Baby shower for Kellie

Tonight I hosted a baby shower for a new friend, Kellie, who moved here a few months ago with her husband and daughter, that I met through our church. They're expecting their first son so we all celebrated with her. I had my favorite local florist, Lakeline Florist, put together this arrangement for a centerpiece. Earlier today while I was getting the tables set up, I babysat cute little Scotty, while his mom, Sherrie, my friend and neighbor, played tennis. He's such a sweetheart. He actually likes getting his picture taken.

Everyone on the evite asked "What can I bring?" for the shower, so I decided to take them up on it, and came up with a menu of Hawaiian Haystacks for tonight. Easy. Everyone told me in their reply what they would bring to build our edible masterpieces. RuthAnn was telling me as we were socializing in the kitchen after the shower had begun, what a good idea this was because everyone will show up that said they would. I agreed. Then we realized that the binding ingredient, the gravy, hadn't arrived and it was a half hour past show time. After a phone call to confirm that the gravy was not in transit, Elizabeth came to the rescue and whipped up some tasty chicken gravy from scratch for us, using chicken broth and flour from my pantry, then added the diced chicken that she had brought. It turned out really well.

We had a table set up in the kitchen and another in the dining room. Kelly came home from work so he and the kids could fill the red and black balloons with helium and tie them to the backs of the chairs, but somehow I didn't get any pictures of those. (Thanks for the help, Honey!)

Tracy and Joy (below)

Kellie getting comfy--she's due March 20 (below)

Cheryl and Sue (below)

Lonna, Lindsay, and Paige (below)

Jackie and Elizabeth (below)

Waiting for the gravy to cook, I asked everyone to pose with one foot to show off their shoes because I'm very jealous of ANY shoes besides the ugly boot I've been wearing FOREVER to help mend my stress fracture. (I have even had dreams of wearing high-heeled shoes recently, that's how desperate I am for my cute shoes.)

So here's a different pose with me joining in the semi-circle (in the red blouse, below) sporting my lovely boot. Now I'm sure YOU are jealous of me. No? Hmmm. I'm so sick of wearing the boot. It's an embarrassing, pathetic fashion statement. My foot has been injured since JULY! How long does it take for a stress fracture to stop being stressed?!

Still waiting for the gravy, I thought I'd snap a picture of the cupcakes that Joy brought. They had Skor bar pieces on top. Yummy. Thank you, Joy! They were very pretty and festive, and I know she was worried about making "the ONE dessert."

Two fabulous women, Paige and Lonna. I love these friends. Maybe it's because I've had baby showers for them too. No, it's just because they are awesome.

We're getting hungry! Here's Tracy, Sue, and Dessie in the foreground. (below)

Finally, dinner is served. Here's my work of art on my plate (below). It was worth the wait! Thank you to everyone who pitched in to bring an ingredient, rice, chicken, green onions, tomatoes, cashews, toasted coconut, pineapple, celery, cheddar cheese, chow mein noodles, and French bread. It was an easy breezy dinner. Thanks for bringing the dark chocolate candy, too, Cheryl B.

After we dined, Kellie opened her gifts. She got a lot of really adorable little baby boy outfits. Here are a few.

This was one of my favorites (below) from Lindsay.

Kellie, we're glad you moved here and wish you the best on the final stretch of your pregnancy. Pun intended. I hope your little Seth, assuming you stick with that name, is as precious as your sweet little daughter. Good luck and congratulations from all of us.