Different Shower, Same Dress

My mom the lovely hostess...

Dolly has now officially been at all of my baby showers--what a trooper


Dolly, it's okay that you love shower food!

A few of my aunts and cousins...

Yummy cake!




This past weekend my mom threw me a family shower. It was so nice to visit with my aunts, cousins and grandmother all the while indulging in yummy shower food. We had a nice afternoon and I received a lot of nice gifts. Dolly and Leland were going to fly out of Raleigh on Sunday morning so they spent Saturday night with us. They made it for the tail end of the shower which was fun. This was my last shower, so now we just wait for this little guy to make his grand entrance! Oh, and I am wearing the same dress as my last shower a week ago...I mean I have 5 1/2 weeks left so I'm not investing in more maternity clothes!

Baby Shower

Here are the two proud grandma's!

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Some of the guests...

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Dolly was so sweet to come down from VA to be at my shower.

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Heather, Amy, Merritt and Jessica--the shower planning girls (oh, and Amanda but she is on her way home from South Africa). They made everything so nice for my shower. I loved everything about it!

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My friend Jenna made the awesome cake...obviously mom and peanut loved it!

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Somehow Brian always manages to make it to the tail end of the showers and usually is caught around the food table.

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Jenna's cake creation...pound cake with raspberries and cream cheese frosting!

This past weekend I had a baby shower hosted by some of my close friends here in Raleigh. I was blown away with all the details that made it so special. It was a 1:00pm luncheon and the food was incredible...I've never seen such a spread!! Luckily I went home with a lot of the extras so I'm still reaping the rewards of their cooking abilities. The decorations were so cute and classy too. They even had my favorite flowers, blue hydrangeas, displayed in teapots around Jessica's house. The favors were adorable little personalized tea boxes. I loved all the games, the guests, the food and the gifts! I felt so loved and overwhelmed with everyone's generosity and the time/effort the girls put into my shower. Thank you so much!!

Peanut has a real nursery!

Finally, our little guy has a room that is almost complete. For all who know my husband, the theme is obvious---GOLF. We had fun getting his room all ready and we were very happy with how the golf painting turned out. She also put little bees over the windows because our bedding has bees on it (golf bedding is non-existent!). Be on the lookout for a new post about peanut's shower!

A Taste of the South for my Northern Sister-In-Law

Oh, where do I even begin in describing my sister-in-law? She is truly one of a kind in so many ways. She's hilarious, completely impulsive, always up for a good time, extremely ambitious and a female version of her dear father. For those of you who do not know the story, the weekend I met Brian at my friend Brett's wedding, Lynnie marched up to me at the rehearsal dinner and asked if I'd be interested in marrying her brother because she could see herself spending holidays with me. Little did any of us know that two years later I would indeed be marrying her brother.
Another tidbit about Lynnie is that she is a proud Northerner through and through! She loves the blizzards, accents, cable knit sweaters and of course the beauty of New England. However, after living in Boston, CT, and NJ for almost two decades, Lynnie decided it was time to hit the South and so she moved to our neck of the woods. Bless her Northern heart....she just happened to pick the hottest summer on record in NC to join the ranks of those of us stowed away in our air conditioned homes until mid-September. She was a trooper (well, she did have her raving fits about the heat now and again) and decided she was going to give the South her all. Over the last eight weeks I've tried my best to make her a Southern belle. I couldn't wait to introduce her to the simple joys of sweet tea and good 'ole Danny's BBQ. She never caved. However, today I was able to convince her to join me at one of the cutest tearooms in the area. She was a real sport even agreeing to play dress up in the feathery hats and colorful boas. After sipping on tea, nibbling on scones and lots of lively conversation I believe Lynnie truly enjoyed her taste of the South. We had a great time!

One thing I must note, however...in two weeks my dear sister-in-law is moving back North to Massachusetts after only 2 1/2 months "roughin" it in the South. Again, this deserves another, "Bless her little Northern heart"....

Mom and Dad V are mending nicely

In my blog entitled, "Papa's Gotta Brand New Hip" I explained how my sweet father-in-law (Dad V) had hip replacement surgery a few weeks ago. Well, here is an update--he is doing GREAT! It was a very rough week post surgery for him (and for me when I had to give him shots!) but he says it is all worth it. After only 10 days with the new hip he flew back to PA on only one crutch! The surgeon is going to feature him on the video they send patients to watch before surgery. Dad V is a character so I'm sure he'll add some spice to it! He has his ole spark back and we are thrilled. He started driving again about 3 weeks after surgery and is 100% now--actually better than before!
Now, on to Mom V (my mother-in-law)who had her gallbladder removed yesterday. She was sent home after being in the hospital for greater part of the day because it was outpatient surgery. Although she's in pain today, she is mending nicely. Dad V is doing his best as her Florence Nightingale. We are just thankful all the surgeries are over and successful. Now they will be feeling spunky by the time they come down in Oct/Nov to meet their first grandchild!