Kerri's Baby Shower at Playgroup!

I got up to nurse Odette at 5:30 this morning then showered and got ready. I went to the kitchen and Mandy was already up, so she and I chatted while I worked on the cake. Then Adah came and then the girls all woke up.

Mandy and Adah helped me get the food ready while I finished the cake. We were running a little late, though, so I texted everyone that I wouldn't mind them all being late...so they all were...and it was perfect. They got here right as we were finishing everything up.

The table plus gifts...diapers for the new baby! (Picture courtesy of Kerri)

Most perfectly was that Kerri was the last to arrive...SURPRISE!!!  :)  (Pictures courtesy of Amanda)

First we all ate.  I made a yummy cheesy ravioli casserole...well, actually, Mandy and Adah made them using a recipe I gave them...I guess I could have taken a picture of them (we made three because there were a lot of us at playgroup today, but I didn't...oh well.

I had Adah and Mandy make sandwiches for the kids in the shape of a bear, though, and we got a picture of that!  Cute!  :) 

I also tried out a new veggie dish...a ham salad cucumber cup!  It came out DELICIOUS!  And the presentation was beautiful!  I've got to hand it to Adah and Mandy, they really did a great job with all of the food preparation...I knew they would!!!  :)  Thanks again, ladies!

 

Eating:

My two wonderful helpers!
 

Finally it was time for cake!  It was white cake with buttercream frosting and a fondant blanket with Ghirardelli chocolate circles:

Our playgroup!  We started off with six moms and five children in February of 2010 and have expanded to seven moms and eleven children...soon to be thirteen!  (Unfortunately, Shelly and JD were unable to make it today, so they're not in the picture!)

 

Allie LOVES fondant and for a joke pretended that she was going to gobble the whole fondant blanket up!

 

White cake dyed blue because Kerri is having a boy!

 

Then we played baby shower games. Everyone really liked the game prizes and we all had fun playing the games...

For the first game, once everyone had arrived, I handed everyone a cup with their frozen baby inside.  The object of the game was to be the first to have their "water break" and free the baby from the frozen blue water! (Picture courtesy of Amanda)

Amanda won that game with persistence and a little help from Lacey and Mollie!  (Picture courtesy of Kerri)

We also played a game where you had to put as many cotton balls from one container to the other while blindfolded...not as easy as it sounds!  The cotton balls are so light that you can't tell you're actually getting any on your spoon!  Kerri tries her hand at the game...!

The next game was the Pacifier Pass...the object of the game was to be the first team to pass the pacifier to the end of the line, no hands were to be used!

And finally, we played a game called Having a Baby...the object of the game was to be the first team to first blow up their balloons and stuff them in their shirts...and then pop them all! 

Another great treat today was that I got to meet little baby Jace, the newest addition to our playgroup and the newest addition to Alicia's family.  She had him two weeks ago and she looks great!  And he's so tiny and adorable!  (Picture courtesy of Kerri)

Once everyone left, I got Odette in her crib, but she was not wanting to go to sleep...I don't know if it was because Elsie and Alegria were being too loud...it probably was...

Eventually, I went to get her and she just played and was in a pretty good mood, so I guess it wasn't too bad even though she didn't nap.

Elsie and Alegria were playing underneath this blanket, pretending to be beavers hiding in their dam!  Too funny!

 

We had dinner and then finally when the sun wasn't hitting the swing set, we went outside to play.

Alegria strapping Elsie into the pink swing:

Then we came inside, I got Odette ready for bed and put her to bed...she was asleep right away!

Next I was going to put Alegria to bed, but she asked to take a shower in our shower...so I let her try it out. She actually didn't do too bad! :)

After trying to get her to go potty, though, it took her a while to finally go to bed.  Oh well!

I watered the lawn and then tried watching a movie with Adah and Mandy, but I was falling asleep, so I decided to get online and get my nightly email out to Cameron and my blogging done before I really fell asleep...

And that was our day. :)

Good night everyone!!!

I Love My Helpers!

Today Odette seems to be better...not sneezing as much anymore, though still a runny nose, but in a much better mood, thank goodness.

Alegria is as rambunctious as ever...and super cute, of course! She blew me kisses when I left my bedroom and bade her goodnight (she'll be sleeping with me in my bed while my college girlfriends, Mandy and Adah, are here...they get here tonight!!!).

