Our Bumble Bee themed Baby Shower

I love the month of June.

And this year June was busy.

Literally, every weekend was booked.

My two favorite weekends this June were…  the weekend we had our baby shower, and the weekend my husband and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary.

(Because I already wrote a short anniversary post.) Lets talk about the baby shower.

This shower was super special to me, because I never had a bridal shower, so this was my very first shower ever. The shower was planned by my mom and older sister. My younger sister and cousin came down to help with preparations. These ladies went above and beyond. I couldn’t have asked for a more fabulous shower.

It is finally summer and I am having a summer baby.

I also love everything seasonal… so my sister and I came up with a bumble bee theme. This theme was totally appropriate because it celebrates both our baby to be(e) and my husband and I… as mama and papa to be(e).

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Everything was yellow.

Yellow flowers… 

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more flowers…

10424323_10102571046963326_6424111744360407629_nyellow bumble bees…11406636_10102570943011646_3724344667608763612_n

lemons and lemonade screaming summer, summer baby.

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We had the most delicious food ever. I’ve been pretty obsessed with watermelon so of course I had to have some. 10341974_10102570975546446_3965448181379601562_n

more food…

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food was everywhere…

11401034_10102570975571396_1914957495128536103_nmoss and bee detail was a nice touch.

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My bff Mariana had the most amazing cake made for the shower! 535952_10102571049363516_856342138403581851_nBee hive cake with a baby on top…

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This cake tasted amazing too!

As I said earlier, my mom, sisters, and cousin went above and beyond.

There were cute decorations all over the place. These small details were so perfect. 

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There were two shrines.

A grandma one…1795658_10102570969254056_5629331531719633638_n

and a shrine in honor of my husband and I and our growing family.

11407029_10102570943046576_4456407192958739110_nOne of my favorite things about this shower was that we had both men and woman guests. All girl showers are fun, but not my style. It was important to me to include my husband. So this shower, definitely had more of a summer party vibe. It was great getting everyone together.

My husband and I and the baby to be! 

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Some of the boys…
11402722_10102571074837466_3359765712500071828_nBFFs Rachel and I… 

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BFF Mariana and I with her baby Jasper…11393035_10102571064987206_3182942543286090071_n

Me and baby Jasper. One of the cutest baby boys I know. He even wore shorts with bumble bees on them for the occasion. 

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Lindsay and I, at the time, both pregnant with baby girls. Her baby Piper was born last month. 

11351165_10102571068390386_3620987603205127943_n-1All of us Dorsey girls…

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Another thing that I loved about this shower was that we made it an open house. It started at 4:00, but because it was an open house our guests could come and go as they pleased. This also meant that I didn’t rush through opening baby gifts. Instead I opened them either when the individual was leaving or later on my own time, when I could really take my time enjoying each present as I opened. (Note: If you have the time to hang out at your shower, I highly recommend an open house. That way you can spend the time, but your guest can come and go as the please.)

Everyone showered us with the best gifts. We are so lucky!

These are just a few I got pictures of…

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My sisters, the aunts to be, got us this… 

11148406_10102571047477296_6265009010668054714_nThe Small’s got Erik a present that he can use with the baby.

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We got some amazing handmade stuff…

including a quilt from Erik’s grandma, and a blanket from my Aunt... (blanket is in the photo.)

11248806_10102571081359396_1377958907931538776_nA beautiful knitted pair of socks and hat, made by Erik’s mom, grandma to be. 

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We didn’t want the shower to end, so we let it go on pretty late. It was really fun to hang out, later that night on my mom’s back deck. 10537020_10102571088594896_177979312647970216_n-1I am so lucky I was able to have such a beautiful shower. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who helped plan and prep this shower – especially, my mom, Sue Small, my sisters, my cousin Colleen, and my BFF Mariana. I also want to thank everyone who came to celebrate with us – you showered us with the most precious baby gifts and it was fun seeing everyone. And to those who couldn’t make it, I am also very thankful, you went out of your way to send baby Leonard beautiful, thoughtful baby gifts – Thank you so much.

thanks bee(Thank you cards made by Sue Small.)

It is hard to believe that our bumble bee themed baby shower was almost two months ago. Now that it is August, it is baby Leonard’s birthday month. Erik and I are beyond excited to meet our baby girl in 2 weeks. As we wait for her arrival, I am spending the rest of this time reading baby books, relaxing and enjoying the bump.

What is your favorite baby shower theme? What is your favorite baby gift to give?

© 2015 sweat1xdaily

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to create a Baby Registry…

Just like the Wedding Industry, when it comes to pregnancy and baby stuff, it is quite the business. There is so much stuff out there that creating a registry becomes a very overwhelming task, especially when experts say, what may work great for one baby, may not work well for another.

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  • Start your registry by prioritizing what items are most important to you. I started my registry, by prioritizing what was the most important baby and pregnancy items, for my husband and I. For example, stroller, car seat, and carriers were on the top of my list. Once I narrowed it down, I researched these items in detail. Also some of the baby books I read, touched point on some important must have items.
  • Next, determine what is important to you based on your lifestyle. Are you on a budget? Do you travel often? Do you live in a small space? Do you hike or run? What kind of car do you have? We decided what was important to us based on our lifestyle. One of the main thing that was important to me was I wanted my baby products to be green, organic, chemical free, and as environmental friendly as possible. This meant, glass baby bottles instead of plastic, environmental friendly diapers, an organic mattress etc. Because your baby only uses some of these items for a short time, my husband was more worried about the cost and staying on a budget. We both wanted to try to stay as minimal as possible, registering for things we really needed. We also live in a small 1950s duplex, so having space for a lot of big things were out of the question. I am a runner so I definitely felt having a running stroller was a huge necessity for me, plus it is sporty for my husband to use as well. My friend, Mariana, who recently had a baby, her main priority was all of her baby items had to be light weight and portable, since she travels and moves often.
  • Ask other moms, ask a friend to help you. I was also lucky enough to have my friend Mariana help me with my registry.  She was the biggest help walking me through Buy Buy Baby, pointing out the things she loves and the things she just didn’t need. I also have a couple friends who just had babies in April and May, and some that are due in July. I took a look at their baby registries, just to see if they had items on there, that I may have forgotten to put on mine.
  • Where should you register? There are a lot of great places to register at. I ended up choosing Buy Buy Baby and Amazon. Buy Buy Baby is affiliated with Bed Bath and Beyond. You can use your Bed Bath and Beyond coupons there and they match prices. Amazon is great because a lot of people have amazon prime. Also some items that I couldn’t find at Buy Buy Baby, I found on Amazon. Another great place to register is with MyRegistry.com. This is a website that lets you combine items from several different stores. Also take note: If you are going to get a running stroller, you may consider getting it at REI. My husband surprised me with our running stroller and car seat. He ended up getting it at REI on sale during Memorial weekend.
  • This brings up a very important question… what do you need?  Do you really need all of this baby stuff? Our moms and grandmas raised us just fine with out all this extra stuff. When choosing baby items, it really depends on your lifestyle and living space. At the end of the day, the ultimate question is not do you need all this stuff, but rather, what will make your life easier?

If you are in the process of making a baby registry, check out my registry for ideas. Or if you have already made one, you can compare your registry to mine.

My baby registry at Buy Buy Baby and Amazon.

What is your must have baby item? Was there a product you or your baby couldn’t live with out?

© sweat1xdaily 2015