little bean's baby shower

WARNING: This post WILL be picture heavy :)

As usual, it's going to be very hard to limit all the awesome pictures I have from this day, but I'm going to try and do this recap in one post!

We had our Baby Shower on the 27th of July (almost 3 years to the day since I threw one for my sister and nephew on the 24/07/2010!) at my parents' home. It was hosted by my sister and my mum, but my wonderful girlfriends all helped out with various roles and assisted my sister with set up (and photography haha - thanks MoH and Amy!) on the day.

my gorgeous sister, responsible for all the gorgeousness, and I...I realised I didn't get a photo with my mum though!!

We had an absolutely fantastic day - the afternoon flew by and I hope everyone had as great a time as I did! I was so exhausted by the time I got home, but completely overwhelmed with the love and joy from our family and friends.

We started off the afternoon with some mingling and checking out all the awesome decorations my sister and mum had organised -

After mingling for a bit and munching on some yummy food (we had so many lovely friends bring along scrumptious food! Oh my!) we got started on that typical baby shower past time (but my sister found some not so typical ones!) - games.

First up was Baby Shower Charades -

1. giving birth and baby landing on the floor! -- 2. trying to breastfeed while swatting away flies

3. trying to shop while the kids keep adding things to the trolley! (this lady has PLENTY of practice with this, with 5 kiddies under 5!!) -- 4. i believe this one was possibly trying to use the bathroom while the kids keep annoying you...i spared her the embarrassing picture we have!

5. actually my aunt's 2nd turn up, but I'll just use one - trying to give birth while your husband is driving you crazy!

Next we moved onto a Baby Shower Find-A-Word and a list of Baby-related words that were jumbled up and had to be unscrambled. It was harder than it sounds, particularly since it was an American version so there were words like "diaper" and "pacifier" which were throwing all us Aussies off! ("nappy" and "dummy" are the common terms here, for those wondering!)

some lovely ladies (all teachers!) trying to work out the puzzles!

While everyone was working on their sheets, another game was started - a race to see who could dress and swaddle a baby doll the fastest...while blind folded! My sister-in-law and a family friend took part in this race - our family friend won! I don't know that I'll be letting either of them dress Little Bean any time soon though...hehe...

Then everyone was asked to draw what they thought Little Bean was going to look like...there was some cute, some hilarious and some downright strange drawings (here's looking at YOU MoH!) but one thing they all had in common? Dimples!

drawings were posted on the wall near the present table for everyone to look at! winner was chosen by my dad as I was busy opening presents!

The other game that was going on throughout the say was the typical "don't say" game - guests weren't allowed to say "Baby", "Amanda", "Graham" or our last name. You can see in some of the pictures that guests had necklaces on. Each necklace had a blue and pink dummy on it. Normally, in this game whoever ends up with the most necklaces (or pegs, or whatever is used...) by the end of the Shower, wins. My mum and sister did things a little differently though - every dummy on every necklace had a number on the back of it. After the cake was cut, I was asked to choose a number between 1 and 100 and whoever had that number on a dummy won! (so the more you had, the better your chances...but someone with just one necklace could win! Sort of Baby lotto if you will :) ) Since my little niece had collected the most necklaces though, and didn't win via the number selection, we gave her a prize as well.

i had to add this picture, not only because it has one little niece in it - but two! see that gorgeous bump my sister-in-law is sporting? in there is my gorgeous new niece, Kimberly! she was originally approx 6 weeks ahead of myself during pregnancy, but she was induced 9 days early and little Kimberly was born on the 6th of August, 2013 at 1pm! we took a few bump pictures together throughout our pregnancies, the last one just days before she was induced. i can't wait for our little one to join the family and for the two of them to grow up together!

speaking of bumps - this is my sister pulling a "fake" bump pic with me....except little did everyone know, this was not a fake bump! my little sister is also preggers and due Valentines Day next year! my Little Bean is going to have a cousin close in age on BOTH sides of the family! (and my sister was wearing this hoodie to try and cover her bump, as they weren't ready to share the news just yet!)

But back to the story at hand! Next up was cake cutting and speeches...since we all apparently pull *terrible* faces while speaking, I'll spare you those pictures. Instead, here's some cake cutting ones...

my cake was amazing. my sister has been excited about this cake from the day she asked to host our baby shower and i must say, it turned out amazing! it was yummy too! the middle of the cake was pink and blue swirls, since we don't know whether Little Bean is a boy or a girl! it looked great! (and yes, i cut the booby...no way was I going for the belly - still too close to the end of Game of Thrones for me!) some of the gorgeous ladies at our shower! ahhhhh....loved this!

