging out all the time. We took ski trips up north with them, hung out at the lakes in the summers, spend Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations together, and just really enjoy each other's company.

Marnie and I are both expecting. She called me back at the end of May to tell me that they were going to be parents. We were SO thrilled for them, and in the back of my mind I was thinking I would LOVE to have our little ones so close in age and hopefully become great friends like we were able to. Well a few weeks later we found out we were expecting, and our due dates are only about 2 and a half weeks apart. It is so awesome to share this experience with one of my best friends, because we can call and share pregnancy stories, and completely agree that we have NEVER been so indecisive in our entire lives as we are now (you know, when you are starving but have NO CLUE what sounds good to eat). So that is an amazing thing to share with someone you've known practically your whole life!

Today, I'm going to meet up with my good friend Erin who is getting married May 8th. She and I were a year apart growing up, and became buddies in High School. We are looking at bridesmaid dresses (yes I know . . . you are thinking it too . . . 3 months after the baby, breastfeeding!!!! and in a wedding . . . but we'll make it work for Erin . . .and order my dress a little larger in the top than I already would have to). I am so happy for her and John, and know that God has great things in store for them.

Otherwise . . .this week I HAVE to get in to straighten things out in my classroom(as in this is the last week before our PD and work day next week, and kids come right after Labor day). I have the basic layout done, but need to go scope out a different table and see what we can make work. I LOVE getting my classroom together and organizing everything, but it is a BIG task. But . . . I did find out I get one extra Para-Pro in my classroom this year (this means my numbers are good!!!) so that will help a great deal! So far I have 10 in my morning session, and 6 (plus probably 2 who will add right after the school year starts) in the afternoon. I actually have added only girls to my caseload thus far which is a nice change :) So, wish me luck and say a little prayer for me as I tackle that this week, and I PROMISE to share some pictures of it when it looks more like a classroom! And I will mention that I am being careful lifting and moving things, in fact my dad (who has taught for 30+ years) has come in to help me out. I used to go in a help him get ready for the school years, and learned what it takes to make a great teacher from him, and now he likes to come help me out. So fun!

Have a great Monday!