Showered with Love

I just have to start off by saying, we have the most incredible group of friends and family!  Over the past month we were given two baby showers and we were literally "showered" with so much love, prayer and kindness.  Thank you so much for those who hosted and participated.  We are overwhelmed by your generosity and care for our growing family.  Malia is one blessed baby!  

The first shower was thrown by our care group and was for both Aaron and I.  You will recall we have an amazing group of couples that we meet with every Tuesday to share life with and grow in our relationship with God.  Jessica and April are amazing hostesses and made us feel so loved and cared for.  The rest of our group, who have turned into some of our best friends, brought food and amazing gifts for us.  It was such a special day for both Aaron and I. 

You will notice the amazing decorations!  My friend April has started her own business, Pastiche Party Co.  She is so incredibly talented and did a great job of decorating for the shower.  The best part is that many of the decorations will be perfect additions to Malia's room.  

 Malia Joy Banner 

Beautiful Decor

Yummy Food

Delicious Mini Cupcakes

This table made me cry, instantly... something about seeing our baby!

 

 I just loved the way Jessica wrapped this... pretty sure this made me cry too!

She is going to be a stylin' baby!

Jennys, thanks Froelich's!

Part of our care group, such lovely ladies!

Jessica and April - the hostesses with the mostesses :)

 

Remind me to wear heals when I take pictures with supermodels!

 

 My amazing husband and I!

The second shower was thrown by some of the best friends a girl could ask for - Serina, Hollie and April.   They all went out of their way to make sure that the day was special, paying attention to even the smallest details.  Many of my closest friends and family were able to make it.  Two of my favorite parts of the day were praying for Malia as a group and hearing parenting advice from my wise friends.  Knowing that so many are excited for our family, praying for Malia and here to support this new phase of our lives truly blesses me beyond belief.  Thank you for all those who attended and made this day so special for me.  The kindness that you have shown our growing family is amazing and I thank God for each one of you.   

They did such an amazing job decorating!

 It was all fun and games until it started raining :)

Mimosa Bar and Red Velvet Cupcakes - YUM!

 The beautiful gift table

Love all the colors 

 Let me tell you about my friend April... she rocks!

Oregon Food Bank girls - love them!

 Some of the amazing women I get to call friends

Very best friends a girl could ask for!

Malia's room after the shower, we are blessed!

A special thank you to Jessica, April, Serina and Hollie.  I am so blessed by each one of you.  You are amazing examples of true, honest, kind and generous friends.  I treasure each one of you for your insight as well as your compassionate loving hearts.  Thank you so much for your kindness and excitement for Malia.  I truly love you guys!!

Bring on the PINK!

Now comes my favorite part so far of decorating Malia's room.  The PINK!  Along with the pink we have also decided to add butterflies to bring a light and calming feeling to her room.  The first item I wanted to find was a rocking chair.  I was blown away when I realized how much rockers cost!  I decided this would have to be a craigslist buy.  Both Aaron and I started looking for one but we were struggling to find a white chair, lots of old wooden colored chairs but nothing that was already white.  I was hoping to avoid sanding and painting so we kept searching for the perfect white chair.  And wouldn't you know it, we found the perfect one!  The only work needed on the chair was to re-cover the cushion since it was blue and we did paint just a few areas to touch it up.  My favorite part of the whole experience was when I asked for a lower price the woman responded, "I am willing to take $20 as long as it is going to a good home".  As if I was buying a puppy from her.  She was really concerned how the chair would be taken care of.  She said that she had rocked all three of her children in that chair and it had been such a blessing to their family.  I was sold on the sweet story and the $20 price tag didn't hurt either!

 This was before... with Sugar standing guard

This is after - $3 for Fabric at Michael's and she is ready to go!

It looks great with her crib!  We couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

Next, I really wanted to create a focal point for her room, something that would catch your eye (and hers).  I found this butterfly mobile at Pottery Barn and knew it was something I would have to "splurge" on.  I just loved it and thought it would make the perfect addition to her room.  I did, however, put it on my registry which earned me 10% off of my purchase.  Here is Malia's $40 mobile, sure to provide hours of enjoyment (for me anyways!).  

I love it! 

My last big splurge was her bedding, also from Pottery Barn.  It is simple, you would be amazed how hard it is to find simple bedding for an infant's room.  Everything is so themed and busy.  So although the bedding was a little more expensive than I anticipated it ended up being just what her room needed.  I was able to save some money on her quilt, I found one with the smallest smudge of black makeup on it.  It was sold as is for $30 off and I also added it to my registry and received 10% off of the total purchase.  I believe the total I spent on her bedding was $90.  Not a steal, but it still felt like a bargain to me!  

You will also see a capital M on her dresser, Aaron (my amazing decorating partner) found this at TJ Maxx for $5.  The cross was given to me by my best friend, Serina.  It is really special to me.  The verse on it says "For this child I prayed..."  1Samuel 1:27.  I can not think of a more fitting verse for our daughter.  

Malia's room so far

I am looking forward to adding pictures and frames, maybe a toy chest and some book shelves to her room.  What a blessing this whole process has been!