Our Baby Shower (long post, pics at the bottom)

Well, as you know, we had our baby shower last Sunday. To everyone who came -- thank you so much for being there. I was *supposed* to give you all thankyou gifts, but I forgot. I will either give them to you when I see you next, or put them in the post this week (hopefully). For those who couldn't make it, we did notice your absence and hopefully we can catch up soon.

As I looked around the room, it was amazing to see so many friends who I have known for so long, and some who had travelled a long way to be there for us and help celebrate our soon-to-be-born baby.

• There was my friend, Dong, who I met in primary school in QLD - I have known her about 20 years. She had travelled over an hour by train to be there -- thank you so much darlin !
• My friend, Catherine. I have known Catherine for about 16 years, and this was the first time I have seen her in a while (she only moved home from the USA last November).
• My crazy but oh-so-loveable friend, Ivy, and her mum, Coral - known them for about 16 years. They travelled from Phillip Island to be there.
• My "other" mum of 17 years, Judy.
• And of course, my wonderful friend Amber who hosted the party. We have known eachother also for about 16 years !

Amber had asked everyone to send her a baby picture of themselves and had set up a board with them all on it. We all had a great time trying to guess who the photos were of. I managed to get 13 out of 15 correct. Like the others with the same score, I had confused the pics of Amber and Catherine.

Amber also organised a time capsule for the baby. She asked guests to bring something to contribute (a letter to the baby or something from present day) which will be locked inside a box, not to be opened until the baby is 18 years old. To those who contributed, thank you ! To anyone who would like to contribute, please give/send us your items as soon as you can and we will put them in the box (it will be locked forever soon after the baby is born). A few of the things already in the box are a coin set (thank you Dong & David), a CD single by the Black Eyed Peas (thanks Catherine & Michael), a calendar (thanks Terissa, Jason & kids), and some letters. Amber will also put in a copy of a newspaper from the day the baby is born, and I will put in a receipt from the grocery store.

Gifts :
We received so many lovely gifts. Here is a run-down of what we received (in the order they were opened):

• An altered journal made by my dear, sweet friend Johnna (Arkansas, USA) for everyone to write special messages in at the baby shower and when he is born. If you would like to write a message and send it to us to put in the journal, please make your page size no bigger than 17cm wide x 23cm high.
• A change table/cupboard from my mum and my stepdad, Jens. It was handmade by Jens and is absolutely beautiful. It is yet to be stained, so I will post pics of it when we have it.
• The bedding for the basinette that my "other" mum, Judy, is lending us. The basinette looks absolutely beautiful and I almost burst into tears when I saw it. The basinette is actually older than I am, and was the same one I used for Toby when he was born.
• A little pair of jeans and a long-sleeved onesie from my sweet friend, Rach.
• A photo frame from my friend, Lara.
• A cot quilt and little shoes from our next door neighbours, Eileen and Daniel.
• A 6-piece BamBam (think Flintstones) clothing set and a large piece of fleecy material (for making clothes/bedding with) from my niece and nephew, Emily and Curtis.
• Nappy bag, pack of nappies, nappy wipes and nappy cream from my sister and BIL, Terissa and Jason.
• Glass baby carriage ornament from Lis.
• Baby blanket, hand-knitted jumper and hand-knitted blanket from Ivy and Coral.
• A Peter Rabbit 2-piece suit, striped romper and hand-knitted booties and bonnet, and a bottle of bath soak (for mummy) from my dear friend Dong and her partner David. Thank you SO much Dong, you have no idea how touched I am that you knitted these things for me, I will treasure them always.
• Baby fork & spoon, tank top, tshirt and pants from my friend Catherine and her hubby Michael.
• A box FULL of goodies from my wonderful and amazing friend, Caron in Tasmania. This box was absolutely full to the brim with all the essential items needed for a baby, plus some goodies for mummy and daddy too.
• Blanket and onesies from my friend Michelle.
• A high chair from my brother, Brendan and SIL, Bruna.
• A pop-up laundry hamper (shaped like a dolphin hehe), cot sheets, socks, nappy bucket and cot blanket from my sweet sister, Kim and her boyfriend, Sean.
• A beautiful handmade quilt (made by Amber) from Amber and Andrew. Also, the gorgeous little cupcakes that looked too good to eat (but I did anyway and they were SOOOO good !) and the bear cake decoration.

Thank You's :
To Amber, special thanks to you for being such a great friend and for hosting the shower. To Lara, thank you for helping Amber with all of the preparations etc. To Andrew and Brendan, thanks for taking pics for me. To Mum, Bruna and Judy -- thank you for making/bringing some of the party food. And again, thank you all for coming and for being so generous and thoughful with regards to gifts.

Anyway, I think that's about all...here are some pics :