​In honor of kicking Indiana polo season off, I'm bringing back the baby shower series to highlight two fantastic polo-themed showers thrown for me a little over a year ago to celebrate Baby O&O. Because of Mr. O&O’s and my combined love for all things southern and preppy, we decided on a polo theme for Baby O&O’s nursery, which inspired the two hat-wearing showers that came to be. The room has served its purpose well into toddlerhood as Baby O&O now loves pointing out all his "neigh-neighs" before bed. 

The first was a small, family shower that started with the most perfect blue and white polo onesie invitations and ended with a matching cake. Everyone got in the spirt and came wearing a hat and dress, with many sets of pearls to boot. The most special part was the old family cradle used to display a gorgeous array of goodies for my little man. 

​A few months later, a family friend on Mr. O&O’s side also caught wind of the polo nursery theme and put a Ralph Lauren polo spin on her celebration. After discovering an old RL teddy bear fabric, she incorporated this print into everything from the boots and rocking horse welcoming guests to the spiced nuts adorned with horse charms sent home as favors. While the details were jaw dropping, my favorite part of this shower was the game she played during presents: each guest had a mad-lib style questionnaire that they filled out and read part of before their gift was opened. The hostess wrote the personalized story, incorporating many sweet things such as Baby O&O's anticipated career and advice for him as he grows. As the guests read their stories, the hostess collected them and placed them in an album for me to keep. It is so heartwarming to go back and read the stories and see how the imagined Baby O&O holds up against the real deal.

​Upholding the legacy set by this painstakingly decorated nursery and fantastic showers, we took Baby O&O to his first match last summer and are gearing up to head out again this year! I hope you’ll join us at Hickory Hall Polo Club this summer.

In honor of this very special day, I interrupt this baby shower blog series (appropriately) for a brief look into the reality of a new mom’s first Mother’s Day. While I totally agree with and relate to all of these points (especially #9!), this wise bit of insight actually isn’t mine, but is a fantastic guest post from my dear friend Lisa Graft (for whom I threw the running-themed baby shower), a now-seasoned mama (compared to my 4 months!) to precious and adorable Josie. Take it away, Lisa!

​Last Mother’s Day (my first), I posted this beautiful picture of my daughter and me with the caption, “Doesn’t get any better than this.” 

​And I felt guilty. Like a liar. True, it doesn’t get any better than holding my sweet baby and giggling together, but it does get worse! So, in the spirit of full transparency, here are 10 truths about my short experience in motherhood that I wrote last Mother’s Day that still hold true, even with another year under my belt.

I’ve never been so exhausted – mentally, emotionally, and physically. When I became a mother, the selflessness came instantly to me. The work, then, is to not resent Josie for engendering the selflessness. And to not resent my husband for his learning curve on becoming selfless. And that’s tiring! But, of course, motherhood is amazing on so many levels. I love Josie more than I ever thought I could love a human. I’m enjoying the trial and error part of raising a baby because I’m becoming a very confident mother, and every day, I try to appreciate my tired eyes and full heart.

​I don’t know if it is my age or something in the water, but I think I’ve attended at least one baby shower a month since September, which provides the perfect excuse to start a baby shower post series! The first in this fun saga of celebrations is a rustic take on an early-fall shower for my dear friend Laura that two friends and I teamed up to throw to celebrate her upcoming baby boy. 

The most important decision in this endeavor was choosing a venue. While I always love hosting in my home, this particular foursome had decided a while back that once we all started having babies, we were going to host each other’s showers on location somewhere to both add an extra element to the party but also to cut down on the work for the hostesses! True to our word, we went with a locally owned Arcadian café in Westfield, Indiana called Rail Epicurean Market for this first one and we were not disappointed!

​Once we chose this charming eatery, everything else quickly fell into place. I ordered some simple yet playful invitations from Paperlesspost.com that pulled in a part of the baby's nursery theme and picked up some matching paper from one of my favorite places, Paper Source, to make envelope liners and a banner. IMHO, envelope liners step it up a notch on class but also on cost, so I invested in a DIY liner kit a while ago so I can stay classy without breaking the bank by making them myself. 

​When the big day arrived, the accommodating staff created a personalized menu from which each guest ordered a specialty hot beverage. One of the 3 hostesses created heavenly smelling lavender body scrubs for favors, and the remaining hostess and I threw together the table décor on a whim and a prayer! We still aren’t quite sure how it happened, but somehow it all came together in the 15 minutes before guests started arriving with the finishing touch of a blue pashmina I grabbed from my closet as I was running out the door.

