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Military Life · Party Planning 9 Comments

A Surprise Baby Shower for a Fellow Army Wife & Friend

Remember how last week I mentioned that we were busy gearing up for a big barbecue at our house on Saturday? The truth is that though we were planning to host lots of guests for a backyard party, we were actually planning a big surprise couples baby shower instead of just a barbecue!
I first “met” my friend Faith on Facebook last summer when she posted in a group that she was moving here to Manhattan the same week that I was. We friended each other and figured that at some point we’d grab coffee and officially “meet” since we were both going to be the Army wife newbies in town. Fast forward a few months and I finally met her at a Hail & Farewell for Jamie’s job. Coincidentally her husband worked with mine!
The last few months I’ve gotten to know her and a handful of other wives pretty well, and we’ve had a great time sticking together at various functions and becoming quick friends.
She’s due with her first baby in a few weeks, so a group of friends got together to pull off a surprise shower. Since our husbands all work together, we decided to make it a couples shower so that they could join in the fun too. 🙂 We hosted it at our house and everyone pitched in with all the delicious food and drinks.
One reason we bought our house is because it has a great backyard for entertaining, so we prayed the weather would hold out so that we could enjoy being outdoors on Saturday. The weather made me nervous all morning, but thankfully the clouds broke up a bit and the temperature warmed up enough for us to hang outside.
We kept the food inside but enjoyed the afternoon out back.

 

                           

 

 

We got the cake from a local business here in Manhattan called 4 Cakes, and it was incredible! I highly recommend them if you’re local. The cake was even more beautiful in person; the baker put a light shimmer all over it that was so pretty!

 

We knew we had a handful of kids coming along, so we made sure to make a nearby kids area. I think the adults enjoyed the playhouse and kids’ bench just as much. 😉

 

 

 

 

Two of Faith’s best friends from Colorado Springs drove over to surprise her. Unfortunately she saw their car when she pulled up, so she had a feeling something was up. We had them wait at the door and be the ones to greet her. They confirmed that she was actually at my house for her own baby shower (instead of a casual BBQ like I told her!), and she was so happy to see them and see everything we’d thrown together for her and Jason.

 

 

 

 

Hadley was very interested in the gift-opening part, so Faith (being the nice person she is!) grabbed Hadley and included her in opening one of her gifts.

We enjoyed hanging out back for a while talking and playing corn hole before the girls headed inside to warm up and relax while the guys stayed outside hootin’ and hollerin’ for hours. They were having a ball out there!

 

We loved meeting Faith’s sweet CO friends! So glad you girls were able to attend.

I feel super fortunate to know this great group of Fort Riley wives! They really pulled through to help me throw this shower. I couldn’t have done it without them! I’ve said before that the women I’ve met through Jamie’s Army career are my favorite part of this lifestyle. There’s just this unspoken connection and understanding between each other that makes for fast and easy friendships.

Hadley was so well behaved and had a grand ole time watching the other kids play, sneaking chips, playing with the balloons, and sitting on everybody’s laps.

 

My friend Kitty knew the way to Hadley’s heart. She plopped her in her lap and read her the book of her choice. So sweet. 🙂

Saturday was great, and we absolutely loved hosting everybody to celebrate Faith & Jason as they get ready to become parents. Cheers!

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