Jack Sprat (yet again)

My sister-in-law, Anca, threw me a wonderful baby shower where several family members and friends showered our boy with gifts. Apparently, my nursery rhyme knowledge did not improve in the past two weeks. My score this time? 11 / 15. Again, Jack Sprat was a tough one for me. By this point, I knew that he ate no fat, but I had no idea what his wife could not eat... Oh, well. Chanda took the prize for the nursery rhyme game (not too surprising, since she has a 15-month-old daughter). Luckily, my cousin, Lisa, gave me a set of nursery rhyme cards as a baby gift (so at least I now have some study aids).

We had a great time with the games. We tried to guess baby food (I got a low-score of .5 of 7 correct - the only food I recognized was peas, and it accounted for half the mixture.) We tried to guess items in a diaper bag (I think I got 9 items correct, which was about half the items Anca packed into the bag). My friends and family also wrote down words about the baby and here's a sample of what I can remember: blessed, beloved, beautiful, boy, bouncy, youthful, vision, vivacious, adorable, active, athletic, angelic, new, darling, delightful, devoted, energetic, exhausting, gift, great, generous, giggle, rich, restless, intelligent, innocent, first, faith, fun, thankful, and treat. [Note: the words start with letters BABY VANDEGRIFT]

A nice treat was the set of recipes compiled by the shower guests. We now have several options for quick meals for us and quick meals for the baby once he can eat solids. Thanks for all the cooking advice.

Our baby is one lucky kid. The car was packed with gifts from my generous family and friends. We are almost stocked in terms of baby gear and supplies, so thank you to everyone who gave gifts to our baby. We can't wait for the day when our son gets to meet you.

I appreciate everyone who came to the shower, both from near and far-away places. Your love and friendship are the true gifts for Tom, myself, and our upcoming arrival. I want to express a huge thank you to Anca for hosting the shower, planning the food, entertaining us with games and prizes, and for all her organization. A huge thank you to my brother, Jim, for spontaneously becoming a babysitter for the children who came.

And now, some photos from the shower for you to see...