Favi & JoanDecember 30, 2007
Phew!! What a whirlwind today was! I'm still reeling. In the midst of Christmas and the soccer tournament, Sandy and I have been trying to get all the games and favors and all the little details finalized for Favi's baby shower, which was today. Joan was born December 1, but we had decided back in the summer to wait until AFTER he was born to bless her, and man did she have fun! We thought this way gifts could cover things she needed and didn't anticipate needing, the people who came could encourage her as a first-time mommy during this time of big-time transition and learning, etc. She LOVED it! And everyone really seemed to have a good time.
We found a couple of quiz games online: one of them had the word for "baby" in 10 different languages and a list of languages, and you had to decide which word went with which language. There were even several Asian languages mixed in there, but the women had almost no problem with this one! Of course we also had the staple baby-shower word unscramble game.
But the two best games were the dirty diaper game and the memory game. For the dirty diaper game, we bought 6 diapers and filled them with different condiments and condiment mixtures to look like messy diapers: peanut butter and syrup, ketchup, mustard, chile sauce, etc.. Then the women had to guess what the food items were that we used in each diaper. Most of them looked and smelled, but a couple of brave souls even tasted the concoctions!!!
Pola doing a taste-test!Of course the winner of each game got to pick a prize from the prize bag, and we also had some door prizes for the oldest mom present, the youngest mom present, and the mom with the most kids, which went to Favi's mom who has 15 kids!!!
Another thing we did was ask the women who were invited to come with a piece of advice or a scripture or piece of encouragement that helped them as moms or encourages them as mom's etc. We took with us a note card notebook and made that available for each woman who wanted to write their advice or scripture or what-have-you. And then we left that with Favi to be an encouragement to her as she grows as a mother. Of course there are a lot of blank note cards left in the notebook for her to use to write scriptures or advices she comes across in her motherhood so that she has a resource to turn to in times of discouragement or frustration.
We also had a typical Mexican appetizer called "cebiche", which was made with soy, cucumber, carrots, and lime and salt, and it's eaten with tostadas. Favi made the juice and her sister-in-laws (who are visiting from Tijuana) brought sodas.
And of course, there's always the presents. She got some really cute clothes and blankets for Joan and other helpful baby items like shampoo and lotion! Everyone had such a good time passing him around and cooing at him.
This was Heather's baby-shower gift!Both Sandy and I are pooped now, and both of us are quite certain that we won't be planning anymore baby showers any time soon if we can help it. Although several of the women commented to us that the shower was SO much fun that they want us to help them with their next showers...AND THEY AREN'T EVEN PREGNANT YET!!!! But we take that as a sign of success. The best part, however, was the huge smile on Favi's face by the end of the evening. You could see in her eyes as they sparkled with delight that she had the time of her life today! That is the best feeling in the world! As tiring as it was, I'd do it all over again just to see her like that again!