After cake, we moved inside to open all of the amazing pressies that Little Bean was spoiled with. I cannot even express how grateful we are to our amazing friends and family for all the love they piled upon us and all the wonderful gifts that they bought Baby!! I know it's not terribly exciting to see gift pictures, but here are a few (I'll try and keep them down!) -

my cousin's little boy decided to be my helper for the evening...he got a little over-enthusiastic sometimes, bless him!

Every time I use something someone has bought us, I will be reminded of the amazing love that they expressed for this little baby they haven't even met yet...Now, if only I could memorize who bought what outfit because I would love to show them all when Baby is in it!

Finally, this lovely lady was responsible for the favours for the party, and sent all our guests home with one of these:

They were PERFECT and I may or may not have teared up the first time I saw them. I am so blessed to have such amazing friends and family who know me so well. Guests actually thought that I had made the Shower Invites by hand, they were so perfectly something I would have chosen! But I didn't see them til everyone else did, and they were the work of the lovely Romana! I have just realised however that I do not have a photo of them...I will share with you soon, because they were gorgeous. One is tucked into Baby's album already :)

Oh, and yep - here's another baby bump!

This lovely lady and her hubby are expecting their SECOND bubba, at New Years! I'm so excited about how many wonderful people in my life are having babies so close to us - our Little Bean can add a faux cousin to the list as well!

Overall, I cannot express just how thankful we are for the entire day, for all our wonderful family and friends, and for all the love we have felt as a family. I can't wait til Little Bean gets to meet all the amazing people who care so much for them already.

We are truly blessed!

groomsmen and babies, oh my!

Yep, you read that right! Groomsmen and babies!

While the two may not be mutually INclusive, at the moment they are making for entertaining stories during our wedding planning. So today's post is all about our groomsmen, and babies!

First of all, I'll start off with the groomsmen. I recently realised that while I have shown you how the future hubby ASKED his groomsmen, I haven't yet introduced you to the boys! So let's begin with the boys who *aren't* connected to the baby stories...

First up is the future hubby's big brother, Garth. He's also Dad to our gorgeous little flower girl, Tamzyn, as well as to our oldest niece and nephew, Roxy (7) and Garth Jr. (5). When the future hub and I first started dating, little Roxanne was only a teeny, tiny 2 weeks old! My how time has flown! Garth is also married to the beautiful Kimberley, who (along with the fiance's younger sisters) we've asked to read at our wedding ceremony.

The boys and their Mum at their sister, Monique's, wedding last October. Awww nice photo...

...and THIS would probably be a more accurate description of what I can except. Just in suits and a white dress. LOL (and this was one of the tamer photos of them attacking me!)
Next up is MY brother...my little brother, Christopher, who was married LAST year to my gorgeous bridesmaid Justyna. We were both blessed to be in THEIR bridal party last year, which was a gorgeous wedding! (Alas, it was before we were engaged and before I started blogging, or you would have had a lovely recap of the process!)

The future hubby and I with my brother and sister-in-law on their wedding day - we're on either side of the bride and groom! Behind me is my brother's best mate, James, and our cousin, Jarryd. Behind the future hubby is my sister, Danielle, my littlest brother, Michael, and Justyna's friend (and MoH), Alana.
Groomsman number #3 is the future hubby's buddy from TAFE, Hayden (for those outside of Australia TAFE is a tertiary education option, offering certificates and diplomas in a wide range of industries. It is probably quite similar to community college I would imagine, at least in some aspects - for example in that you can pursue your high school certificate and short courses such as say, photography courses, sewing courses, etc., or bridging courses to university - but it also offers courses that university doesn't so for certain industries TAFE is your best option for stand-alone degrees). Hayden's our youngest groomsmen and probably the one that I know least, but he's a lovely guy and I have no doubts he will get along with the other guys like a house on fire!

As it turns out, I don't have any photos of the future hubby and Hayden! I will work on that (ie. stalk the future mister's computer!) and have one inserted here soon!!

And now the baby stories begin! I will leave the best one (and by best I merely mean it's a WHOPPER, not that the babies are any better then each other, of course LOL) til last so next up is future hubby's long time friend and best friend, Brendan aka Donz. Donz and my gorgeous fiance have always managed to do things together, they just can't help themselves. They even managed to maintain the same weight for years - weird right?! When the future hubs and I started dating, Donz had started dating a young lady by the name of Mel (coincidentally, the fiance's little sister, Monique's best friend). 4 days after the future hubby and I started officially dating on the 10th of February, 2005, Mel and Donz started officially dating, on the 14th of February.

Donz, Garth and the future hubby at Monique's wedding in October, 2011
Now the boys have one of those relationships where sometimes life gets in their way and they might not see each other for a while...but when they catch back up it's like no time has passed at all. Turns out, even during those periods of quiet, these boys still manage to do everything the same...because 4 days after the future mister proposed to me on our 7 year anniversary, Donz proposed to Mel on THEIR 7 year anniversary, on the 14th of February 2011! Now, to top things off, Donz and Mel are expecting their first little bubba this year...and as it would turn out, Mel's due date is 3 days before our wedding...Yep, little bubs is due around the 26th of September.

No idea what they were laughing at...but definitely more of what's to be expected on our wedding day!
That was a shocker for all involved! However, we've all had a chat and we're just going to roll with the punches! Whatever happens, happens and we'll just go with the flow! Either way, baby's arrival will be something wonderful to celebrate and if it ends up being on our wedding day then there is something even EXTRA to celebrate on the day. We've already told Donz that he just needs to do what he needs to do, even if that's to decide the day before that he can't be there...or have his phone on during the ceremony and need to run out! We're going to give our Minister a heads up and we're quite sure that he won't mind. I think we should all start taking bets to see when baby will come (personally I think Mel would be happy if baby came early rather then late, on our wedding day!)

Last but not least, the final groomsman is another friend of the future hubby, Mark, who actually went to school with older brother Garth, but has been good friends with both brothers for years. If you recall from our engagement recaps, Mark and his wife Kylie have a gorgeous little bundle named Logan, who is our first joint little godson. Well Mark and Kylie also have two older boys, Brody (5) and Riley (3). These boys are all about to become big brothers.
Not once...
...Not twice...

BUT THREE TIMES

That's right! Mark and Kylie are expecting TRIPLETS. TRIPLETS!!!!!! (I told you it was a whopper!) Totally unexpected (and natural!) this came as quite a surprise for EVERYONE around these guys. I still remember coming home to the future mister telling me....I didn't believe him. I have no idea how that pair wrapped their head around it, but they are doing brilliantly and the boys are very exciting to be getting two little sisters and a new little brother in June. We had their baby shower a couple of weeks ago and I had a blast putting together pressie for all the bubbas. I even made them some cute little triplet themed jumpsuits (including a little "Burger, Shake and Fries" set).

Us with Mark and Kylie on their wedding day in 2010
Needless to say, these guys are certainly going to have their hands full!

So those are our groomsmen (and their babies)! But the babies don't stop there! Oh no! We are going to have many new little people at our wedding in September. Do you remember back in our engagement recaps I mentioned a number of secret-themed pictures I stumbled across amongst our guest photos? Well I realised I never got back to you about them!

My lovely bridesmaid Kylie and her spunky husband had just found out they were expecting their own little bubba! That little Miss is the lovely Matilda, aka Tilly, and she is now 2 months old and just gorgeous. I can't wait to see her all dressed up at our wedding. It's crazy to think at our engagement party she was just a teeny little peanut and at our wedding she will be 7 months old!

Annie, Ro, me and Kylie at Laina's baby shower! [photo thanks to the gorgeous Kiera!]
Some of my lovely bridesmaids and I also attended an AWESOME baby shower over the weekend for the lovely Miss Laina, who has been mentioned MANY times on this blog (most notably for our inCREDibly cool engagement card and awesome sign, as well as being the lovely brains behind Soy Scentsations who will be making our awesome wedding favours!) and will be expecting her first baby in June with her fiance, Faron! For a great recap with gorgeous photos, head over to Kiera at Almost a Melody! She did a great recap of the shower today and was one of the unofficial photographers for the day - we were all waiting to steal her amazing photos!

Seriously, how much is she glowing? Gorgeous Mumma-to-be! [photo thanks to the gorgeous Kiera!]
So that wraps up a very looooong post about our awesome groomsmen (here's hoping they behave on the buck's night!), their baby stories and those of some of my closest buddies! I can't wait to meet all of the little people who are coming into the world before our wedding! A special mention also has to go to my MIL-to-be's cousin, Colleen, and her husband, Andrew, who welcomed their second little baby into the world on Easter morning! Baby Girl, Billie, joined big brother Kelly to make a happy little family of four. All these babies around are making me awfully clucky, thankfully I have lots of friends to buy baby presents for a make special little gifts for, to keep me busy enough for now! Does anyone else have some exciting baby stories to share?