TBT: A Super Cute Safari Shower

I've opened the celebration vault and, in doing so, I realize I still owe you lots of updates!  First, yesterday's Wordless Wednesday post was a teaser.

Our little super hero is *like* a little man now.  He's still super... just not as bite-sized as he once was.  I will share a few images in the coming days but I realized I didn't share his baby shower photos!

Langston's family took the lead for the shower and we conducted a few teleconferences to plan things.   Everyone settled on a theme to match the nursery decor, SAFARI SPORTS!  Langston comes from a family of teachers.  Both his aunt and mom are teachers and they each had oodles of animal stuff in their teacher stashes (I totally want a teacher stash now).  Because this event was to be hosted at Langston's aunt's home, she headed up the food and decor with support from her family.  I was asked to get the cake and to work with Tati's friend, Lynsie, for games.  I think I can handle that :)

There were challenges with the shower and NO, not the Event Planner Resentment you are thinking!  As you all are aware, baby LJ arrived SUPER early... he arrived even before the baby shower was scheduled and, as a matter of fact, he was in the NICU when the shower was hosted.  The main challenge was deciding whether to proceed with a shower... pulling LJ's parents away from the NICU seemed inconsiderate.  However, as the shower date neared, the odds that LJ would come home increased.  If we didn't host a shower, when would the new parents have time to shop for the things they needed?

THE SHOWER WAS ON!


I arrived onsite and fell in love with Langston's aunt's lovely home.  Why were we even discussing renting a venue when this house looks like a neighborhood clubhouse?

Favors were in the front room.  Gifts were in the foyer.

I told you they were teachers with a stash.  You see that big lion up there!

He was part of the inventory!  Oh, and he was one of many large-scale animals on deck!

The family room was the primary shower area.  It was full of jungle fun - giraffe, monkeys, and more!

Some extra invitations were used to reserve the guest of honor's seats.  They are super cute.

They had a large banner hanging on the fireplace and made a cute banner with photos of LJ.

 Just seeing those photos up there makes me tear up; it's amazing to see how far he's come.

Anyhoo, back to the event at hand.  My task was the cake and, as usual, Misty did not disappoint!

Misty and I worked through the design and it was gorgeous! 

When Tati and Langston arrived, Munch was one of the first people to greet them.  Yes, Munch was decked out in animal print and sparkles.  Come on, Islanders.  Isn't she always dressed like a piece of cute decor?  I mean, how much longer will I have to dress her up?  I'm going to enjoy this while I can.  

With their arrival, we started eating the yummy food and playing games.

The Hot Seat: 10 questions about pregnancy were asked and everyone (guests, Tammy and Langston) wrote their answers on their own piece of paper.  The host read each question.  The guests blurted out their responses, followed by Langston giving his responses, and finally, Tammy gave the right answers.  There were a few funny moments where Tammy was trying to cheat off of Langston's paper... in a, "what did I crave during pregnancy?"  Tati, stop cheating.

Mother May I:  Guests of honor received dry erase boards to jot their answers down.  Guests received worksheets and were given a few minutes to answer how they felt each parent would answer.  The game host, Lynsie, read off each question for the parents and they scribbled their answers onto the dry erase boards.  Simultaneously, they turned the boards around and the answers were HILARIOUS!  Langston was conservative with his discipline for LJ in his early years but when it came to his teenage years (curfew and allowance amount), Langston was liberal.

You see Langston's face when we told him $40 was a lot for a weekly allowance.  Tamara felt $15 was reasonable.

His face when he thought 12:30 a.m. was a reasonable curfew for the early teenage years.  Tammy said 11:00 p.m.

The final game was the Daddy relays and Langston won the race to prove he was the best Dad (or dad-to-be) in the building!

After they finished opening gifts, Tammy got choked up saying that it has not been an easy journey for them.

EVERYONE started crying.

She continued, "we have always felt an amazing amount of love and support from our friends and family."  *Langston wrapped his arm around her and she buried her face in his chest to wipe away the tears before she continued* "Thank you so much."

People were embracing each other, passing tissues and thanking God for his covering over our beloved LJ.  Islanders, you shared in the journey of LJ's arrival.  You thanked God with me as he was born into the world SUPER strong and you deserve a thank you for your prayers and support from afar!

I know, I know.  You also deserve some update photos to see how awesome our super hero is growing.  Let's just say there are chubby cheeks, neck rolls, tiny feet and lots of smiles; LJ is the happiest baby you will ever meet!!

More to come!