Home Improvements and Baby Shower!

My shower was amazing.  JP and one of my best friends conspired to surprise me, though in the end decided to spill the beans to make sure that I was fine with the location and guest list.  Which, of course, I was.  I am fairly easy to please.  It was held at a locally-owed cafe/restaurant across the street from our store.  Adorable little place.  I got tons of of adorable stuff, and nothing that I plan to return.  Please don't misunderstand this to be a complaint, because it very much isn't, but it's truly amazing how extremely little of what I got came off of my registry.  It makes me wish I hadn't worried so much about building it!

Several folks couldn't make it due to illness, and I totally appreciate the thoughtfulness of not bringing their germs near me.  I don't know if it's as bad everywhere, but EVERYONE around here has the flu!  It's crazy!

The very best part was spending time with my family and friends.  My mom, grandma, and favorite aunt drove 5 hours to be there.  Two of my cousins drove 2+ hours to be there.  It was truly a wonderful afternoon.  My mom and grandma grabbed a hotel room and stayed through most of Sunday morning, as well.  They took me shopping to grab a few things that I still needed.  I was so sad to see them leave, as I won't seem them again until baby girl is born.  I'll stop rambling and get right to the pictures!

I didn't think to take a shot of the outside of the place, so this is one I found with a Google image search.

A shot I took while no one was paying attention.  I was just trying to get a feel for the party in general.

Same here.  It gives you an idea of the decorations and whatnot.  So cute!

My unwrapped haul.  Nice, right?

Me standing next to my unwrapped haul!  So much pink, I love it!

The best Mammaw ever, and one of my daughter's namesakes.  Marilyn Jean.  Looking pretty gorgeous for 83, if I do say so myself.

Caught mid-laugh, ready to unwrap the first of the gifts.  This was my my Pack n' Play!

My travel system!  I pretended like I didn't go pick out, buy, and wrap this myself, and was paid back later. Love it!

Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur...

An adorable hoodie and pants set from my younger sister, who is house-sitting in FL and couldn't be there.

I had no idea how many baby clothes existed with something embroidered on the butt, but I love them!  This was from my twin sister, who also couldn't make the trip from Denver.

Bathtub from my mother-in-law and her sister.

My mommy found this little shelf and blocks, and customized it with baby's name and some of my nursery colors.  So sweet!

Mom found almost the whole alphabet at a yard sale, but didn't want to lug all of them south.  So she just brought baby's initials!

Here I am, caught making a face, gushing over some adorable little mittens.

JP and I with the sign that my friend made.  Very cute!

My aunt threw this picture together.  It's part of one of my maternity shots, and some hand-made booties.

Another shot of the poster, along with a little preemie outfit from my mother-in-law.  I can't believe how adorable all the tiny little clothes are!

I don't care much for this picture, but it models one of the 6 desserts that we had our choice of, as part of the party package.  This was the coconut cream cheesecake with caramel sauce.  Oh my!

Here is JP modeling the pineapple upside-down cake.  Also yummy!  There was also triple-layer fudge cake, a brownie a-la-mode, turtle cheesecake, and bread pudding with a rum sauce.  Omg.

This, is my very very favorite picture from the day.  JP modeling the diaper bags for the guests.  There is an ongoing poll as to which looks best on him.  We'd love to have your input!

Switching gears, I'm going to share just a couple of shots from our home projects in progress.  Please keep in mind that my house is very old, and in need of a lot of help.  We've gotten a TON done, but there is still a lot to do.

This is the hallway.  We tore out disgusting carpet, and found asbestos tile underneath.  Don't worry, as long as we don't turn it into powder, it's harmless.  The walls and trim are freshly painted, and very soon driftood laminate is going down over top the tile.  This same floor goes throughout my back room, as well, and will also be covered with the same laminate.

This is the future nursery.  I know, I know, we have a lot to do.  JP had been using it for storage for about 10 years, so it took a very long time to get it this cleared out.  We'll use this as a "before" shot of sorts, and as soon as we get more work done, I'll share some "after" shots.

Time for us to grab some lunch and head to our weekly BPP.  Catch you all later!