Showered with Love, Food and Loads of Booty

Our baby shower was one of the better days of my life. I was looking forward to it, but had no idea what to expect as I had never been to one. So I was somewhat blindsided by the emotion it brought up for both of us. Afterwards, R said that he felt like a small child after Xmas ends. I felt a mix of intense gratitude for the support and love I felt and fear--there is really nothing to look forward to now before the birth.

K had taken the Fung Wah in the day before so we got to spend a lot of time catching up and eating hot dogs. It was so nice to see her. We got to the my parent's house a few minutes early:



Me and my stepmother (E):



R dressed up for the occassion. Honestly, I cannot imagine having had the shower without him. It seems strange to me to not include the father (unless of course he asks to not be included. R was just as moved and just as touched as I was. Here is his "outfit":



After eating brunch (an amazing spread including bagels, lox, quiche, mimosas, tons of fresh fruit, cookies, pastries, muffins and danish) we went into the living room to start the shower with the unveiling of the diaper cake! My favorite cousin went to enormous trouble to make this for me and it was/is gorgeous and oh-so-practical as it is filled with lotions, diapers, blankets, clothes, toys and more. Incredible.



Opening Gifts:





At the beginning of the shower K asked me to save her gift for last. She read an amazing letter to the baby that made everyone cry. Then I opened the gift, which is a parenting advice scrapbook collected from all the friends and family who could not come to the shower (and some who were there) as well as well known NYC media figures. K had spent months collecting them. Some were funny and some were poignant and by the end, most of the room was crying. I hope one day little S has a friend like K. That is the best a parent can hope for.





For her final gift, K made an incredible front page:



The shower ended with a champagne toast and cake:



Later that night, we sat amid the mountains of schwag that took two cars to cart home. Wow:



I am overwhelmed by the generosity and the thoughtfulness from my friends and fmaily and totally overwhelmed with gratitude for my stepmom (E), sister (M) and K who put so much effort into the day. I feel so blessed.