A non-traditional baby shower

I sincerely believe that people come in and out of our lives for a reason. With some, it's a short-term reason and are only meant to fill a specific need for a specific time. Impactful, but not meant to last. With others, the reason is long-term and you watch each other mature and grow and fulfill needs as they present themselves. Those life-long friendships come with responsibility. So you can imagine that after witnessing Whit & Kathie's emotional roller-coaster attempts to start a family over all these years that the future Aunt Karen knew she had to throw a baby shower. Thank goodness that Kathie & Whit also have other girlfriends in the area to join forces with this non-domestic oriented friend to successfully pull off a shower!

At first I cringed. . . the thought of an afternoon of pastel colors, cutesy baby-themed stuff, cool-aid punch, cheesy games and the mother-to-be sitting in a sheet covered chair opening gifts one by one to "ohs" and "ahs" over baby diapers was more than I could bear. Then in dawned on me; Kathie isn't that kind of girl either! A quick consultation with her and the other three women throwing the shower confirmed that we wouldn't be throwing a typical baby shower!

The first pic of the funny napkins (click on the pic for the full size version) pretty much sets the stage for the party! We held a coed, adult-beverage shindig in a park by their house. There were kids too so we had bubbles and juice boxes for them, but the grown-ups in attendance loved the catered Mexican food, margaritas & sangria! It was very informal with folks from different areas of Whit & Kathie's lives all mingling together.

We never got a solid count, but there must've been about 30 adults and a half dozen kids at one point. The day started out a bit overcast and chilly, but the sky cleared and the sun shone through. It seemed as though everyone had a good time and were thrilled that Whit & Kathie's family will be doubled in size in only a matter of weeks. This last pic is of the three of us who threw the party with Whit & Kathie (Shannon, Kathie, Whit, me and Karen). Laura also helped with shower preparations but was in Rhode Island and couldn't attend.

With the nursery ready and gifts being put away, there's nothing for them to do but wait patiently for their long-awaited babies to arrive! Positive, healthy baby thoughts sent their way would be greatly appreciated!!