Baby Shower

One of the things that makes us most excited to bring Giovanna into the world is the love and support Marcos and I feel from the community around us. I can't think of a greater blessing than knowing that our little girl will be loved and cared for by so many capable, generous people. We feel like not only will she benefit from their open hearts and hands, but we too will be able to fortify her life by copying the examples we see every day of really fantastic parenting.


Last weekend, Rebecca, Nicole and Jesica (and more people behind the scenes) hosted a beautiful baby shower for Giovanna and me. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Secretly, I had been nervous for weeks because the idea of a party centered on me and my belly, at which I would have to open gifts in front of people, was truly mortifying. But, of course, it was perfect: beautiful decorations, endless gourmet brunch nibbles, and superb company. There was an executive decision to ixne on the games, and so it was lovely and simple, with good conversation and meaningful time spent together...


I'm spreading out the food pictures, so that you don't notice how obsessed I am with taking foodie photos... Above are Dena (who photographed my maternity session with Rebecca two posts below) and Aline.


Kristine, who does book binding, made a beautiful "advice book" for guests to write parenting tips in. Here is Missy, spilling the beans. We now have our hands on a book full of tried and true great ideas, but a few that stick out at the moment are Jocelyn's advice to "spoil yourself with really good lotion" (woo-hoo!), and Marne's reminder to "know that when a child acts out it means they need something and they feel safe enough to show you all their parts, even the angry and sad ones..."

Below are Jesica and Rachael. Jes is expecting a little boy in a few weeks, so we have been mutual support partners through some rough prenatal pilates sessions, and a lot of mommy conversations.


Angela and Jen (above) and Melissa and Marne (below). It was so nice to have people from different spheres of my life together in one place for a celebration. I only wish I had had an hour to sit down individually with every person present to let them know how much I appreciated them, and catch up on their lives.


Kristine, and Kristi (above) and Nicole, Jillian, Jami and Susan (below). I wish I had individual pictures of some of the gifts these ladies made... so much creativity in such a small group of women.


Watching me open gifts was hours of endless fun, as I'm sure you can well imagine.


With Zumrad and her baby girl Amina (above). I attended Amina's birth a year ago, and it was fun to see her walking around in her little black Mary Jane's. Below are Rebecca and me with her son Noah, at the end of the party when her boy monkeys were allowed to come back home.


I know that a lot of time and brainstorming went into planning, and orchestrating Giovanna's baby shower. Thank you so much Rebecca, Nicole and Jesica for using your time, talents and energy to help our family prepare for our new arrival!