The guest count was about 15 and we all gathered around a large wooden table, passed around charcuterie boards and pumpkin bars, and showered this special mama with love, gifts, and advice. I can’t praise the staff and venue enough: the food was delicious, the service timely, and the atmosphere warm and picturesque.

​Busy busy busy! This has been the tune I’ve been singing lately, due largely in part to a new member of the family that is happily growing his way into Mr. O&O’s and my hearts (as well as my belly)! We are expecting our first little one, whom we have recently learned is a sweet baby boy! We are over the moon about our son, and I have been savoring all the exciting celebrations that come with a new baby. One of these jubilant occasions was learning the gender of this little guy! Mr. O&O and I had several decisions to make surrounding this one piece of information, though. Our first choice was whether we wanted to find out at all, which we easily agreed on a big YES! The next choice, however, was more complicated. How do we reveal to family and friends? Do we find out before and tell them ourselves, or keep it a secret and find out all together? And who to invite to this “gender reveal,” or should we have one at all? It turns out there are many opinions surrounding these gender-related decisions that boil down to two main sides: private and public.

​Keep it private.
Many people believe that finding out the gender of your baby is a private moment best spent as just a couple. Some think that creating a big occasion out of an often-emotional moment can belittle the specialness of it. Additionally, with all the showers, gifts, and attention that already surround a new baby, attending yet another party to reveal the gender may be seen as an imposition, especially because the denouement is only three words that could be communicated via phone, email, or social media. The etiquette of a gender reveal party is also typically unclear – do you bring a gift? (I say no, but I’ve seen it done.) And what if the parents didn’t get the gender they wanted? Their emotions are on display for everyone to see, and if disappointment is one of them, things could get awkward. 

​Any excuse for a party is a good one!
On the other hand, some families and friends are just as excited to learn the gender as the parents-to-be and desperately want to be included in any and all celebrations for the new little one. A party also gives the parents a chance to get creative with their reveal and make some fabulous memories. Cakes, balloons, mustaches/lips, and even squirt guns are some amazing ideas I’ve seen executed to reveal a baby’s gender to anxious guests and parents. 

Compromise?
After weighing our options, Mr. O&O and I aimed for a compromise. We went out to Virginia for a shower thrown by Mama O&O (post to come!), and the timing worked out that our 20-week ultrasound was a few days before we left, so we decided to do it that weekend. We considered revealing to all of the guests at the end of the shower, which we thought wouldn’t be an imposition because they would already be there, but then realized that a few key people wouldn’t be there (Papa O&O, for one) and also that it may be a little overwhelming with so many people watching. In retrospect, I’m glad we didn’t because I was so nervous I couldn’t stand it, and I wouldn’t have wanted to feel that way during my whole shower! Instead, we waited until Papa O&O got home later that night. We opted for a Russian roulette-style cupcake reveal (courtesy of Richmond, VA's Shortcake Bake Shoppe) with just my immediate family and Mr. O&O’s immediate family (FaceTime), plus Bestie O&O as the photographer. We did wait ourselves and find out at the same time as the families. In my opinion, that is the only way to do it party-style because it makes all the lead-up worth it. If we had found out beforehand privately, I would just do a cute announcement on social media. I would feel bad already knowing and putting my family through an entire waiting-game party just for show. This way, the moment was still incredibly special and intimate, but also fun, celebratory, and inclusive. We then put a blue balloon on the mailbox for inquiring neighbors and posted a fun shot to social media to let everyone else know.

​And now it’s on to suspenders and bow ties for this growing family! Note: All photos except the squirt gun reveal are courtesy of Destin, FL photographer Kelsey Dodson Photography. 

Quick, complication-free deliveries seem to be a rarity these days (UPS and FedEx excepted), yet what a blessing when they do occur. My sweet friend just delivered a healthy baby girl as seamlessly as they come. Practically racing out of the womb, baby Josie took only a dozen or so minutes of hard labor to enter her expectant parents’ arms, already taking after her marathon-running mom. And marathoner she is. Lisa, Josie’s mom, lives and breathes running, using it not only as a means of physical fitness, but also as a spiritual outlet for prayer and mental clarity.

