Pregnancy Mad Gab {Baby Shower Game}

I recently hosted a baby shower for my sister. It was an "I Love You {Eeehoo*}" themed shower. My sister has creative hearing and it's something we love about her and we often times get tickled at what she THINKS she hears. So, what better than a round of Pregnancy Mad Gab?! My mom went through our Mad Gab game and pulled out any phrases that were pregnancy, labor or birth related. Below is a list of the phrases we chose for the shower. I was a really fun ice breaker and I was pleased at how interactive the girls were, plus, we giggled a lot (and that's what shower games are meant to do, right?).

(*Eeehoo is how my sister said "I Love You" when she was a toddler.)

Long overdue

Lawn Gopher Do

It gets worse and worse

Hick Hits Worsen Whirs

Wholesome ingredients

Hole Summon Greedy Hence

I need a laxative

Eye Needle Ax Eight If

A mini-van

Aim Any Fan

On a scale from one to ten

Onus Gale Firm Won Toot Hen

It’s Heaven sent

Hi Seven Cent

How sweet the sound

House Wheat This Hound

Did you hear the news?

Chew Ear Think Ooze

A great recovery

Ache Ray Tree Cover He

Peace and quiet

Pea Sank White

More than I can stand

Mower Thin Hike Handstand

A sleepless night

Ace Leap Lesson height

A labor of love

L.A. Burr Oval of

Change of clothes

Chain Chuckle Owes

High fiber diet

Hi-fi bird High Yet

I Love You Baby Shower {Eeehoo}

My sister is having her first baby and on Sunday we celebrated with a shower. What a wonderful day we had celebrating her path to motherhood. I tried to think of ways to really personalize the party, starting with the theme which was "I Love You!" or "Eeehoo!" which is how Elizabeth said "I love you" when she was a toddler. She loves bright colors and tulips. So, pulling inspiration from the anticipated arrival of spring and the holiday that screams I love you, Valentines day, we created this super bright, cheerful, pleasant party that couldn't have reflected my beautiful, sweet, happy sister any better. 

The invitation is a recreation of this invitation design I saw on Etsy. I wanted the colors to be a tad more vibrant and less pastel, so I just recreated it for our event. 

The cake is an original design. Well, at least I can honestly say I didn't see it on Pinterest! We had a local cake designer bake and ice the cake for us, and then my sister Katherine and I bought three bags of the Brach's Tart & Sassy Conversation Hearts candy and separated out the pink, peach, yellow and white hearts. Katherine came up with this beautiful spiraling pattern and she and Marin placed each candy into the icing one by one just moments before the shower guests arrived. The cake had been refrigerated and we were worried that the candy might bleed or worse fall off the cake if we did it too early. The candy did sweat a little, and I think if it had not been cold when the candies were added this might not have been a problem. Even so, the candies stayed in place and nothing fell off before the guests enjoyed it. Katherine was so kind to include Marin in the decorating, so keep in mind that a five year old assisted in the placement of the candies!

I saw this beautiful paper garland background used at a summer wedding reception by Floridian Weddings and I was in love. So, if you like what we created here, you've got to check out their super duper amazing creation here.

How adorable is that "e"? Elizabeth's Sister-n-law made it for the baby's room and we decided it was a perfect addition to the mantle decorations for the party.

We played a round of Pregnancy Mad Gab which was a HUGE hit and ooed and awwed over the gifts.

That's one happy and excited Granny!

Did I mention that Elizabeth is having a girl? 

Marin is super excited about the new baby and was very helpful to me the day of the shower.

Speaking of girls, look at my baby girl Coralee. Sweet, sweet baby Coralee. Time flies...

Silent Hunting Theme Baby Shower {The Remix}

The hunting baby shower that I hosted in December of 2010 is still the most popular post on my blog. So when the the same girl was pregnant with baby number two (another boy) I was quickly inspired to create a more low key remix version of this same theme. After all, it's hunting season!

It's often, with baby number two, that parents have all the necessary items but who doesn't need diapers?! So I created a "silent" baby shower for members of our church to participate in. The baby's name is DAX and so Diapers for Dax was born. For three weeks this 20x30 poster was hung on the wall in the foyer of the church with a box below it.

I ordered the poster ($19) and 50 4x6 prints from Walmart and distributed the 4x6 prints to the congregation. Participants or "guests" were asked to bless the family by "bagging a pack of diapers or wipes" and were given "pamper permits" to tag their score. This allowed them to put their name on the gift without the effort or expense of wrapping it.

This same concept would work for an office setting or for a teacher. Besides the initial time invested in the design and theme, it was a simple, easy way to bless this family. PLUS, it really worked! Let's just say, I think the hunters all hit their bag limit.

Coralee's First Birthday

Coralee shared her first birthday celebration with her Daddy. Our theme was "head bumps" because it's their thing. They give head bumps. Noggin lovin' is another term we use to describe their affection. No matter what you choose to call it, I LOVE it and it melts my heart every time I see them do it. I'm not naive enough to think we're the only family to share this affection, but I thought it was super special that we were able to make it our party theme.

In sticking with tradition, I made Coralee's birthday hat. It's a simple, vintage inspired black and cream design. I found it funny that most of her first birthday matched her Sip-N-See party. Something about Coralee, apart from her name, screams a message from the past. All the beauty I see in things that grow better with age. Happy Birthday my sweet. I love you. And so do all of these beautiful people...

 

 

Family Room {Demolition Fun}

We've decided it's time to start doing a little demolition to the family room. This week, we took down all of the old wall covering and removed countless nails.