Bicycle Baby Shower

I had this post all queued up, then Baby F went and surprised us all--no one more so than his mother, I am sure--by actually ARRIVING...a good 3 weeks early. So let's just keep on moving forward here. Baby F, mom, and dad are all doing just fine and settling in at home. He is an absolute doll!

In mid-May, two other dear friends and I had the pleasure of hosting a little baby shower for Catherine. We went with a loose bicycle theme and a relaxed feel. Katie and I wanted to use our respective sets of wedding china (so sorry it had to take a little break from its busy schedule of collecting dust), so we took a cue from our patterns' colors--mint, gold, and navy. 

cookies by the ever-wonderful Claire at Dozen

guess-baby's-birthday calendar (man, we were WAY off); wishes cards; aforementioned china

and I felt SO good about July 5...

Katie had the cocktail napkins made--we opted for a look and wording that they could use in the future. Usually the minimum order on napkins is way huge, so I always avoid putting a date or very event-specific info on stuff like this (unless, of course, that's what you want!). We are STILL using the ones from our wedding (six years ago) and I'm glad to have the flexibility. I also may have a slight problem with collecting cocktail napkins, but that is neither here nor there...

A few visual cues denoting the gift-opening spot, so the mommy-to-be 

was assured prime comfy seating

Mimosa Bar!

Catherine's a Tulane gal, so a slight nod here to her Louisiana ties

Our gift to Catherine. A real First Year survival kit should probably contain vodka and meth. But in an effort to stay practical and legal, we put this little guy together. It's a great shower gift--someone gave one to me and I have been really grateful for her forethought as those fevers always spike in the middle of the night, it seems. We loaded this up with items including but not limited to:

infant acetaminophen, ibuprofen, saline

gas drops

thermometer, nail clippers

NoseFrida snot sucker (you know I love it)

Simple Wishes hands-free pumping bra

Motherlove nipple cream

stacking cups

a board book

A tip from Katie: a "ribbon lady" at Michael's will make custom bows, which she had done with ribbon in our colors and then attached them to burlap wreaths she already had

A sweet smocked outfit belonging to baby Jack, standing in to represent the one that Hayden's mom is going to make for new baby F to Catherine's specifications (so sweet). 

the gang's back together!

Hayden and I both had wish cards like these at our baby showers, and still like looking through them (she actually had hers framed for her nursery), so we reprised the idea

Then the big and little guys joined us for a post-shower gathering!

So sweet to see the little ones play together.