Showered.

I have this cool app on my phone that gives me daily + weekly pregnancy updates, including the estimated size & weight of Baby Boy. I think that were it not for the love + support + general kindness of good friends, I may have had a bit of a panic attack when this said app compared my unborn child to a watermelon this week. A WATERMELON. Yes, that massive fruit that feeds a crowd all summer long must come out of my special place very shortly, & then I must feed, care for & nurture it into human adulthood. For a minimum of EIGHTEEN YEARS.

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Just keep breathing, just keep breathing.

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This is related, I promise: Have I ever mentioned that I hadn't really had a birthday party since 7th grade (yup, I have) until recently? I'm pretty sure that was last one, the last BIG one, anyway. Ever since then, I've either been too scared to plan something for fear that no one would show up, or didn't feel that I had close enough friends to justify doing anything all. That was okay. I've had friends. Of course.

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Fast forward 15 years or so & life is different. I'm grown up (ish). Settled. Content. And not worrying about who likes me or who doesn't anymore, because I'm okay with where I'm at, & grateful for what I have (think husband, family, special friends). But I'm still hyper aware of these blessings sometimes, because some of them still feel relatively new & fresh at times. Last year, Mike threw me a surprise birthday party at Shake Shack & I just about died of happiness. It was one of the sweetest, most thoughtful things he's ever done for me. And my friends who came! It was so great. I still get kind of choked up about it when I think about it.

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And then Baby Boy's impending arrival! The nice things that people have done for me have just made me feel lots of love. I had a beautiful shower in Spokane back in June, a thoughtful gathering in New Canaan in July & this past week - my New York City friends pulled out all the stops & just dumped love on me. Big buckets of it.

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Three of my nearest & dearest (Suzi, Kelsey & Jill) put together a little - let's try again: a fabulous & absolutely perfect - soiree for me + Baby Boy last weekend. It really meant THE WORLD to me. The universe, really. Because it solidified what I already knew - that I have really, really lovely friends in New York who I love so much, who love me (warm fuzzies), & who will help me as I learn to be a mother (& likely help me back up as I fall flat on my face over & over again). They make New York City home, & accordingly, they make me feel safe & comfortable here. They've given me friendship that is of a quality rarely found in life. The women who planned & attended this shower have already helped me survive through & cope with pregnancy. They've answered my countless emails, phone calls, & pestering questions. They've offered real, genuine friendship. They've done those simple & kind things like calling to check in to see how I'm doing. They filled out my ridiculous but really-helpful-to-me survey with nothing but patience & kindness. They've regularly shown their excitement for me & for my family as we embark on a totally new stage in our lives. They've told me that they just can't wait! Their actions have spoken so much, & I love them all for this. True friends.

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Suzi is a ridiculously good planner & organizer. She's the shower master, & I feel really lucky to be one of her friends that gets to benefit from this. Kelsey makes the most delicious [insert one of 5,437 things here] you've ever had & is insanely creative in general, across the board. Jill is crafty like no other (she made the banner, & also her gift to me - amazing). These girls made quite the team & did such a lovely job with everything. I know how much time they spent on everything because they didn't invite me to their top secret meetings (offended!), & I'm grateful to them. And to Kylie! She's really, really amazing. She did the invites for the shower, all of the graphics & as Mike pointed out the other day, has basically created branding for our pregnancy (I hired her to do our announcements as well - we just have to insert the stats & we're done!). She's so, so talented. And Jenn & