I was very spoiled last Friday as Cedar and I were 'showered' with loads of lovely gifts, treats, kind words and laughs from a group of wonderful women I've been blessed with knowing during my 'stay' in Virginia.

I never thought I could actually be excited for a baby shower, but for this one, I was!  Everyone pitched in and contributed to the party and it was a great success.  To those who helped out and were able to come, thank you, thank you, thank you for everything you did for us!  It was just fantastic.

Here are a few highlights from the shower:

Group photo!  We were a bit late and had already lost a few gals at this point, but here's the 'most' of us :)

 Beautiful, beautiful flowers.  Flowers are just my favorite.

...And Sangria is a close second.  Luckily for me, they group provided a delicious raspberry lemonade drink for the Preggie McGee.

 Even cookie favors for guests!

 Pretty Cedar cake.  See that lovely burlap flower on the left?  Our sweet friend Devin made it, along with a beautiful two tiered pink cake sitting atop an awesome cake stand made out of a tree stump - unfortunately, the cake did not make the trip to the party and was sadly ejected from it's awesome stand, so you're looking at it's last minute replacement.  Below are the poor cake's 'before' pictures.  So pretty!

 Everything just tastes better out of a mason jar.

The 'shower' of gifts - oh my!

Isn't this fun?  It's a big tote bag for carrying 'Cedar goodies' for sleepovers at Grandmas, play dates at the park, you know name it!  So fun, and I love the pattern - thanks, Danielle!

I was also gifted with a newborn session and money towards purchasing prints from Danielle and Susan, who is a very talented photographer out here.  I had been asking Susan about prices and when she never got back to me, I had assumed we were painfully NOT going to be able to have a shoot done with our kiddo.  These crazy girls surprised me and made my night!

 Danielle, Cedar and I.

Sangria makes us happy :)

Aside from all the fun, I am now on 'maternity leave' and am busy spending my days taking naps, going on walks, and completing useless cleaning projects.  I spent my last day with little Ayden on Friday, and I have to say that I already miss the little bugger.  I didn't realize how lonely a house can be without a busy babbler to chase after.  I'm a bit nostalgic and sad that I'm done watching him, and I can't believe how much he has grown!  When I first moved back to Virginia, he was just an itty bitty who needed help drinking his bottles and was happy lying on his back and staring at ceiling.  Now, the kid runs, laughs, babbles, eats like a big boy, and has such a fun little personality.  I sure will miss him back in Montana.

Excuse the tackiness, and focus on the cute little guy on the right.

My mother in law, Chris, gets into town tonight and I can hardly wait to see her!  I'm bummed for Jody, as he wasn't able to get any days off while she's in town AND he has duty on Friday, but we will try to make the best of her stay.  She is going to have to be dragged to a few appointments with me this week (more on that later) but I'm thinking she'll enjoy the chance to see Cedar's profile on the few ultrasounds I have scheduled.  Although Jody commented on her last photo (almost a week ago) that she looked exactly like a Zombie baby, I still find her quite cute.

Just a few more days, and I'll be 'full term' - whatever that means.  To me, it means I've passed the safety point and can indulge myself in knowing that I've done everything I could to build this little baby in the last nine months.  Please continue your prayers for a safe, natural and speedy arrival of this little one.  We are so excited!