Celebrating Baby Lent

So, remember that post “The Wedding of a Century”? It was about our sweet friends Chris & Amanda who became husband & wife in December 2011.  This couple was delighted to find out they were expecting a baby only a few months after saying “I do”. Fast forward to the fall & here we are celebrating that baby who will be making his or her debut in less than two months! And remember all those people who were SO excited about these two getting hitched? We are all still cheering : )

Amanda’s resume includes LOTS of interaction with children such as kindergarten teacher in the US & abroad coupled with working with missionary kids from all over the globe through Cru.  She also captivates my little ones with her sweet voice & interest in them…and with her sparkly jewelry.  With her love of children & children’s literature it was easy to settle on a book themed shower.

Our invites looked like library cards & encouraged the guests to bring along a book to stock up Baby Lentini’s library. Thanks to Pinterest (again) I found many adorable ideas & had a great time coming up with the décor. We had various well known books spread around.  I had a stash of some classics from the Ellis family library such as my very own copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit that was given to me by my grandparents in 1984.  It made me smile to look at the covers & think about reading them as a child & now reading them to my girls.  I love the awe inspired by the words of these books that make Charlotte say her token phrase “If we were in the story….”

Here are some of the books spread about…

Cupcake toppers with 20 different book covers doubled for 40 cupcakes. I think they turned out pretty cute….so cute I wanted to ask people to not eat them so we could just keep looking at them ; )

The beautiful mommy to be quickly grabbed the cupcake topped with “The Giving Tree,” one of her all time favorites she once used in the classroom. Isn’t she lovely? I can only imagine how adorable Baby Lent will be with some blonde hair & blue eyes…just like mommy & daddy!

Our food was simply themed to memorable books such as:

• Assortment of Muffins- If You Give a Moose a Muffin
• Fruit- The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Mini Quiche- Green Eggs & Ham
• Fresh bread with jam & butter- The Little Red Hen

Big thanks to Heidi, Leah, Traci, Krinki & Cathy who took care of all the food & drinks so I could play with my crafts.  Love them for that : ) I found a book of Charlotte’s that had a page ripped out & cut the rest into a pennant banner while she was napping one afternoon.  She came out to the scraps & said “Oh no! What happened to my book mommy?”  I reminded her of the baby growing inside Miss Amanda’s belly (which she is totally convinced is a girl). I convinced her it was for a good cause…she won’t miss it ; )

Baby Piper…..poor kiddo, she didn’t get any attention at all with her Mommy, Grandma & Auntie Leah plus all the other ladies who love some Piper snuggles.  It was nearly this time last year that we had a shower for her mommy! It is such a blessing to see a church family grow with welcoming little ones. Piper is a cutie & has a few offers for arranged marriages by friends of Luke & Traci, haha.  I have a feeling that many offer will be made on baby Lentini as well….

One possible future man in Piper’s life is my little nephew Issac.  He & P Marie had a blast playing on the floor together & squealing simultaneously during the gift opening.

Once everyone filled their bellies we moved into the living room for a little game, “A Children’s Book Scramble.”  It was guessing titles of classic children’s stories from a phrase like clue.  I thought a few were actually pretty tricky & laughed out loud when someone asked if I came up with them myself. My plan was to take what I found online & add to it.  I quickly realized that my brain does not work that way. At least not right now with two babies sucking my brains out at record speed ; ) So, I stuck with the original 14 & it was great.

If we were playing by the rules, no one actually won getting all 14 right.  The “soft cotton bunny toy” which was really The Velveteen Rabbit tricked everyone into writing “Pat the Bunny” or “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” which were actually great guesses.  Erica Gruidl finished first getting 13 right. Her prize was that she gets to be the first to bring a meal over to the Lent’s once they arrive home from the hospital. Those who followed getting 12, 11, 10, 9 (you know the rest) get to follow in order ; ) Just for the record, the mommy to be/Kindergarten teacher got 13 right as well.

We had many wonderful women join us in celebrating & snapped a group pic. Sadly it was taken at the end of the shower so we were missing a few that had to leave early. I love the picture though and am reminded of a similar picture in this same living room at the shower that was given for me when I was pregnant with Charlotte.  I just looked at it the other day & smiled at all the pregnant bellies knowing the little two & three year olds running around now that we hadn’t met yet or thinking about the people who were special to me & that have already come & gone in the transient place central Florida has proven to be. I am mostly reminded of the kindness that was extended to me as a new mom from ladies that love the Lord & have spent many hours of the course of their lifetime mothering children. Their wisdom, prayers & encouraging words have served me well thus far in my journey. So, all in all it was a delight to see Amanda relishing in the Lord’s goodness as she was so well cared for.

Amanda had LOTS of gifts to open! It is always fun to see what people have picked out & then ooo & ahhh over all the cuteness found in the packages.


She received many great gifts including some outfits, duckie towels & washcloths, a bouncer & a highchair just to name a few.  Her college roommate sent a thoughtful book of advice with each page titled “5 things….” such as “5 things that change after having a baby” or “the 5 best things about a newborn” or “5 things you should know about labor".” SO cute…I kind of wanted to swipe it…just for a minute to read up ; )She also got lots of books for little Lentini’s library!
Leah prepared a prayer from Psalm 139 for Baby Lent. She read it aloud & then various people prayed for her.  It is so wonderful to be reminded of the truth that God himself is forming that baby in Amanda’s womb & he or she is fearfully & wonderfully made.

I love the next picture of Hannah with her hand on her mommy’s shoulder while were praying. Hannah is in 2nd grade & is about to become a big sister at the end of December.  She is precious & fit in very well with all the ladies.

One final thing we had going was a guessing game on whether baby Lent is a boy or a girl, birthday, time, weight & length.  I think when it was totaled, there was an even amount of “boys” & “girls" There was a wide array of dates, some that may make Amanda feel doomed to many more weeks of pregnancy ; ) She said she was hoping that many guessed he or she would weigh in the 6 pound range.  I think lots of mama’s hope for that! I did, it got me no where…. Char & all her chub was over 8 pounds. I did guess 6lb 13oz for this babe though so I am still on Amanda’s good side ; ) Only time will tell….someone is bound to at least be close in a portion of guesses.

This was a last minute thought but thanks to the Silhouette Cameo is was relatively easy & turned out sweet I think…..

One of the first few casting their vote…..

It surely was a lovely morning celebrating a precious friend.  I am so thankful for this woman.  Because of Jesus she is beautiful inside & out. She is one of the most caring individuals I know which I think will serve her well in mothering.  She & Chris will be incredible parents to this little lady or gentleman.  Rob & I pray that we are cheering them on the whole way as they raise this child and any others that the Lord may bless them with.  It makes me smile so big to think about all the excitement in year one of marriage….it’s going to be hard to beat next year ; )

Here are the baby bumps at 33 weeks & 11 weeks. Amanda hides hers well in that dress but it is definitely there & cute as can be.  The clock is ticking….the baby is coming….can’t wait to get the phone call to head to the hospital!