On Baby Parties

Yesterday was all about the registry, so today is all about the EVENTS for baby!

Baby showers are cool, even in all of their awkwardness of opening gifts and paper plate bow hats and all of that jazz, because you know that the peeps there are coming at this from a place of love and excitement for you and your little gestational darling.

For me, we will be having two showers (that I have been invited to anyway). The first is going to be an intimate lunch with some of my super close sorority sisters from college. Having a baby is a great excuse to get people to come in from out of town who you haven't seen in a while. Yay!

I was tortured over the guest list on this one, because there were SO many sorority girls women that I would LOVE to see, but inviting them to a shower when we haven't talked in a while just seems inappropriate (even though BABY is a great way to get people who you have made those "oh we should totally have dinner some time" plans with in the past actually committed to some face time...you know you are guilty, I am too).

I know, I know, you don't HAVE to bring gifts to a shower, but I just feel like it would be so awkward to be all, "Hey I know we haven't talked or hung out in a while, but would you like to come to this event where you totally don't have to bring a gift, but oh by the way here is my registry info." Creepy. Let's just say asking for gifts is awkward for me. Don't get me wrong, I totally want them, but the whole registry conundrum, gah, it is too much for me.

{Registry conundrum = I want people to know my preferences in case they want to buy a gift, because let's face it, we don't all have the same taste, but the act of registering puts an expectation out there for a gift and that makes me uncomfortable. However, if you are even thinking of inviting me to something, I better have your registry info. I like to give a heartfelt mix of things both on and off the registry complete with gift receipts in case my heartfelt idea is something you hate with all your soul. It's cool, I totally understand.}

In any case, we are having a small, intimate sorority shower luncheon, and I could not be more thrilled to just spend time with ladies! Yay!

The second shower, my dear friend has offered to host for me from the second I peed on the stick and got two lines. She knew before my husband, and her husband knew before my husband, back in the good old days when A was all mad that I wasn't having a drink while we watched zombies race around Norfolk. {Side note, it's her anniversary today, Happy Anniversary!!!}

That one will be much bigger with a big invite list, and it is happening on Mother's Day and will be a celebration of motherhood in general so even though it is a big group I can feel welcomed to "the club" rather than showered and awkward and princess-y. Plus, my mom and at least one of my grandmas will be in town - bonus! (My mom didn't get to come to any of my bridal showers, since the one she was going to throw got reassigned as our wedding date when the Navy decided to throw its weight around)

As excited as I am for the showers, the other big event will be a Sip & See! I have been in love with the idea of this event since I heard about it.

A Sip & See is an open house to meet the baby, check out the nursery and hang out with the parents, since you know they aren't leaving the house for a while. I love this idea. Besides, it involves all the boys too, and I love the coed stuff. Plus, we never got to have a housewarming because A was on deployment and then when we tried to have one he got appendicitis and was in the hospital. (I had to call from the hospital to cancel a keg reservation - tres depressing) So, this would be a great opportunity for people to come over, check out Baby G, who will by then have a name, see the cuteness that (hopefully) is Baby and the nursery and sip some champagne.

Some think it would be hellacious to have all of those people over with an unclean house and when you generally feel miserable, but there is nothing to motivate me like other people's judgment, so I am excited for the reason to get out of pjs. Besides, my mama and mom in law will be on hand to help with cleaning, and they are good.at.it.

I also think the celebration in the hospital is an awesome thing for some people, but know that I will want that as private time...if that's your style though it can be totally cute. If you haven't read the birth story of Nella Cordelia over at Enjoying the Small Things, you totally should. It is a tearjerker, but also a really cute plan for celebrating a birth of a blessed baby.

Another trend we are eschewing is the Baby Gender Reveal Party. These are awesome, but we aren't telling. So there.

Am I missing any kinds of baby events? I am pretty excited about our plan.


23 weeks along today

...and this girl loves a party so you can best believe that her baby will too.