Baby Showers!

I almost feel guilty for saying this... but me, Lee, and our sweet baby boy had not 1, 2, or even 3 baby showers... but 4!
Four showers!  I can't even get over it.  People have been so overwhelmingly generous and supportive of us.
Why so many?  Well Lee and I have been pretty spread out over the past few years.  My family and friends are in Ohio, his are in Canada, and we are currently living in Michigan with all our new friends and loved ones!

First we had a shower in Ohio at my home church where I grew up.  In attendance were my friends from high school, family, and the wonderful women from my church.  It was themed in vintage toys and was so adorable!  It was a great day to get to catch up with friends and see people I don't get to see that often.  My mom, sisters, and friends did all the work and preparation and it turned out great!  At this shower Baby Coghill really diversified his wardrobe :)  We got so many cute outfits that he is going to be one well dressed baby!  We received some essentials, like diapers, wipes, bath items, and a beautiful homemade blanket.  My also mom gifted us our crib and changing table!

Next, we had a shower at Lee's parents house with all of our Canadian friends and family!  This was a shower men and women both attended and it was a lot of fun!  Lee's mom and sister's did a lot of work in planning and organizing the event and we also got to see a lot of people we don't get to see that often.  At this shower Baby Coghill loaded up on toys and books, while I received some necessary items to take good care of him, like a nursing cover, changing pad, items for the car, diapers, and bath items.  Lee's Nana got us our jogging stroller/car seat travel system so we can take Baby Coghill on lots of walks and hopefully jogs!!

Third, was a surprise shower!  We were not able to get together for a Christmas party with my work this year, mostly due to Lee and I's busy weekend traveling schedules, so we couldn't meet for dinner until January 24th!  We decided to go ahead and still do our white elephant gift exchange.... or so I thought!  I showed up with 2 white elephant gifts while everyone else brought baby stuff!! I was so shocked.  I'd never had a surprise party before in my life!  My boss and his wife were so, so generous and got us the nicest gifts, including a really awesome swing, stroller, a cover for shopping carts, and thermometer that works in the baby's ear, the tub, or their food!  My friends from work also showered us with love and we received some great stuff - like wipes, burp cloths, a really cool noise machine, which also plays ocean sounds, and outfits with whales on them because they all know my love for the beach :)

Fourth, was our church here in Michigan had a shower for us and all the great ladies from our church came out, even in a near blizzard and sub zero temperatures to celebrate our baby boy with us!  At this shower we awesomely received FOUR homemade blankets, a homemade bath towel with hood, and a little scrapbook! They are the best.  I absolutely love the thought and work that went behind the making of these handmade items.  They are so beautiful and the women who made them were so thoughtful. We also received an adorable bouncer seat that has a lion in a hot air balloon on it - exactly the kind of thing I'd like right?  And a play mat and more cute outfits and necessities. One of the little girls we know also wrapped up 3 of her toys to share with my baby, so sweet.

And it seems like each week we've had a mini-shower in the mail as a lot of our out of town friend and family have sent us gifts!  My cousin is stationed in Korea, but because the internet makes the world so much smaller she was able to send us some things that she found useful with her little girl, like a boppy and other nursing supplies.

Surprisingly I've also been loving hearing everyone's interpretation about what is a MUST have.  Everyone has a different idea.  What people say don't even bother with someone else says they couldn't have lived without.  I've been trying to choke back my typical pride of not asking for advice and seriously just try to absorb all the information people want to offer.  I've never done this before and there's only so many websites I can read, haha!


So to all our family and friends, seriously, from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU.  This outpouring of love has been wonderful and unexpected.  Maybe you feel sorry for these two crazy poor kids that decided to have a baby... but most importantly you love us and we can feel it and I will make sure this baby understands how much love was surrounding him when he came into this world.
Thank you!