Amber's Shower

Today was the baby shower for my niece Amber. Her first child, a son to be named Ian Thomas, is due in just one week.

*

Amber, of course, hopes he'll be early.

*

The shower was held at the home of Amber's parents, and the cute decorations--like the one at left--were created by Amber's older sister Ashley.
I was stunned when I won the first game. I never win at shower games!

*

We had to cut a string to a length that we thought would fit around Amber's pregnant belly. My string was an exact fit!

*

Here we have Amber and me with the winning string, and my prizes: beautiful earrings in the shape of yellow roses (by Ashley) and a chocolate bar.
After the games, Amber got down to the business of opening gifts (with sister Emma looking on).

*

The little fleece outfit she's holding up is the one Sarah and I chose for Ian. It has the cutest little monkeys on top of the footies!

*

Amber got so many outfits, Ian will be one well-dressed baby! She also received plenty of blankets, diapers, and other practical items, like an adorable whale-shaped baby tub.

*

The gifts are the best part of baby showers. Those sweet little infant things are almost enough to make one wish for another baby! But I'll happily settle for cuddling my grandchildren someday!

Before we left, we surrounded Amber with family for a photo.

*

Left-to-right: Amber's sister-in-law Alisha; sister Elsie; Amber behind sister Hayden; brother Marcus (real men don't shy away from baby showers!); mom Dana behind sister Haley; sister Ashley; sister Emma; and sister-in-law Monica holding nephew Trenton.
*
Now we're just waiting for news of the happy arrival!