What Will It Bee?

Today was the baby shower to celebrate the impending arrival of a new baby Shogren later this fall. My sister-in-law Sonja is due at the beginning of November with their firstborn.  They chose to be wait to find out the baby's sex, so we won't know if its a boy or a girl until he (or she) is here.

I decided to do a bee-themed shower after searching pinterest for ideas.  Thank you again pinterest for the never-ending supply of inspiration and over the top crafty ideas.  And since most of my time is spent with little boys who are messy, loud, and wild, I love throwing showers even more than I did before kids.  Getting dressed up in something other than jeans and a hoodie, actually wearing jewelry, and spending a morning visiting with girlfriends in a clean home (we went to my mother in law's since this isn't possible at my home) with food that my husband and children would not think of eating....fun, fun fun!!!

We started with this "What Will It Bee?" Banner made out of craft paper from Michaels.

About a week ago, I was strolling through Walmart loading up on cleaning products and my daily quotient of kids (and their parents) screaming & throwing tantrums when I saw this baby bee costume.  Somehow it made it into my cart.  It wanted to be part of the shower.

My friend Stacey (who couldn't attend the shower) made some awesome diaper cakes.  Here is exhibit A.

Exhibit B:  Another beautiful diaper cake along with another "bee" sign made from scrapbook paper and stickers (and picture frames I had around the house already).

Then we found some bumble bee fabric and Stacey made runners for the tables.

We had a pretty tasty spread of food for the brunch.

The food included a few of my favorite recipes including the Pioneer Woman's Best Coffee Cake Ever (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/06/the-best-coffee-cake-ever/), Banana Nutella Bread (http://lemonsandanchovies.com/2012/08/banana-nutella-bread/), and the Pioneer Woman's Chicken Salad (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/04/grilled-chicken-salad-with-feta-fresh-corn-and-blueberries/).  We also had veggie tray, tomato/mozzarella/basil skewers, fruit, individual egg bakes, and a cheesy hash brown casserole.

After we chowed down, we played some games. 

First up was "What's In Your Purse?"  It was a checklist of things that you may find in your purse.  The more random/unlikely the item, the more points you got.  Here they are digging deep to see if they have any more items to gain points.

I forgot to take a picture of the game table with our two other games set up on it.  The first one was a large jar filled with honeycomb cereal and we guessed how many honeycomb were in it.  For the record, there were 839 (and yes, I actually counted them all while my husband and I watched TV the other night).  The second game was a baby version of "The Price is Right" where we guessed how much each baby item cost. 

We had one other activity before presents and that was each guest writing a message to the mom on a diaper so that when she is changing the baby's diaper later on (maybe in the middle of the night?), she'll have a fun little note to read. 

Then it was time for gifts.

While presents were being opened, we did hit up the sweets table for some dessert.

Chocolate cupcakes with a ganache filling.  Frosted with buttercream and topped with bumble bees made out of lemon tootsie rolls and chocolate.

We also had each guest vote on whether its a boy or a girl.  At the end of the shower, it was a tie.

Here are a few shots of the guests.

And one of the 4 Shogren Ladies.

Then we sent the guests off with some chocolate (because you can never have too much chocolate, right?).

It was a fun morning of socializing, eating, and celebrating the excitement of these two becoming parents for the first time.  We are so excited for Mike & Sonja as they venture into this next stage of life!  They are going to awesome parents! They've already gotten lots of practice during the many hours they've logged over the years helping us with our brood who adore spending time with them.

And while we had fun guessing boy or girl, we know that it doesn't really matter.  We are just praying for God's continued blessing on this family during the final weeks of the pregnancy and delivery.  There is nothing like holding your own baby for the first time. It may be a cliche, but it is really is a miracle.  We're thankful that we get to share in the miracle of this new life.  We cannot wait to meet this new baby that is already loved and cherished by so many friends and family. 

The Daddy and Mommy "To Bee"