Chicago shower

This past weekend, Matt and I packed ourselves up for a few days in Chicagoland with a blissful agenda: family birthday and anniversary celebrations, and a family/friends baby shower.

Thursday morning was spent relaxing and hanging out with my parents. Then delicious delicious lunch at Mago with my sister, some crazy amounts of IKEA shopping, and a bit of shopping for a cute outfit for me to wear at the baby shower. Thursday night was a big family birthday celebration over copious amounts of BBQ ribs. Yum.

Friday was a whirlwind for everybody besides Matt and me. My mom joined forces with my two local sisters and my best friend from high school to prepare my sister's house for that evening's shower. I got a haircut, Matt and I ate ice cream (his first Oberweis experience!), we bought bagels, and did a little shopping. Then we headed up to my sister's house for a hedgehog party! My youngest sister few in from Minneapolis to be there, and there was a great group of friends from my previous church, and lots and lots of family, plus some family friends.

The shower was beautiful. Handmade banners to welcome people and to mark off Matt's and my "Mom" and "Dad" seats. Flowers on the tables and hedgehogs all around. Delicious food and snacks, everything from meatballs to mini chicken pot pies, chips and taco dip to fruit and bagels. And don't even get me started on dessert. A peanut butter cream cheese "ball" shaped and decorated to look like a hedgehog (with animal crackers for dipping), lemon tart, brownies, and homemade hedgehog cupcakes (amazing!!).

We played very nice (not obnoxious!) games - quizzing ourselves on the names of baby animals, and trying a round of "The Price is Right" to see if we could guess the value of a list of baby items (without going over!). And guess-the-present bingo.

My parents wrote this amazingly beautiful baby blessing, and led the whole group in it. When I get the text from my dad, I'll post it. But beautiful words about how a baby being brought into the world is a sign that God hasn't given up on his beloved creation.

Gifts abounded. I was floored. Beautiful things. Thoughtful things. Useful things! My shower hostesses (sisters and HS best friend) went in to get us our crib and mattress. My parents got us our stroller system. This is one very lucky, very loved hedgehog that we are bringing into the world.

I have nothing but gratitude and joy in my heart. It was a blessing to see so many family and friends who I don't get to see very often. And to know that I have such creative, talented, generous sisters and friends to have put together this beautiful evening...I am blessed.

Friday night, we had a mini-sleepover at my sister's house (since we were all exhausted after the shower), and then spent Saturday morning eating leftover bagels in our PJs, sorting through gifts, doing a few returns/exchanges of duplicate items, and then heading off to a delicious and celebratory lunch at Francesca's for my parent's 35th wedding anniversary. Yum. And congrats!

All in all, a fantastic (if too-short!) weekend to spend with people we love. Probably our last trip anywhere until after this hedgehog is born! Crazy.