A few months ago, I had the honor of throwing a baby shower for this fit momma-to-be, and it was clear that I needed to incorporate this huge part of her life into the celebration of her first child. After a lot of brainstorming and many failed attempts at locating baby-running-shoe décor, I decided upon a “Bibs and Bows” theme, playing on the racing-bib/baby-bib homonym with a bit of little girl flair.

My first task was choosing invitations, which were extremely difficult to find but proved to be the key in creating the rest of the décor. After numerous failed search terms (surprisingly, “baby shower running bib bow invitations” doesn't pull up many results), I finally discovered a great starting point: running bib birthday invites. Thankfully, the Etsy shop owner was willing to customize, so we tweaked a few words, reworked the bottom motif, and added some color (I went with coral and gray to incorporate Josie’s nursery colors).    

I printed these on 5 x 7 card stock from Kinko’s for a reasonable price, borrowed a friend’s paper cutter to professionally trim them, and then splurged on matching envelopes and gray and white chevron envelope liners at Paper Source. Invitations really set the tone for an event, and I wanted to ensure that despite the running bib, these sent the message, “No workout clothes; this is still a classy event!“ I, of course, wore a bib-collar dress (bib and tucker, as it were) with little bow motifs all over it.    

From the invite template I was able to create almost all of the other décor with little additional effort. I adorned my front mantel with a banner of these bibs sporting the headline, “Lisa’s Bibs and Bows Shower” and used smaller versions for signage, menus, and name tags. On the rear mantel, I used coral and gray paint to repurpose a generic baby shower banner.

For outside, instead of your typical balloon on the mailbox, I hung a “Bibs and Bows” wreath I fashioned using dozens of coral, white, and gray ribbons to greet guests upon arrival. After entering, guests encountered a welcome station at which they could fill out their own running bib name tag, attach it to their clothing with safety pins, and sign a children’s book I found called Pellie Runs a Marathon, to write wise words and well-wishes to mother and baby. 

Next came the “Hydration Station” where guests could quench their thirst with gold-medal-adorned Gatorade bottles* and enjoy a chocolate milk recovery drink, the one thing Mom-to-be consistently craved during her pregnancy. The food menu included a “Carb Station” of croissant sandwiches and bow-tie pasta salad*; “Runner’s Goo” Jell-O salad; and watermelon and pineapple cut into bow-shapes* (*special thanks to several friends for pitching in these items). I cinched gray napkins with coral ribbon to resemble bows for a finishing touch on the food table.

After appetites were satiated, we began the “racing events.” I really wanted to carry the theme over into the games, and I love the idea of crafting things that Lisa could take home later, so these were the true “bibs” and “bows” of the party. In the dining room, guests could decorate “race bibs” for baby Josie, and later, Mom picked her favorite and the artist won a prize. Similarly, in the sunroom, guests had the opportunity to make bows for baby girl, also as a friendly competition, and the designer of Mom’s favorite also won a gift.

I still wanted to have one true organized game, but I definitely didn't want to do any of the clichéd clothespin/baby food guessing games. I eventually came up with an idea that stemmed, once again, from the invitations. When I was editing the invite template, I debated over which number to put as the main race bib number: the date of the party, the baby’s due date, a different number on each one, or something else completely. I ultimately decided on the date of the party, but in the process, I created my final game. When I designed the name tags that guests pinned on at the beginning of the party, I used a different number for each bib, and each number represented an important date leading up to the birth of Baby Josie. Examples included her due date; Mom and Dad’s birthdays, first kiss, and anniversary; gender-reveal date; conception; and many more. After crafts, we all congregated in the family room and I read off the various milestones represented. Then, using the bib numbers people were wearing as an answer bank, each person guessed which number matched which milestone, and the person with the most correct answers received the prize. Staying true to the theme, craft and game prizes consisted of a combination of water bottles, chamois towels, running socks, and hairbands.

To finish off with a sweet treat, I snuck off during presents and served up a “Post-Workout Reward” of Mom’s favorite chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream-frosted sides and powdered-sugar-stenciled bows on top. When the afternoon ended, guests each left with a coral, gray, or white sweatband, in hopes to inspire the runner in all of us.    

With couch-to-5K programs taking off and running culture gaining popularity, hopefully you, too, can use some of these ideas to honor a race-loving mom-to-be of your own.