The tradition around here is that mommies-to-be will typically have a baby shower hosted in their honor by their church for their first baby only. I had mine at our church back when I was pregnant with Kye! I was SO thankful Casey’s church shower worked out where I could be there. I had to miss her Atlanta shower as well as her big Parker shower due to being in Ireland, so I was not going to miss this one! It was also her first shower which I’m thankful I was able to attend because the first one is always something special, ya know? I had NO CLUE when I said I’d be going that it’d also be SUCH a CUTE shower!!! I figured church shower would mean very simple…but it was a LEGIT shower! HUGE props to Susie for putting it all together. I know Casey really appreciated it and I was in awe!!!
For those of you that didn’t know, Jordan is quite the baseball player. He played pretty much his entire life, including college. I think it’s sweet that Casey embraces all the baseball stuff for Carter (I was not as on board with the football stuff for Kye, at least not at first). Susie did a baseball themed shower and it was too cute! Such a fun theme!!!
Susie’s daughter did these precious pictures!
Corsage!
Casey, Jordan, Mrs. Charlotte, Mr. Rusty, Courtney and her family, Little Mama and Big Daddy, Mema, Jolee, Trey and Cheryl ALL attend the same church where Zach grew up. It’s a small congregation (roughly 60 members I think?) and it’s the church where I first attended as well. Zach and I made the difficult decision to find a new church home sometime after we got married. While I don’t regret that decision at all (I LOVE our church and think it’s really the perfect place for us! And we still have PLENTY of family who attend there with us too haha you can’t go anywhere in this town without some Parkers!) it is always wonderful to go back there to visit. Everyone is so sweet and I enjoyed getting that time to catch up!
Hostess with the mostest for sure!!!
Present time! I love all of Casey’s mega excited facial expressions 🙂
Isn’t this AMAZING?!?! The preacher at their church MADE IT!!! So awesome!
You know when you spend a lot of time with someone you tend to pick up on some of their mannerisms? I’ve always been that way. I remember my best friend in 7th grade had this way she put on her chap stick and somehow, along the way, I picked up that same habit. When I spend a lot of time with Mrs. Charlotte I talk more southern. I know when I’ve spent a good bit of time with Danielle Zach teases me b/c I come home sounding just like her as well. Maybe I’m just a chameleon? Anyways…I have noticed that I now totally have started making this face all the time when something is just so adorable I can’t stand it. Haha this is a classic “oh my gosh that’s SO CUTE” Casey face 😉
For my gift I put together a gift basket of nursing related items. I know Casey fully planned on nursing (side note: SHE IS AMAZING AT IT! TOTAL NATURAL!!!!) and I wanted to give her things that have helped me!
Here’s the basket all put together and I’ll explain each gift as I personally highly recommend them for all new breastfeeding moms! Or even experienced ones who are wanting to try some new stuff 😉
I saw this idea on Pinterest and just thought it was super cute! Probably not something that will really hardcore get used, but it makes for a cute addition to a gift 🙂 I found a frame at Hobby Lobby that matched Carter’s colors in his room and then had my amazing friend, Amy at Darley’s Darling Creations, make the printable! It has a spot to write in when Carter started his last feeding, a place to check which side (which breast) Casey finished the last feeding on (you always want to start with the same breast you ended on!), and it has a spot for Casey to check off things she needs to hear from Jordan 😉 The options are: you are gorgeous, you are a great mom, can I rub your shoulders or feet, and how can I help? I tried to hook Jordan up with some insider knowledge to the crazy postpartum hormones Casey would be experiencing haha! Didn’t it turn out cute?
Of course I included some Milkies for her. Seriously y’all this thing is LEGIT. I’m so thankful I got one with Britt and I will hardcore be using it again with Leo. It’s a GREAT way to store up extra milk that would otherwise just leak out! You put it on the breast you aren’t nursing on and it catches the leaking milk as the baby nurses on the other side. I recommend marking the bags that you store it in with an “m” or some other way to remember that it came from the milkies and not from a pump session. That way you can mix it with a pumped milk bottle to give the baby the most nutrients!
Another gift that I myself love are Booby Tubes! You can use them warm or cold and they really, really help with times of discomfort. Engorged, clogged ducts, mastitis, even when drying up! They are the perfect shape to cover the nipple area and really provide the comfort you need during those tougher times. It’s one of those things you don’t use often but when you need it, you’re glad you have it!
I took this picture of the back of the box since I no longer have my box 😉
I also happened to find this awesome nursing scarf on Etsy from Kismet Love Collection. Who doesn’t love to rock a scarf? And it’s perfect to use as a nursing cover and is SO much lighter weight than most nursing covers I’ve found (which usually cause the baby to get SO hot). Be on the lookout b/c I might have a special giveaway coming soon for y’all for one! 🙂
Checkin out the goodies 😉
Haha classic!
I love the excitement of a new mommy 🙂 Baby stuff is SO fun!
All the gifts!
We even played shower games! We did one where we had to price out the cost of baby items
And another where we had to finish the nursery rhyme (which I’m TERRIBLE at!)
With all her gifts! It was such a great shower!!!
Of course we had to have a mini photo session! I LOVE that Casey is all about pictures like I am 🙂
Mema has SUCH a pretty smile!!!!
So, so awkward haha I know Casey loved my mushy kiss 😉
Even Big Daddy had to have some pics!!!
I’m so thankful I was able to attend the shower! It was a bit of a crazy day for me (church then the church egg hunt then I rushed from there to the Mrs. Charlotte’s to ride to the shower and then I went after night church to Courtney’s to get some hand-me-downs for the kids! Whew!) but it was SO worth it and I’m so so glad Casey had such an amazing shower for baby Carter! It’s very clear that she and Jordan are so loved by their church family and I enjoyed getting to be part of such a great event!
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What a great gift you gave Casey! Awesome idea. Thanks for telling how everyone is related. I've been a faithful blog reader for over 3 years and I still get confused on who is who, ha! You and Zach really do have SO MUCH family close by. I didn't grow up with family close and we still have very little family close, so everyone all living in the same town is very foreign to me!