April showers bring June babies

Meemaw and I teamed up to throw Aunt Jean a little baby shower on March 29, the day before we left Indy. Jean is due (ha!) to have about fourteen more showers, courtesy of her big Catholic family, so I was pleased that she chose to invite her buddies to ours. We got to meet lots of cool people, including her friend Kendra, maintainer of one of my favorite little blogs.

Crafty Meemaw really outdid herself this time. She made the cupcakes (above), replete with binky garnish (a fruit punch Jelly Belly glued to a Pep-O-Mint lifesaver using royal icing, with ribbon underneath). She also made some old skool, pineapple-sherbet-containing, little-boy blue punch. Here she is stirring her brew and laughing with Jonas's other grandma.



I planned out three games for the crowd, the same three that my sister-in-law arranged for me at the baby shower she helped throw in honor of my firstborn. All were seated guessing games, because we are classy broads who don't like to break a sweat for our door prizes.

In the first, I spelled out B-A-B-Y J-O-N-A-S on paper lunch bags.



Within each bag was one small necessary baby item that began with the letter emblazoned on the bag. Whoever guessed the most correctly won a little box of chocolates. Since the majority of this crowd were childless, they struggled a bit. It was won by Jean's pregnant friend Sarah, whose near future depends on her boning up on baby gear.

The next game was my favorite -- the poopy diaper game. I took 8 diapers and filled each with a different semi-melted candy bar. Players pass around the closed diapers, take a look inside at brown goo containing nuts, creams, and indiscernable chunks, and guess which candy bar it used to be. Even though they smelled more delicious than real poopy diapers, I think Jean's sister Cathy's face speaks volumes about the experience of looking at gross, chunky brown goo in a diaper:



My homegirl Kendra won this one, guessing 7 out of 8 correctly. We had Uncle Chrissy try his hand at it later, when boys were allowed back in the house, and he, like his sister before him at her shower, guessed them all. We also had Chrissy try his hand at my last game, Guess the Baby Food. I peeled labels off 10 jars of baby food. For fun, I included one "mystery meat." Jean's mom, who has 5 children and about 1500 nieces and nephews, won this one.



Jean's friends were really nice with the presents. She got all kinds of useful stuff, like a bottle drying rack, spoons, pacifiers, and LOADS of diapers (which, in my opinion, are EASILY the best baby gift). Here she is opening some stuff from her friend Courtney.



Isn't she so pretty? She showed up with a fresh pedicure, too.