anatomy of a surprise baby shower

when i learned that tommy's mom, alli, was expecting her second baby boy in july, i knew that wanted to have a shower for her. i also knew that if i asked her she would say that she didn't need one, because she didn't need anything new. she is very practical, so i decided that i would make it a surprise shower. alli loves surprises, but she is very astute, so i knew it would be a hard task to actually "surprise" her. yesterday was the appointed day and she had not a clue as to what was in store for her. i told her i needed help with getting coopers flock ready to go to the hospital. she said that she had to work on saturday, but i pleaded with her and told her i really needed her here. thankfully she agreed, and when she walked in in she looked at me and said " there are a lot of people here to help you with coopers flock." it took a minute for her to realize that she knew most of the people in the room and they were not here to help me with coopers flock, but to help celebrate the arrival of her new baby. we both cried, thankfully i had plenty of kleenex left over from coopers service.

here are some of the highlights.

poms from PomLove hanging from the ceiling in bright colors that matched the invitation. i love these so and don't want to take them down. i think they would be just precious hanging in a nursery.

darling onesies cookies from cakeboxcookies. these cookies are amazing. they smelled so delicious when they arrived it was hard not to eat them before the party.

mini clipboard party favors, complete with pad of paper and mini sharpie in fun colors. thanks marta for the brilliant idea and posting about it on your blog.

and lots of cute presents including this precious knit hat courtesy of alicia, who happens to be sitting next to alli.

overall, a very successful shower indeed. i had such fun planning all the details. and i cant wait to meet baby charlie in a few months.