Baby Shower All American Frontier Meets Modern Classic

All American Frontier Meets Classic Baby Shower

When people hear Winnie the Pooh, they smile.  It’s a classic.  It’s timeless. The stories are rustically set in the 100-Acres Woods, a perfect backdrop for the American frontier of log cabins, mountain ranges and trails, bringing a nostalgia that leaves a warm feeling of happiness.  The very feeling I hoped to bring to our family and friends as they showered us with their love.

Our baby shower wasn’t the standard cutesy baby shower.  It was classy with white linen tablecloths meets rustic American with log stands, green burlap table runners and pine cone garland, mixed in with the Winnie the Pooh baby theme.

The hostesses for the shower were friends I’ve known since before I was a teenager:  Kim and Kristen.  They did a fantastic job in planning, knowing they were going for a different feel and putting a great deal of thought and energy into the decorations, food and the event in general.  Both of my friends had challenges in their lives going on such as children going to the doctors and the red tape of closing on a house.  Yet, they took the time to plan our shower.  As Greg said, “You have really good friends, Aleta.”  They are a blessing and very much appreciated, words don’t do it justice.

Even with my parents out of town a month before our shower and coming in town a couple of days before, tired and worn out from a difficult drive through some really scary snow storms, everything managed to come together well ~ the shower being at my parents’ home.  Fortunately, my friends had access to their house ahead of time and were able to set up in advance.

My Mom says the shower started the Friday before, as gifts arrived early from guests who RSVP’d that they would be unable to attend.. this included beading friends, fellow teachers, neighbors and cousins.  They sent their love even when they couldn’t be there.

Kim said, “I’m Italian, one thing I will make sure of is that we have enough food.”  She planned for a group of 50.  I think we made it to 60 in attendance, but we had food and then some from sandwiches, fruit, salads, coleslaw salad, veggie tray, 7 layer dip, jambalaya, chicken stew, gumbo, tigger tails, cake and chocolate covered strawberries.  The drinks were a mixture of ice tea, sherbet, water and soft drinks.  (I think my Mom had a bottle of bubbly in the refrigerator, but I don’t think she opened it during the shower :)

The decorations were a mixture of rustic and baby.   I agree with Greg, “You have talented friends.”  

Greg and I arrived 30 minutes before the shower was supposed to start.  We were surprised to see it in full swing with a full house already!  We made it through the crowds, hugging and laughing, just overwhelmed already by the love and well wishes.  A number of people said, “Aleta, you’re 7 and a half months pregnant and wearing a mini-dress!  You look great!”  I didn’t say it then, but I was actually wearing a maternity top that was so large on me that it made for a mini dress when I had maternity tights on (very comfy). 

Kim put it this way, “How do I say this… you look.. pregnant… but not 7 ½ months!”  That made me feel good.  And considering my doctor is very happy with the progress of the baby’s development and my weight, I’m happy too.

I couldn’t get over how many people were at the shower… from all aspects of our lives… immediate family, naturally, relatives and friends, cousins and aunts and uncles from out of state and long distances within the state, friends from college years, teachers I’ve kept in touch with, former coworkers, beading friends, even my cousin Holly did Facetime!  (My husband was so sweet to set up two different iPads for relatives who wanted to share the memories.)

After the shower, I posted on Facebook emotions in my heart… I’ll copy that here:

“Today was our baby shower and... I'm ... overwhelmed. So much love for our son, so many smiles shared. It was beautiful. Thank you to everyone, for offering your love, support and kind words. Thank you to Kim and Kristen for being the hostesses, you did a wonderful job! Thank you for everyone who came, made food, and those who couldn't attend, but brought their thoughts and wow.. thanks for that mountain of gifts. And thank you, Beverly, for taking so many pictures. I'm a shutterbug and it was driving me crazy not to take pictures, thanks a bunch for capturing the memories for us! Thanks to our Moms, Eleanor and Mary Ann, for your love and support and assistance with the shower. Our baby is blessed, to have so much love from family and friends... makes me want to cry, because of the beauty of it. God Bless you for sharing this moment with us. I can't tell you how touched we were.”

Different cultures and people have their own traditions when it comes to pregnancy and baby showers.  I loved the traditions that Kim and Kristen brought to the celebration, including baby shower games, decoration and community.  It’s a common quote that we grow up with ~ “it takes a village to raise a child” and we certainly felt the love and support of our "village" of friends and family for our son.  It's a few days later and I still marvel at the amazing amount of love we felt from everyone there.  

Thank you so very much.

I’ll post some pictures below from the shower, but please feel welcome to view more pictures from my Picasa site – click here.