Monday, December 06, 2010

Aunt Tracy and "Tank's" Shower

Doug’s "BABY" sister Tracy is pregnant with their first child. We are SO happy for them! Tracy is due January 19th. While in Michigan, we were able to attend the baby shower for Tracy and Tank (I will explain later), held at the Red Run Golf Club the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Tracy’s Mom (Mary), Tim’s Mom (Maureen) and Tim’s Stepmom (Linda) were the gracious hosts for the event. It was beautiful.

The room in which the shower was held overlooked the green of the golf course. The brunch food was served buffet-style, in a room adjacent to our seating area. Food served included:  French toast, pastries, eggs, bacon, muffins, Eggs Benedict, fresh fruit. Very yummy food!  A family friend, Shannon Winsted, made cookies shaped and decorated like lambs. (Tracy is decorating the baby’s room with lambs). Shannon also made cupcakes that were decorated with edible pearls and were served with elegant lacy wrappers (from http://www.fancyflours.com/) atop a cupcake stand (at each table). http://shannons-sweet-endings.com/home.html Maureen's friend made some honey-almond soap to give out as party favors.  Everything was absolutely adorable!


Tim, Tracy, Maureen, Mary and Linda


We played “My water broke!”, a cute shower game. Tiny plastic babies were frozen in ice cubes and one given to each guest attending a shower. Whoever had their baby melt / break-free from the ice cube first would yell “My water broke!” to win a prize.




Tim, the Daddy-To-Be, also attended the event. Tim requested there be some additional testosterone represented at the shower, so Doug and Liam also attended. Jen Logan’s little girl (Kiera), who is five, attended and sat next to Ava. When it was time for Tim and Tracy to open gifts, I moved to the side so other attendees could see Tim and Tracy directly. I originally moved Liam with me to a different chair, but he ended-up back in the chair next to Tim, watching the gifts being opened. It was a hoot, watching him sitting (all by himself) next to Tim! Liam was a one-man peanut gallery, dressed in his red sweater vest, commenting “That’s a duck!” when he saw a bath-toy shower gift opened. :- )


Mommy-to-be: Tracy



The one-man peanut gallery








All in all, the kids did really well and enjoyed celebrating with the rest of us. Some other shower attendees commented on well the kids behaved.  Tim and Tracy were showered with so many gifts and a children’s book from each guest. Tracy and Tim haven’t yet found out the gender of the baby and hope to be surprised when the baby is born. They have been so blessed through Tracy’s continued healthy pregnancy and the many, many people who love them, and this sweet baby!


Either Tim or Tracy (I forget which one) had a dream before they were married that they were having a baby and naming it “Tank”. So, this baby has ALREADY earned the nickname “Tank”. :-) We can’t wait to meet you, Tank!


Peace, love and all-things-baby!
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam









































Thursday, December 02, 2010

Christmas Carriage Ride at The Avenue

We went for another carriage ride this year with the Hoffmans at The Avenue.  Ava wore her fur coat. ;-)  The carriage is so warm and snuggly, with a nice soft seat.  We always have fun doing the seasonal holiday events like these close to home. 

Dreaming of a white Christmas,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam



Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Christmas: Celebrating All 2010 Season!

I love the last half of the year... Fall for the fun and Christmas for the more thoughtful and family-oriented festivities.  We try to get our celebration on early, since we're normally with our families in Michigan at Christmastime. 

Here are some pictures of our holiday preparations this year!



So I have to preface these cookie pictures...Doug's Mom has a friend whose daughter did our wedding cakes.  She is a phenomenal baker and decorator.  Her attention to detail is unmatched!  I thought I would try my hand at cookies that looked like hers.  I learned that I don't have the patience to do this for a job, but it was fun to do at least once.  I may have to do them again soon.  My hand HURT from squeezing the icing bag... Yowza!

Can you spot the state of Michigan?


I was pretty impressed with my skills on this one, since I didn't use all the professional "fancy-schmancy" tools.  I think I might've used a Ziploc?


Family ornaments.



These are Shannon Winstead's cookies.  They're beautiful.  They're expensive.  They're worth the expense, in my opinion...





Ava girl checking out the ornaments, after we hung them.



Liam is deep in thought while hanging his ornaments...
Or maybe he is wondering why we bought an ornament "Made in China"?


Peace, love and warm snuggly houses dusted with snow,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam