We just got back from a whirlwind trip to visit Mike and Jess in Colorado. The past few days have been packed with events, dinners out, and shopping. It was a great visit and I even traveled out there alone with Ruby in order to get ready for the shower (Noa joined us a couple of days later).
Here are the girls at
SheShe Nail Salon. We had to have pretty toes for the event, of course! Ruby was more than happy to tag along.
The first item on the agenda was Jess' baby shower. Jess is due next month with a baby boy (how exciting!!). Months ago, when she revealed she was pregnant, I knew I wanted to throw her a baby shower. Later, when she and Traci threw a baby shower for me, I knew for sure that I would make it happen and make it really special and memorable. However, living a few states away makes it difficult to plan such an event. So, I enlisted the help of a few local friends (thanks Brandi, Jen, and Kate!). Since Mike and Jess love all things French, we threw her a Parisian-inspired baby shower. The four of us were each in charge of different aspects of the shower and I'm really happy with how everything came together.
The outside welcome sign:
I jumped on the crafty train and made these onesies by dying them with tea and painting stencils with fabric paint. Thanks to Google Translation, I was able to look up words like "Beep! Beep!"
My role was basically coordinating decorations, so I put together these little vignettes throughout the room. I borrowed baby pics, acquired maternity photos, and gathered as much Paris-inspired things that I could find. Jen, was in charge of flowers. She found a bunch of small vases of different sizes and placed flower groupings all over. They definitely added just the right touch to each place. She also brought a bunch of the frames that I ended up using for maps and photos.
See the blocks? They are FRENCH alphabet blocks. They even had little pictures of animals on one side with their French name. Too cute.
The map below shows Paris, where Mike and Jess have visited before. The cup to the left holds mustaches that were used as photo props later in the day.
This was the favor area with, what else? French macarons!
Traci got in on the planning as well. She created the beautiful invites* for the event, as well as these "Wishes for Baby" cards, thank you notes, and food cards. They were beautiful and perfect.
This was the drink station. I can't take any credit for the food or drinks....that was Brandi, with some help from Kate and Jen. She already owned some great drink containers that were put to use (did you see that wine barrel?! Awesome!). Oh, and I highly recommend Brandi's Sunshine Punch. Especially if you are going to drink it with a striped straw.
I painted these letters to spell out BEBE (French for "baby"). I was so happy with how these turned out, however when I was getting the decorations put out on the day of the shower, I completely forgot about them until the last minute. So, they ended up behind the drinks, but I think they still looked good and added some flair to this area.
The food was just perfect for the event....very French, with lots of cheese. Mmmmm. Again, I can't take any credit for that yumminess, but I did enjoy eating it.
Kate made the most adorable banner that said "BONJOUR BEBE" but it was tricky to hang on the fireplace. We ended up using duct tape and periodically slapping the pieces to make sure they stayed in place. The banner will be going in the baby's room soon.
Unfortunately during the shower I wasn't able to take any people pictures, but Jess' photog friend was there and I'm hoping to share a few of her pics on the blog soon. Then you can see who the talented ladies are who helped pull this shindig together. And you'll need to see the guest of honor, who was looking smashing and super cute on her special day. So, those will hopefully be coming soon.
Looking back, I'm really happy with how it all came together. It really was a lovely event and I'm so glad that I could be a part of this day for Jess. It's hard to live far away from your best friend. I haven't been able to be a part of many aspects of her pregnancy, especially with my own baby joining the world not too long ago. So, being able to honor her and her first child is really special to me, especially since I can't be there for all the little things during her pregnancy.
The baby shower wasn't the only big event of the weekend. Noa, Mike, and our friend, Rob ran the Colorado marathon in Fort Collins, CO. This is the third marathon that they have run together. The day was sunny and cool - perfect for a race day. I am so proud of them!
The finishers: Noa, Mike, and Rob. Congrats, guys!
Mike and Jess and baby-to-be!
Hammertime!
Noa and Mike
The guys recovering in the shade. Fort Collins has such a cute downtown, with lots of shops and restaurants. It was a great place to end the race.
The hardest thing we had to do was to say good-bye to Sarge, their dog. We've known Sarge since Mike and Jess got him over 6 years ago. Sarge was recently diagnosed with bone cancer and the prognosis is poor. Most likely he will no longer be around the next time I visit in a little over a month. Saying good-bye was harder than I thought. We talked a lot about Sarge during the visit, reliving all the good times (he was the fuzziest, cutest puppy) and bad times (he peed in the crate more times than we cared to remember) with him. We even watched some old videos from our years in Florida of Sarge, Sadie, and Gunnar running around in the yard. It will be a sad day when Sarge leaves us. I smiled through my tears for this pic - I'm going to miss him dearly.
Ruby was a fun travel companion most of the time and she didn't disappoint the camera with her gummy grin. Jess was able to get lots of smiling photos of the Rubester. I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that she's almost 6 months old!
I'm so glad that I get to visit them again soon. My next visit will be to meet their newborn son. How exciting!!
*If you click on the link and scroll down a few entries, you'll see the invites. Traci is one talented lady, for sure.