Today Lorelehi stayed again to help me out, which was really nice.  While she and I cleaned, the girls played quietly in Alegria's room.

Reading books:

Sporting a milk moustache at snack time:

Alegria had to break her cookie up into tiny pieces in order to dunk them in her milk, since her glass is so small!

Kisses!

Lorelehi left after both girls were taking afternoon naps.

When the girls woke up, I put on a movie for them and tried to get some more stuff done.

Watching a movie and supposedly feeding Jeremy (Alegria's doll):

Playing in the laundry basket:

What a sweet smile!

I got a lot done today, with the help of not only my sisters, but also Alegria:

But there are still a few little things that I need to do, mainly, the cake. Tomorrow I plan on making all of the food stuff, which shouldn't be difficult. I'll enlist Mandy and Adah's help, too! 

Abilehi has been helping me out, too.  She disinfected all of the girls' toys that the kids will be playing with tomorrow at playgroup...I hadn't disinfected them since the girls had their hand, foot and mouth disease...then I had her help me with the last little things I needed...

It's been great having people help me!  I sure do love my Helpers!!!

Other than that, Alegria did another cute thing today...she brought down Odette's changing pad and wipes and was wiping Big Bear to "change his diaper!"

AND when she went potty, she was being silly and put her shorts on her head!

So that's about it.

I didn't get to talk to Cameron today.  There was a blackout, which means that all communications were suspended...internet, phones, you name it. I hope the blackout is lifted soon...

It must be tough to be right in the thick of things. I won't ever understand what it feels like to be in danger all of the time like him and his colleagues are, and for their courage and sacrifice, I am ever so grateful...I thank all of the soldiers out there who are standing up for us and for the right.  Because of them and those like them before them, we live in a nation where we have so many rights and freedoms.

Bassinet Diaper Cake!

I'm up late, as usual. It's been great that Lorelehi has stayed here longer than she'd originally planned. She's always such a big help!

This morning, Odette was not sleeping well. It seems she was getting sick...sneezing and a runny nose and so she was up most of the night and was exhausted. Poor thing!

At 9:15, Odette finally took a nap. I did a few things around the house while Lorelehi vacuumed the bedrooms for me, we played with Alegria a bit, and then I went to Hobby Lobby and Walmart while Lorelehi watched the girls.

When I got back, both girls were up. We all had lunch and then I took a nap while Lorelehi watched the girls for me again.

I woke up about an hour later, thinking that I needed to get up and get stuff done!

When I came out to the living room, all was quiet...Odette had gone to sleep shortly after me, and I guess Alegria had been playing with her toys and decided to take a nap...all on her own!

Odette woke up shortly after I woke up, so since getting Odette up from her nap is a favorite activity of Alegria's, I went to get Alegria first and then we went to get Odette.  I was surprised that Alegria was in a good mood even though I woke her up only an hour after she'd gone down!

Anyway.

The rest of the day, we played and cleaned and put away laundry.

Abilehi came over for dinner.

After getting Odette in her pajamas, I tried brushing her teeth with a real toothbrush for the first time ever.  Up to now, I'd been using a toothbrush that you wear over your finger:

And I was finally able to capture on video Odette kissing "Daddy" before going to bed!

Odette went down at about 8:15 and an hour later, Alegria was in bed...she again was stalling, but finally she went to sleep.

Abilehi helped me folding more laundry and Lorelehi helped curling ribbon for decor (it's still a work in progress):

I worked on cleaning up the kitchen, putting the last touches on the diaper cake, finishing the last game prize candles, and then baking the cake. 

Here are pictures of various angles of the Bassinet Diaper Cake...it came out super cute, if I do say so myself!  I used 12 washcloths, ribbon, tulle, glue dots, and 104 size 2 diapers (yes, that's a Diaper Bottle on top, with a washcloth "nipple"!):

Lorelehi helped get cups filled with blue water and a plastic baby figurine for one of the games:

Abilehi left and Lorelehi and I kept working.

The gift and game table:

A close-up of the game prize candles:

The kitchen table centerpiece:

After Lorelehi went to bed, I had to go and nurse Odette, wait for the cake to be done in the oven, cool it, then take it out of the pans. Tomorrow I'll decorate it.

After Odette had slept earlier today, she was in a better mood, so I hope it's just a mild cold she has and that it will go away soon. :)

And that was our day!!!

Sleep well, everyone!