shower fun..."odessa style"

i write today OVERWHELMED with gratitude for many reasons! last weekend, october 2nd and 3rd, austin and i were in odessa for the big football game between ohs and phs (the red and white were victorious!!) as well as our second baby shower!! there were ten hostesses and a couple "junior" hostesses. i do believe that these ten ladies thought of everything...and i do mean EVERYTHING! i have no idea exactly how long plans were in the works, but all the details of that afternoon were top-notch! i had such a great time getting to soak up the eye-catching details as i entered the room, visiting with guests, laughing and catching up with family and friends, opening gifts to be utilized by our son upon his arrival in a mere handful of weeks, snacking on goodies of all kinds and sipping punch...etc. it was definitely a fun time, to say the least! below are 17 of my favorite pictures! thank you, riley, for sharing!

upon entering the fellowship hall of first presbyterian church, guests could read a scrabble-inspired door decoration. very cute idea, mom!!

the clothesline idea was riley's! four adorable puppy outfits and the letters of our little boy's name decorated the fireplace area in the room. the diapers on the table were filled with "sweet poo." guests were asked to figure out which melted chocolate candy was in each of the ten diapers. my friend from junior high and high school, nikki, won the prize! at the sign-in table (manned by one of the junior hostesses, our niece, morgan) guests received a candy pacifier necklace made with white lifesavers and yellow lemon drops. even the glue holding it all together (powdered sugar and water) was edible!! thanks for the special added touch, aunt bev!

also at the sign in table was a piggy bank painted by my very dear friend, kimberly! the bank was for anyone who wanted to contribute to owen's college fund! it's never to early to start saving for that ever-so-important college education! when all was said and done, we ended up with a deposit totaling $77.90! we are so grateful to everyone who contributed.

you've most likely heard of a diaper cake, right? well, have you ever heard of a diaper doghouse? this little doghouse sat on the gift table and was constructed by several of my family members! the doghouse is cardboard covered with diapers; the dog was made using washcloths, receiving blankets, safety pins, and a couple rubberbands. the dog bowl is made of a diaper genie refill filled with plastic outlet covers to represent dog food. the best part of the whole thing?? when i lifted the lid, there was so much baby stuff PACKED into the actual house! even the "attic" was stuffed...with what else? more rolled diapers! it took forever to look through it all...but it is all stuff we will use with little owen!!!

here is one of the 2 cakes...mmm mmm good! i love cake! this one was from sam's and was fabulous! many of the snacks in this picture and the picture below were homemade including cookie truffles, crinkles (i think that is what they are called...a crispy sugar cookie), date balls, etc. thanks to everyone who contributed something to the goodie table!

the guests seemed to enjoy the atmosphere, the food, the company, and the gifts! it was great having so many people there to celebrate owen's upcoming birth! austin, owen, and i are truly blessed.

the table decorations were adorable! they were little wrapped boxes with doghouses and stuffed dogs inside! the look was completed with flowers and balloons. the long white sign on each table thanked guests for sharing in this special time. the little yellow cards were "advice for the mommy-to-be" and for these, i am truly grateful! i wish more people had filled them out! the tables were also sprinkled with confetti and baby boy mints! so cute! this particular picture shows a bone over the doghouse opening that reads "olive." there was another with "shelby" and then the rest were without signs. of course that was just another special added touch having our 2 lovable pups represented!

yay for the hostess gift!! this is owen's little "jumperoo," or as my older brother likes to call it...the "jump-a-tron." austin and my brother, joe, came to the church before the shower and put it together. it is such a cute little play center and we are sure owen will enjoy it!

speaking of hostesses...here they are now! from left to right, we have morgan (junior hostess and niece), staci (childhood/lifelong friend), mom (and of course, owen's grammy), me (the mommy-to-be), riley (best friend of 15 years!!), mari (riley's mom), cindy (my sister-in-law), aunt bev (the maker of the pacifier necklaces and many of the goodies on the goodie table), deborah (longtime friend), and camille (junior hostess and flower girl at our wedding in 2004). not pictured and unable to attend were kimberly (owen's bank-painter), kristin (riley's stepmom), and aunt kathy (the one in charge of the corsage). i am so thankful for all these wonderful ladies and feel so loved and blessed to know each and every one of them. owen is one lucky little guy!

what a belly! people were supposed to cut a piece of yarn that they thought would fit around my waist. (what waist??) haha. this was "measurement time." the closest to the actual diameter won a prize!

this is riley and me! riley, as mentioned above, is my best friend of 15 years. we have been through what seems like everything together! i am so thrilled that she is a part of my life and would trade absolutely NOTHING for her, her friendship, and all that she means to me. she is such an amazing, funny, loving, caring, generous, positive woman of God and i love her to pieces! she is owed so much thanks for all she did to make this baby shower an incredible time for me and my soon-to-be little boy!

this is me opening one of MANY wonderful gifts! i wish there was a better word than 'blessed' to describe how i feel as a result of this day! blessed is all i can think of. i thank the Lord daily for all He has given me through the love and support of my family and friends!

this is my cute mom and me! she is almost as excited about owen as we are! she is an amazing woman and grammy...so thoughtful and generous. i am one lucky girl...lucky and blessed to have a mom like this one!

i just LOVE the expression on my face. i also like the way my hair looks in this picture! :)

those are the highlights of my odessa baby shower! it was such an enjoyable time.

another post coming soon,

:) carianne