Who loves you, pretty baby?...

...who loves you, pretty mama?  (and handsome daddy?)

-The Four Seasons

WE DO!  So we had a little party/baby shower to celebrate the impending arrival of Grand #1. 

"Mommy and Daddy to-be"
(Thing #2 and the hubs)

"Photo Bomb...Grandpop Style"

I do love planning for, and throwing a party.  Especially when it's on the smaller, more intimate side.   Which was perfect for my Thing #2 and her hubs. She doesn't like big shindigs.  Which ironically is perfect for the Better Half, because he doesn't like big dents in his wallet.

So I opted for an "elegant" barbecue theme.  Because it was a co-ed affair, I gave the guys bbq (to offset all the pink!).  And I gave the girls pink (to offset all the bbq!)

I emptied our sunroom of all furnishings, and brought in rustic tables and mismatched white chairs. The Better Half began to sweat BOTH from the physical labor AND from the realization that he now sees this set up for our future Thanksgiving Dinners...it worked THAT well.

Mismatched chairs, mismatched dishtowels for napkins, mismatched silverware, and two different plate patterns. Mismatched glass bottle vases. Mismatches that somehow matched.

Because my sunroom has high ceilings, I was able to hang matching "ribbon thingies" from the ceiling for suspended centerpieces.  If you want to see how to make "ribbon thingies", check it out HERE.

The final touch was lots, and lots, and lots of pink  and cream flowers.  Peonies and hydrangeas. Thank you Trader Joe's.  And thank you alarm clock.  I got up early and JUST beat the lady who followed me into Trader Joe's and was ticked I grabbed all the pink peonies.  Sorry, not sorry.  Tip: don't hit the snooze button.

A few other touches... 

...and cake (thank you to Nutmeg Bakery who took my ideas from my brain, and baked them.)

Of course there was food (lots of food), laughs (lots of laughs), love (lots of love), and presents (lots of presents).  One of my favorites was the one given to Thing #2 by her Pop Pop.  We lost her Nana earlier this year.  We hope she was able to understand she was to finally become a Great Grandmother before she passed.  If she didn't understand that while on earth, I'm sure she is fully aware of it now while she is looking down upon her Grand Daughter.  In the course of cleaning out her closets, this box was found.  And Pop Pop brought it with him.

This is the same man who told me, when I was nine months pregnant with my first child and lamented that I couldn't WAIT til my life got back to normal..."your life will NEVER be 'normal' again".  How right he was...  

"Waiting for the 'new normal' "

...but the NEW 'normal' was even better!  And that is what we celebrate.  The arrival of a new generation.  The arrival of a new normal.  

Who loves you, pretty baby? We do!

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