Shower Me With Babies!

Yay Baby BBQ!!!

Saturday was such a wonderful surprise!

Maybe its because I live away from my family. Or maybe its because I went to school out of state so all my friends are scattered throughout the country. Or maybe its because I never bothered to really try and make friends in Portland. Whatever it is, I was sort of dreading the baby shower issue. Its not that I really really want to play shower games and dote over all things baby. Its just that knowing I should be having one and knowing I probably wouldnt be having one unless I threw it for myself (lame!) was making me feel rather unpopular.

Somewhere along the line Mr A picked up on the vibes and organized a surprise shower/baby BBQ for this past Saturday! Now, my husband is not what I would consider a skilled social event organizer, so it was really awesome that he went so far out of his box for me! It was indescribable how great I felt. But Ill try to highlight some of the things that meant the most.

Granny, Me, and Mom

(I wish this picture were closer up on our faces so you could appreciate how freakishly we look alike)

1) Both his family and my family (some of them) were gathered in the same backyard. The last time this happened was at our wedding rehearsal dinner and I thought it was simply tops. Theres something about everyone being together that I just adore. I love having both our families in the same area, talking, getting to know each other and just hanging out. Maybe its because I love my family so darn much. As a bonus, I really super like all my in-laws, too. So bringing both together and watching them interact and enjoy each other is really special for me. I wish I didnt have to get married or have a baby to bring the two families into the same place for dinner (because eventually Im going to run out of major life events!) but for now Ill take what I can get!

2) If the whole party had been just family that would have been more than enough for me. But it wasnt! I had friends who drove from all over the place just to be there for the afternoon. That was so cool because its a long drive and I know they didnt come for the sole purpose of playing "who can suck the water out of the bottle the fastest"! I guess I consider myself the kind of person who would drive several hours for an event if it were someone I considered very close to me, so the gesture didnt go unappreciated.

3) Everyone contributed something to the party. People helped out with games and food and chairs or whatever. The BBQ was a real collaboration and thats the kind of shindig that I like the best!

Stephanie & I (she drove from Seattle & picked out my outfit - thanx lady!)

Im still smiling about it! It was exactly what I wanted out of a "baby shower" and I'm glad that everyone (especially everyone in the family) got to catch up with Mr A & I before the baby is born. I love these kinds of events! I hope someone else has a baby soon so I can go to someone else's shower and relive this moment vicariously!

Thanks again!