Anna's Baby Shower-AKA Girl Party

On February 6th we threw a Baby shower for my sister Anna. We started planning in January and the time just flew by. It turned out that there was a UNLV vs BYU Basketball game that same day so the boys all got tickets to go. Ethan told someone he was going to a baby shower and they told him it was for girls, so later he said, "Mommy you stay at the girl party and I'll go to the basketball game!" It has already started....

When I woke up that day it was raining and by the time we all got out to Anna's house, which is on the opposite side of town, it was POURING!!! We sent invites to our family that lives out of town so they didn't feel excluded and to our great surprise my Grandma Blackburn and cousin Sara flew down Saturday morning just for the shower. I wish I had a picture of Anna coming down to see Grandma and Sara, but my camera was not the one to capture that moment. It was great, Anna cried, of course and I must admit I got a little teary eyed as well! We had so much help setting up, planning and cleaning up that it made the whole day a lot nicer! For the weather being horrible there were still a lot of guests and fun times had by all!I tried to be creative.... This is the extent of it!
Here are some of the decorations....

Here are some of the gifts before the party started!

We had some really good food!

This is just as the party started, the house was already a little crowded.

This is right before we started opening gifts!

This is where Anna and I sat for almost two hours straight!!! She had so many gifts, we had planned on playing a few games but only got one or two in because there were just too many gifts! (I have to admit I liked that, shows how much my sister is loved by everyone!)

Anna and Enrique have been working hard on getting Baby Emily's room ready and I think they have done a mighty 'pink' job! The room is so bright and so Anna! When we painted Ethan's room we did it a light yellow so we could have a boy or a girl in that room. But not Anna, she went all out for her little girl!

Here is their changing table and Emily's first Halloween costume!

Anna has received so many handmade blankets and quilts it's amazing. This is only a few of them....

Sometimes I wonder how Anna and I came from the same parents. Anna is so sentimental, she loves keeping old things that have special meaning. Some of those things include these dolls and the duck in the upper right of this picture. Also another quilt that was hand made for her by a customer of the banks!

Anna, my mom and Grandma Alberta made the quilt on the right in the front. The other two are from Anna's customers at work.

This quilt was made by our Aunt Beth that lives in Utah. My cousin and Grandma brought this down on the plane and had to show a few people in the airport the blanket! It is absolutely beautiful. Katelee and Ethan each got a blanket like this too! :)

Anna having fun opening more gifts!

These are the after pictures. This couch was for clothes only. WOW!!!!

And this table is for misc. items. I think she got everything that she needed and then some!

I am so excited to be an Aunt again! I know that Anna and Enrique will be great parents and provide all the love and attention baby Emily could ever need! I have been so excited from day one and know I will only get more and more excited the closer it gets. I'm not looking forward to the 30-45 minute drive every time I want to visit my new niece but I know I will make it very often and it will be WELL worth the time!!! My sister has been such a help and support to me and my little family, I can't wait to try to repay her for all of that! I probably won't come close, but at least I can try!

Ethan and Madilynn are so excited for Baby Emily! When you ask Madilynn where baby Emily is she will point to Anna's stomach, unless Anna isn't there, then she will point to her own! And Ethan the other day asked Anna if the baby in her belly was going to be his cousin! Ever since then he has been saying, "Baby Emily is my cousin!" And every now and then Ethan will randomly say, "Mommy, I was in your belly before, when I was smaller!"

Baby Emily: We are so excited to meet your cute little face and hold you! You have chosen to come to a wonderful mother and father, who will love you beyond belief! Everyone in your family has been waiting for you to come and will spoil you like crazy! You have no idea the amount of love you have already received and will continue to receive! Sure this world is pretty crazy but with family around there is nothing we can't handle. We are so excited to welcome you to the Blackburn family! We love you!!!!!

Anna and Enrique: We love you too!!! You will be amazed to find out the endless amount of love you can have for one little, itty-bitty baby! She has already captured your hearts, but just wait. The moment you see her and hold her that love will seem so small compared to what your heart will feel at that moment! When the nights seem endless and sleep doesn't come often enough, remember that moment and pure joy will fill your hearts and lift your spirits! (and you can always call Aunt Hil and she'll be there to give you a break!) I can't wait to see your little daughter..... We love you!!!!