Baby Shower!

I thought the other day that maybe I would post some pictures from my baby shower.  It's a little late, but it was such an amazing shower that I wanted to share about it.

First of all, I am so grateful for Ryan's family.  I have been so blessed to have the greatest, most loving in-laws.  His parents, siblings, and their spouses are all so loving and so much fun.  You always hear horror stories, but I just always feel so lucky and happy that I married into such a great family and I love them so much.

Ryan's sister Shannon lives in Los Angeles and it was so great to live close to her family while we were out there.  His sister Rebecca lives in Las Vegas, which was close enough so that we got to see them frequently also. We miss them so much now that we have moved; being far from them and their families is probably the saddest part about moving for us.  Rebecca and Shannon threw me the most amazing baby shower, it took my breath away and I couldn't stop talking to Ryan about it for weeks!

Shannon and me - isn't she beautiful?

Me and Rebecca - also extremely beautiful

Shannon and Rebecca are even prettier on the INSIDE, as you will see by the most amazing shower that they threw me.  Have you noticed that I keep saying that this shower was amazing?!  Still, I can't stop talking about it even now!

The shower was high tea at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills.  Shannon said that the Peninsula is famous for their high tea, and it did not disappoint.  We found out a week later from People Magazine that John Travolta's wife had high tea at the Peninsula for her baby shower!!  So thrilling!  When we pulled up to the hotel, the valets opened all the doors and asked if we were there for Cathryn's baby shower :).  Such service!

The Gardenia Room:  Amazing, right?!

Party favors: bath teas in a little box that says "A Baby is Brewing" also, little cookies in the shape of teapots

Everyone had to decorate a piece of scrapbook paper, then Shannon took photos of me with each guest and made a scrapbook out of it!  I love the book, especially now that we have moved away from all our dear friends.

The food: each person had a little teapot that was wrapped in a cozy and there were trays of the most delicious scones and finger foods.

A table of good friends!  I think the most exciting part of the entire afternoon for them was that they ran into Harvey Levin in the lobby as they were leaving.  Harvey Levin does TMZ and is also the guy after the court shows who talks to the people after the verdict.  Seeing a real celebrity after all the specialness of the tea party was the perfect ending!

My mom, sisters Carrie and Camille, and my Aunt Debbie and cousin Kephren all flew out for the shower.  I was so glad that they could be there for it!  My mom and two sisters stayed in our tiny apartment with us and so it was basically wall-to-wall bodies in there.  Kephren and Debbie stayed at the Marriott downtown at LA Live.  The best was that the Emmys were the next day and we could see the red carpet from their hotel pool!  We ate hotel food and looked for celebrities all afternoon.  It would have been more exciting if a few people hadn't forgotten to pack their binoculars, cough cough.  It was the perfect "LA" experience.  Also, there were lots of laughs of Cami and Kephren going CRAZY at LA Ink, having fun at the Santa Monica pier, and visiting Grauman's Chinese Theater to find Michael Jackson's star.

Two last photos of me opening presents.

As you can see, the shower was amazing, out of this world, and perfect.  Every tiny detail was perfect and amazing.  Shannon is the consummate party planner.  The tables had centerpieces made out of diapers and it wasn't until I got home that I saw the tiny pink ribbon that was tied around each diaper.  Seriously, I kept noticing additional details for weeks after the shower!  It was so thoughtful and wonderful.  I felt so loved and it meant so much that Shannon and Rebecca would do that for me.  We played a couple of games, ate delicious food, and had such a great time!  I think it was a treat for everyone to attend - most of us were poor students and it was fun to get the royal treatment for the day.  Thanks Shannon and Rebecca!  The only thing that could have made the day better was if Ryan's mom and my other sisters-in-law could have been there.