TX baby shower!

my mom and sissy threw me the cutest baby shower a few weeks ago!  they spent so much time and effort planning out every little detail and everything turned out perfect :) we spent the night before baking 40 pink and blue velvet cupcakes (when I say we I mean they made them and I taste tested haha), white and dark chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate pretzels dipped in sprinkles, and my sister planned on making cake pops but sometime after midnight they seemed very unnecessary haha so we all went to bed.

pictures courtesy of my talented professional photographer sister!

our lovely neighbor Martha let us use her house for the shower since my dad is currently re-doing our house.  she heard we had a little animal theme going and put out these adorable stuffed animals she had lying around for decor.  not only did she let us use her house but she gave me a dangerous food magazine full of every kind of dessert imaginable and told me to pick anything I wanted and she would bake it for the shower!  after flipping through it, Mark and I made an emergency run to the store for all of the ingredients necessary to make a berry crumble!  haha it was so good!  I ended up asking her to make a banana cream cheesecake that was divine...

the banana cream cheesecake is on the right, behind the pretzels!

I didn't have a chance to have one of these at the shower but the night before they were delicious!  ha!

isn't this the cutest party favor?!  all Steph.

there were so many amazing things to eat at this shower!  so many people brought delicious things to contribute...we had beef and cheese empanadas (hands down, my favorite!), chicken salad, croissants, yummy fruit salad (all I'm craving this pregnancy!), vegetables and dips, and assorted crackers with fancy homemade cheese spreads! sooo goood!!!

there were probably around 30 people at the shower, half of them were my mom's sweet hispanic friends from work who knew so much about me and the baby already!  they all were so excited for my mom to be a grandma :)  some of my old friends from junior high were able to come and then lots of people from our new ward.  I'm so excited to make more friends out here, hopefully ones with babies!

my cousin Lydia was my official gift recorder (isn't she a doll?)  I got some super cute things including little animal sleepers, adorable onesies (all gender neutral! yay!), car seat and stroller activity bars, colorful bibs, spoons, a johnson & johnson bathtime set with the cutest finding nemo bath toys, a swaddle me, newborn mittens, a handmade baby blanket and booties (darling!) and lots of classic baby books!  also gift cards and cash which were much appreciated :)

I don't know what I would have done without all the help we have received from my two showers and the tons and tons of hand me down clothes, shoes, hats, swaddle blankets, burp cloths, bottles, and baby gear (three car seats, two strollers, a bouncer, playmat, swing and two breast pumps!) that we received from my sister-in-law Al.  this baby is so loved and we are finally ready for the big day!

LA baby shower!

let me tell you a little about my wonderful sister-in-law.  Allison is probably one of the busiest and most amazing people you will ever meet!  she is mom to the cutest little boys around, has an amazing career in public relations and has worked at some of the coolest places ever (Walt Disney Concert Hall, Dreamworks, NBC Universal), is a self-taught gourmet chef, and one of the kindest, sweetest people I know.  even though she is super busy and had a million more important things to do, she threw me a baby shower!  and not just a regular old baby shower...she seriously did SO much and sacrificed what little sleep she gets to make all the little details perfect for me and my baby.  we are going to miss her so much!

Mark, my cousin Jenna and I came over the night before the shower to help her prep and I was amazed at all the labor and love that went into this food.  I think around 11:30 when we were getting ready to leave she said something like, "okay, now I'm going to bake the cake!"  everything was pure perfection.

I can't believe we didn't get any pictures of the ice-cream sandwiches!  they were divine.  homemade vanilla ice-cream in between homemade pink and blue macaroons, holy scrumptious!!  people were supposed to choose a pink or blue one based on what they think baby will be :)  I chose pink!  but I actually think baby is a BOY!  Mark and I used to sit on the couch after dinner and watch a show and I would tell him, "we better enjoy this now because soon we're going to have a little someone running out of his room wanting to see what mom and dad are doing!" in my mind it's always a little boy with mark's dimples and smile!  maybe I also secretly want a boy because I'm going to miss this little boy more than words can say...

I was so happy that for my shower Al didn't plan any silly or embarrassing games!  we also didn't open presents at the shower in order to encourage people to bring gift cards since we're moving.  instead,  everyone decorated adorable onesies for the baby!  this babe is going to have the cutest one of a kind clothes!

Al had all kinds of cute fabric to choose from and a bunch of baby books on the tables for ideas!  every single onesie turned out adorable!!

I made this one for our little baby bear! :)

there was also an advice table.  best advice I got was from my nephew Jake: make sure you let your baby watch lots of tv!  hahaha

I loved how relaxed and laid-back everything felt at the shower.  I would look around and see friends from different areas of my life talking and getting to know one another and it was so cool!  we have made some wonderful friends here in LA...we're really going to miss everyone!

twinning!

baby cousins in the womb!

Esther is due 3 weeks after me with a baby boy!  I wish our babes could grow up together and be best cousins :)  I honestly wish our baby could grow up with both our families!  we will visit lots but it definitely won't be the same...

we are going to miss all you crazy beautiful Rawlings more than you know!