May Showers and Flowers on Cinco De Mayo

* Sorry Cheri, it was Cinco De May-No at our house last night. Troy got in late so we just had left overs {spaghetti... about as un-Cinco De Mayan as you can get!} We'll probably try to do something next year though! Maybe Peyton would have fun with a pinata- and you can never go wrong with fajitas or quesadillas! :-)

Yesterday, Chloe and I were showered with love and all things pink and delightful at my friend/Visiting Teacher/Relief Society President's home. Cheri has an absolutely lovely home and I quickly fell in love with her lush green back yard that was surrounded by tall leafy trees and a calm and tranquil mirrored pool.

She's also a girl after my own heart with leather bound editions of the classics on her bookshelves- Dickens, Hawthorne, Alcott and more. In addition to that, she has striking works of art arranged tastefully on her walls and the decor lends itself to comfort and bliss!
Let me preface the remainder of this post by saying that when Troy and I made the move from Louisiana to Texas, I told myself that I probably wouldn't have a baby shower since I wouldn't know anyone well enough to have one in the short amount of time I was in Richardson. It wasn't that I was looking for gifts {although they are nice!} I really just wanted to spend some time with good friends and for Chloe to know when she was older that she was celebrated and showered with love just as much as her older brother was by my friends in Baton Rouge.

So imagine my astonishment when not only did the members of the church here in Plano formulate a plan for a shower in Chloe's honor, they also invited members of my new church out in Rowlett so I could better get to know the ladies that I'll be living and spending time with for the next several years!

My friend Julie from Rowlett made this super cute diaper cake- and it was her first attempt! I think it looks precious.

Here is a mix of friends from both Plano and Rowlett. My friend closest in this picture at the bottom right is Ginger- she actually just moved FROM Rowlett to Plano so it was neat to hear how much she loves the people out in Rowlett. She was thoughtful enough to invite us to her little girl's birthday celebration a few weeks back so that we could meet her friends from out in Rowlett and so that we'd have a few friendly and familiar faces to look forward to seeing once we were settled in.

Cheri is the angel in the coral pink shirt behind me. She put together a wonderful little luncheon with a little help from her friends. The spread included mini croissant sandwiches, two different spinach salads, a chinese chicken salad, fruit salad, blueberry cheesecake bars, magic bars and my favorite, cucumber punch! Ginger also made this super cute teddy bear cake that looked like it took forever to pipe- and it had Chloe's name on it! It was every bit as tasty as it looked.

What would a shower for a baby girl be without a plethora of cute and adorable things to doll her up in? Let me just say that Chloe will be one fashionable little baby girl! These ladies definitely spoiled her {and me!}.

We all had clothespins on and were trying our hardest not to say the word 'cute'. Whoever said the forbidden word had their clothespin taken away! Needless to say, 'cute' is very hard NOT to say when everything you are opening up and seeing is indeed cute. :-)

My friend Natalie from the Plano church made me this blanket that has different squares of fabric sewn together and the back {which I'm looking at in the picture} has a frayed effect which will be fun for little fingers to explore. Not only was this a soft and beautiful blanket, it smelled heavenly too! In fact, I couldn't stop smelling it and had to write Natalie an email to find out what laundry detergent she uses!

FYI: It is Tide with bleach and Downy. She thinks it's probably the Downy that makes it smell so wonderful and I'm inclined to pick some up at Sam's next time I'm there since it smells so great!

My other friend Wendy also made Chloe a blanket and crocheted three layers around the edge of the blanket in alternating pink, purple and pink again. It was also very lovely and had a fun and delightfully girly girl pattern to it. No pictures of that blanket- but trust me when I say that it is... well, CUTE! :-)

Last but not least, a few of the gals got together for a group gift of some money that I could put toward whatever I'd like. I've already staked my eyes on a glider for Chloe's room since I didn't have a chair for Peyton's room when he was an infant {I just sat on the spare room bed and nursed him}. The chair I'm looking at getting is so comfortable- I can't wait to order it! I just might never leave her room.

I was so grateful for everything that Cheri and her friends Lisbeth and Jenn did to make sure that Chloe I were taken care of. I had a great time visiting with everyone and I hope to stay in touch with all of my friends from Plano. Thanks everyone!