showered with love

yup!! one of my dearest friends just had her first baby last night.

she is currently in the hospital with her sweet baby boy, and i'm sure she feels nothing like the chipper bright-eyed mama-to-be you see above. that shot was taken at her baby shower a couple weeks ago. {ahhh... the joys of being a brand-spakin' new mom. i hope she can catch up on her sleep at the hospital before she has to head home.}

since i have not yet been to the hospital and can't get some newborn photos until i do {hopefully tomorrow... 'cause i'm so dying to hold that sweet little peanut in my arms!}, i'll post the photos of her shower instead, because... well, it's high time. i mean, the baby is here and we know the gender and everything. these photos are nearly a forgotten thing of the past in light of the spectacular news that so many have been waiting to hear!... IT'S A BOY!

so hurry up and look at these, 'cause soon there won't be anything but newborn pictures, and things such as baby bumps will be long forgotten. *wink*

without further ado...

a little foreshadowing with that blue "b" at the beginning of the banner, don't ya think? nobody really knew if it was a boy or a girl, except the doctor, i guess. but i should have known when i saw this. i mean, pink doesn't even show up until about half-way down the banner for cryin' out loud!

well, it was your typical lovely baby shower...

good food.


pretty decorations.


little vignettes of whimsical, child-like touches in books and toys and all things baby.


the obligatory photos of mom and dad as babies.

lots and lots of gifts. {did i mention there were lots? like the most i've ever seen! the shot below is of just one table!}

oh... and my favorite touch of all... this clothesline of baby onsies. some for boys. some for girls.

and again with the blue coming first! how did i not see it?

isn't it precious, though? it really made me smile, and was lots of fun to photograph, too.


even though i was convinced kellie was having a girl, i was smitten with this little number...

might have snagged it for isaac if he wasn't already too big for it's precious little tininess.

anyway, like i said... it was all quite lovely. lots of green and yellow decor {not just because those are gender-neutral colors, but also because they were their wedding colors almost two years ago}.

here was another favorite touch... the message on the cake that kellie's mom thought up.

i thought it was so creative, and the perfect double meaning for my friend's special pregnancy. she had to be closely monitored during her pregnancy, and it was known the birth would have to take place earlier than the due date. lots of prayers were going up for mama and baby these last several months... all the way up to yesterday when baby stepped onto the scene. so it was a special delivery, indeed.

anyway, all those traditional, yet special baby shower things were nice {and fun for me with a camera}. but it was this special girl that made the day beautiful...

it was so much fun to see her walking around talking to the many women gathered there for her and her growing family.

she even got in some practice time with her niece. content here...


and not so much here...

hahaha! that's the really good practice!

i already knew she'd be a natural as a mom {and her hubby as a dad}, because i've observed them with other kids before... including my own son who loves them to pieces. i know she is going to make a great mom! it's actually very strange to see her take on this new role, especially when i think back to when i met her. she was just a kid, really. almost fresh out of high school, still single. just a girl lovin' life and fashion and friends and working. it would have seemed surreal at the time to look down the road and imagine her as a mom. i can't wait to be fellow moms together! and i'm so excited isaac will have a baby "brother" and pal.

so here's the part i don't want to admit... i was wrong about what the gender of the baby would be. from day one, i told her she was having a girl. well, that is to say, she asked. and then i told her. a guess, really. but a hunch, too.

i love that they decided not to find out. we didn't either. it's a fun element, and for both her and i with scheduled inducings, it was nice to have that element, because the element of surprise as to which day the baby would be born was taken away. so getting the surprise of finding out if it's a boy or girl after the birth sort of helps replace that.

anyway, the shower planners {or perhaps it was just kellie} had the best idea... they would request on the invitation that guests wear either pink or blue, depending on what they thought the sex of the baby would be. so, of course, i wore pink!

{hmmmm. note to self. you have lost your hunch-mojo! just chalk it up to mommy-brain and try not to get involved in these things in the future.} =)

there sure were a lot of pinks there! i was one of them, though not seen, because i was behind the camera in the pictures below. kellie's mom wanted a picture of all the pinks and all the blues.

us pink-thinkers thought we had it in the bag!

but, alas...

and now i will eat my words for the next twelve to fourteen conversations i have with kellie and bobby when the subject comes up... as many times as i previously insisted in conversation to them that it was a girl. last time i play that game!

anyway, before the gift-opening began, i went around taking some pictures of guests... for kellie and her mom to have as part of their memories of the day.

this is kellie's mom with one of the little girls in attendance.

kellie with a couple of her closest friends. they were sitting across from me, so i was able to snap a couple pictures of them while they chatted.

kellie and her mama.


and a few more.. with mama-in-law too! two very proud grandmas! it shows all over their faces!

okay, now for the gifts. don't worry. i didn't take a picture of every single gift as it was opened. if i had, you'd be here forever... or you'd leave now! and i figure this is already long enough as is.

so i just hit the highlights, and you can browse through them below.

mostly, i just wanted to get the smiles and joy on bobby's and kellie's face as they opened all the sweet little things for their girl... i mean, boy!

and i also wanted some shots of the guests as they looked on, because we were all enjoying their enjoyment.

funny!


sisters... two new moms.


someone's tired!

one of the things i was so impressed by at this shower was all the gift packaging. there seemed to be a lot of gifts given in the cutest bags, bins and baskets... even boxes {like mine!} i found it to be such a great way to give a gift or gifts, because the wrapping serves useful every bit as much as the items that are in it. things for baby, and the storage you'll need to put them in when they are all brought home. brilliant!

don't get me wrong, though. there were still plenty of pretty papers and bows. and who doesn't love those?

okay, i just have to chime in on these... the diaper motorcycles were the best! first time i ever saw one of these.



and there wasn't just one... there were two! eeek. so stinkin' cute!

not only do i love this picture because it captures a typical bobby and kellie moment of laughter and joy, but i also happen to know bobby is laughing at me here. so the memory is even more endearing. good times. that little grin on kellie's face... classic!

brother and sister. she looks so happy for him. love these two shots of them.

as much as i swooned over so many of the gifts, this had to be one of my favorites! being the owl freak i am, i found this so adorable! if it hadn't been personalized with someone else's last name, i'd have taken it for us three owls here! {don't worry. she knows where i live.}

this was the last gift they opened, i think. and what a perfectly sweet note to end on.


okay... that's it!

whew! that was a lot of gifts! it seriously took such a long time to open... like a decade and a half. they did a great job at staying on task with energy and enthusiasm. when you are that far along in a pregnancy, it's very taxing to open so many gifts. i remember this well from my shower!

there it is! congrats, dear kellie and bobby! we couldn't be more happy for you, and we can't even begin to say how excited we are to hang out as two families of three, both with little boys who will no doubt be very good friends.

many, many, many congrats from mr. b, isaac and me! so glad all are healthy and happy. we love you!