My Baby Shower

9/10/11 What a great day to have a baby shower. As some of you may notice, I am crazy when it comes to certain dates. I picked this day because it seemed lucky to me to have numbers that are consecutive. I planned and planned so when the date finally came, I honestly didn't have much to do. When I woke up in the morning I made breakfast for my sweet girl and me. We played and when Todd woke up, I went to get a pedicure. When I got back, we dropped Taelyn off at my mom's so she could nap while we ran errands. If Taelyn doesn't get a nap, she is quite unpleasant, and I didn't want her to be fussy because there was going to be a whole lot of people who would want to engage with her and she needed to be ready for all of the attention.

Todd and I went to Costco to pick up the cake.
Then I went home and got ready while he picked up the rest of the food. I went to pick up Taelyn and then we met up at the Redlands Senior Center that was so beautifully decorated the day before by me, my mom, Eddie, Maila and Richard.

The football helmet, cupcakes and football shaped cake was made by my sweet sweet Sorority sister, Tekura





All we had to do was set up the food tables and wait for the guest. It was perfect. Once 2pm hit, people started flooding in. It was such a great turn out. I was so happy to see so many people who I haven't seen in so long. I even had my Auntie Ludy (mom's sister) visiting from Alabama!
Sanders Family

Mom and Taelyn

Me and Lea

Sorority sisters

Taelyn stuck to Lea like glue

Me and my Sweet Tanka

Me and Alisia



We had Rosa Maria's Burritos, they have been my obsession my entire pregnancy


The games were super fun. I had a match the baby picture to the recent picture game and Match the mommy to the baby boy. We also hung clothes on a line and who ever did it the fastest was the winner. It was a super fun game. All of the games had great prizes so it was fun to see who won.






After the games we opened up the presents

We were completely showered with gifts and lots and lots of diapers and wipes! We couldn't have been happier. We had a lot of fun and I think everyone who was there had a great time too. Thank you to all who attended and helped make our shower a success and a time to remember. Everything is put away and ready for our baby boy, now all we have to do is come with a name and we will really be ready for his arrival.

Maternity Pictures

On Wednesday I met up with Jessica Hekman so she could take my maternity pictures. I got my hair done the day before and wore curlers to maintain a loose curl and Alisia came over just before Jessica got here and did my makeup to make beautiful. The last time I had this trio together was last January for LaQualia's Moulin Rouge 30th birthday party, the morning of the party, I had a photo shoot with Jessica to surprised Todd with boudior pictures for Valentine's day.I am 99.99% sure that that was the night that we conceived out little baby boy.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE PICTURES!!! Jess really outdid herself once again. Here are some of my favorites, there are a lot because I like just so many!
























Thank you so much Jess, I am so, so happy with the way these turned out!

Football Theme Baby Shower Prep

I didn't throw my shower for Taelyn, generally showers are given by friends, I felt like with this baby I shouldn't even have a shower, since I had a huge one for Taelyn. I thought it would be asking too much of people. My mom told me not to be crazy! We had to have a shower for him, he is a blessing and NEEDS to be celebrated. So, with that being said, I decided to to it all by myself. Throwing a party alone is nearly impossible, and stupid, especially if you have people who love you and are more than willing to help. I am just the type of person who feels like I can do it all. Well, I can't...

So for the past couple of weeks, I have been preparing for my baby shower. Since it is the official 1st weekend of the start of the football season, Todd wanted to do a whole "Football" themed shower. Since this is his boy, I decided to be accommodating. I asked for suggestions and ideas via Facebook and boy were my friends helpful. They helped me get the ball rolling on what to do for favors and centerpieces and games, etc.

I started out with the favors since I knew with all the friends we have, that would more than likely be the most time consuming. I wanted something cute, but cost effective. I decided to make baby booties but give them a football twist and make them look like athletic shoes. I went out and bought my supplies from Smart and Final, Joann's, and the 99 Cent Store. I bought styrofoam cups, blue ribbon for laces, football ribbon for trim, tulle, and clear small rubber bands. Total cost of supplies for the booties $19.76. Not bad at all. The candy to fill the booties were over $20 but I didn't count for that since if I would have bought favors from a party place it would be in the hundreds for sure, PLUS the candy to fill them.

I cut the cups in half, made 2 slits punched holes in the slits and brought them together and tied them with ribbon to give the effect of the booties. Then I wrapped the football ribbon along the top to cover my jagged cutting skills and put a sticker on the back that says "Team DiMillo 9/10/11" I filled the tulle with M&M's and stuck them in the booties, then Viola! Since I had to make 100, I called on some friends, Alisia of course helped, A LOT, she is always my life saver! Raylea and my cousin Melanie came and helped too. After 2 days, all 100 were done!



Next were the centerpieces. I knew I wanted footballs, so we got those at the 99 Cent Store, Alisia tied baby blue ribbon around it and we left those alone for a few days. I didn't know how I wanted to display it on the tables. My brother Richard suggested that I mount them on a tee. I asked Todd and he said that tees were expensive, so he suggested that we put them on a plate and use a cup to mount them. I decided to put Easter grass I had left over from Taelyn's birthday party and it all worked out! They look great!





There is still lots to do, but I am glad I got those things out of the way early, so that is one less thing I have to worry about and I am soooo thankful for my family and friends for helping me do the tedious act of getting the favors and centerpieces done. More to come on this baby shower business....