Amazing Day

Last Saturday I had the most amazing day. Gretchen hosted my baby shower for my co-workers and it was more than I'd ever hoped for. I work with an amazing group of people and it was such a joy to have them be a part of welcoming Baby Heavin into the world! Many (if not most) of them were at my bridal shower, and it only made sense to have them a part of my baby shower. I have also been to their bridal and baby showers so it just one big circle of love! I am pretty sure I cried as much as I smiled ;)

Gretchen was the perfect hostess. Everything she did was so thoughtful and sweet. I am still blown away by everyone's generosity and will never forget this special special day! Here are some pictures, most of them compliments of  our little photographer Brooke (thank you again!).

 

 Getting ready to leave! 30+4 wks

 This was on the door to greet guests! 

It was made out of diapers and I can't wait to hang it on our door in the hospital.

Jason and Gretchen asked for Kellen and me to come early because they wanted to give us something between of the 4 of us. I couldn't have imagined what we were in store for!

 Jason, who is a talented handyman and carpenter, built us this for the baby. It is a rocking 'giraffe!' It was modeled after a giraffe seat that Gretchen's grandfather made for her mother at her shower. What a wonderful gift that will be a treasured family heirloom for centuries to come. 

 It is so beautiful!

 Gretchen even had these corsages for my mom and me to wear. My mom's said 'Grandma to be' :)

She was so proud of it- she wore it at dinner that night, to church and brunch the next morning, and to work on her lab coat on Monday!

 The hostess and me

 Gretchen's mom came to help too!

 'Sweets and Treats' Table

I loved the pom-poms that were everywhere!

You can't see it, but the outfits were hanging with little wooden clothespins.

 Bri made this yummy creamsicle cake

 The tiffany blue and zebra print was so me ;)

 cute game prizes

 The cookie favor basket, how cute!

See my previous post on these HERE

 The gift table skirt was a giant tutu!

 Amy and me

 Gretchen showcased my crib bedding that she made!

It is adorable. I'll post more on that later.

 This was the first thing I opened and it was a total shock- about 30 people from the unit pitched in to get my carseat and video monitor. I think my face says it all! I am so so lucky!

 Becca made these sweet onezies that have "1" through "12" months (OWL!) decals on them for pictures each month! What a fun idea!

 Becca and her sweet baby bump

 My mom spoiled me with this Fossil diaper bag that I have been oogling over for months now!

 It was such a happy day!

 Bri got the baby a beautiful gown from Von Maur...it will for sure be coming with us the hospital.

 My mom and me

My only regret is that we didn't get a group photo with everyone there!

I know I've said this many times before, but this baby is going to be welcomed into the world with so much love and support. We are so lucky!

Shower Preview

This weekend I had my very first baby shower! It was hosted by my very dear friend Gretchen for my co-workers and it was more than I'd ever hope it would be. I am so so lucky! I will post more on that later, but I wanted to share a post to the cookie favors that were given to the guests, who were also made by a friend, Julia, who has a true gift when it comes to baking. She is such a sweet person. They were adorable (and delicious)! Below is here blog post:

Monday, June 20, 2011

An exciting reason to make cookies!

This past weekend one of my best friends, Gretchen, hosted a baby shower for another friend and co-worker. I was thrilled when she asked me to make cookies for the shower! I just have too much fun decorating cookies and I love any excuse to make them! I was even more excited to make them because I have met Erin, who the shower was for, several times and she is very very nice. It was nice to be able to contribute to her special day a bit even though I wasn't attending the shower.

Gretchen let me know the theme about a month in advance. She basically told me to do whatever I wanted as decor as long as it included zebra print, Tiffany blue, and white flowers. She also told me that she was going for more of a "classy" look than "cute". I typically go the cute route, so it was fun to try and make cookies that were a bit more sophisticated.

Since Gretchen gave me plenty of notice I was able to practice the cookies ahead of time. I wanted them to be perfect for the actual party. J.J. got to take the cookies to work and share them with his co-workers. I thought they were going to ask him if we were expecting! Haha!! I think he just warned everyone that they were practice cookies for a party before they took one. ;-)

The white flowers were my favorite by far!

Picture #2.

Mini Cookies- This picture (as well as the rest) have bad coloring since I took them at night! :-)

Bagging the cookies...

About 1/2 of the cookies ready to go...

I really learned a lot when making these cookies. I had never done a zebra print before and luckily I found some nifty little bottles online that allowed me to more accurately produce that kind of a print on a cookie. I also got to experiment with adding texture to the flowers by using a paintbrush.

All in all, Gretchen said everyone loved the cookies... not only how they looked but also how they tasted. Who cares what they looks like if they taste bad, right? I'm so happy everything turned out well! :-)

"Dramatic Side Angles"

So last night I was talking to my good friend, Megan P, to whom I went to nursing school with. She has always had a way to 'call me out' on stuff (wouldn't have her any other way!) and last night she goes, "Okay, Erin, I've been watching your blog and its been ba-oo-ring! I want some belly pictures. And I mean, dramatic side angle ones." Okay Megs, here's the best ones I have. We have been slackers at getting pictures regularly the last 4 weeks, but the next will be better! I will for sure get 30wk (officially today!) this weekend before my first shower :)

 23 weeks

 still 23 weeks

26 weeks

Last night I washed our sheets and as Kellen and I were making our bed, this is what it looked like when we were all done. He threw on his 1 pillow, as I kept stacking up mine. Can you guess which side I sleep on? We both just laughed! What's sad is, my Boppy wedge and full body pillow aren't even on there yet.

Yep, this is our life right now, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Each night when we go to bed, Kellen asks me 'how's the weather up there?'  I miss cuddling with him!

I can't believe Baby Heavin could be here in as soon as 8 weeks!

Macaroons

I found this recipe in a magazine and thought they would be a perfect little treat for a girl's day out! They turned out great and thought I'd share the recipe.

MACAROONS

2 (14oz) bags sweetened flaked coconut

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 tbsp. sour cream

1 tbsp. heavy cream

1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract

12oz bittersweet chocolate for dipping

1. Preheat oven to 325*. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients until combined. Press dough into a soup spoon or small ice cream scoop and release onto baking sheet.

3. Bake for 20min or until lightly browned. Let cool thoroughly.

4. Carefully melt chocolate (double boiler preferred to prevent scorching). Dip one side of each macaroon in melted chocolate and place on tray lined with wax paper. Chill 20 minutes prior to serving.

 The house smelled so yummy while these were baking!

 I really liked the contrast of the bitter chocolate with the super sweet coconut. 

YUM!

GLEE!

This week Liz and I went to the GLEE concert. I am pretty sure we were the only people there our age who were not chaperoning their daughters, but we didn't care! This show has become our little guilty pleasure because it is so silly, its fun (and mindless) to watch. And of course, in our true fashion, we had to make shirts to commemorate the occasion!

 If you know the show's background, the shirts would be funnier, I promise!

We got many good laughs while we were there.

 It was such a cute little concert!