Showered in love and cute pink stuff

Until a few weeks ago, we had nothing in the way of baby products and I'd been feeling pretty unprepared for this whole parenthood thing. That all changed after a couple of baby showers, thrown by my mom, sister, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law. It's amazing what a bunch of women and a few carloads of gifts can do to bolster your confidence!

The first shower was held in Minnesota. My mom and sister put together a fantastic party, and it was great to see so many of my friends and family. I didn't have a chance to take many pictures of the actual shower, just before and after. Here are some highlights:

The centerpieces were cute little stuffed animals which match the nursery PERFECTLY.

They made little diapers out of napkins and filled them with mints:

Alisa decorated with baby clothes on a clothesline. Adorable!

The cake was supposed to represent a baby with a combination of both Jeff's and my qualities, but somehow the Packer/football theme seemed to overtake the literature theme. Typical.

My friend Jodi is pregnant and due shortly after me. The babies wanted to chat, so here they are, probably gossiping about all the cake we ate.

Grandma Pam, aka Party Planner #1:

Auntie Alisa, aka Party Planner #2:

Jeff's mom and sister threw a shower the following weekend. This too was a great success, despite some crappy weather. Again, I didn't take enough pictures to capture the awesome-ness of it all.

Susie had a cake made with baby pictures of Jeff and myself. It's a great way to guess what Baby Schmidt might look like. My prediction? Dimples.

Auntie Dana:

Grandma Susie:

Dana delivered her son Brennan in June. When he was born, I remember thinking how far away December seemed. How did the time fly so quickly?? Anyway, he's pretty pumped about meeting his new cousin. I can't wait to watch them grow up together!

Thanks to the generosity of our family and friends, we have pretty much everything we need (and more) for the baby now! The nursery is still a work in progress, but it's getting closer. It feels good to be more prepared, if only physically. As for the emotional preparation, well... I still have four weeks...

Thanks everyone!