How to have an awesome baby shower....

My sister-in-law is expecting a baby boy in December, and we sisters-in-laws took it upon ourselves  to throw her a kick-ass baby shower (can you say kick-ass when discussing baby showers?)

Chhhiiieeeffsss!! I mean....GO ROYALS! No, wait....CARDSSSS!!

I'm never a big fan of anything traditional, so a St. Louis Cardinals theme (2011 World Series Champs no big deal-you go Missouri!) was perfect for this celebration. 

 I love all showers, why? One simple, glorious, happy word: CAKE. 

 

Baby Jack's cake was SUPPOSED to go: 'ball, bat, ball, bat, ball', separately in their own squares, but somehow that concept got lost in translation and we got a ball/bat combination in EACH square. 

Honestly,  I didn't care because that meant MORE frosting for me!  I even managed to snag a corner piece to really double up on that delicious frosting goodness.....Stick with me kid, I'll show you how to live it up right!

The Guest of Honor.....

Umm, Amanda? Can you please get out of the picture? I'm trying to get a shot of the guest of honor. That's it, now tilt it up just a bit more more.... Oh ok fine. I guess you can be the guest of honor, sister!

I have an extreme need for photos to look candid and unplanned.....

Amanda is making this 'trying not to laugh' face because she started to smile when she saw me taking a picture and I literally yelled at her: "NO! I'M TAKING A CANDID PHOTO! ACT NATURALLY!"

As you can see, I am a master photographer......

A MUCH better candid photo if I do say so myself.

The two pretty ladies on the left are my fellow 'aunts' and shower throwers. The two on the right are baby Jack's cousins. It was quite the family affair.

 

The day continued on and presents were given....

...much laughter and fun was had....

And we FINALLY got to eat the cake. 

Where is the picture you ask? Silly reader. How could I possibly take a picture of cake-eating when I've got my hands full with two pieces of my own?! Here is a representation: 

Don't judge me.

It was decided that we needed to work off the sugar in our systems and the most fun part of the day was had....

(I have got to tell you, games in the baby shower department REALLY need a make-over. Playing the 'melt different candy bars in  diapers to make it look like poop and then pass the diapers around and try to guess the candy' is a little outdated if you ask me.)

We kicked it up a notch and decorated onesies: 

The table filled with stamps, fabric paint, fabric markers and creative artists....

My mom had me draw a baby baseball player which she colored in, then she showed us all up by sewing a  baseball button on his hand....cheater! I didn't know props were allowed!

Baby Jack's big sister, Alli, created this masterpiece for her little brother. We're hoping the paint will dry by the time he actually gets here....in a month.

Even Grandma Pearl got in on the action.

You go Grandma Pearl!

Sure he may love you, Aunt Lorri,

but let's be honest he will probably love me MORE!!!

After much deliberating, Aunt Traci settled on a doggy design...

Where is my masterpiece you ask?

Notice my intense concentration on my onesie?

Ta-da! 

I realize the Harley looks like a motorcycle/buggy/4-wheeler hybrid, but if a baby is truly driving - how it looks it the LEAST of our worries.

For some reason, I just wasn't satisfied with that onesie. I thought and thought, it was then that I was struck with inspiration and came up with this little gem: 

.

.....No big deal.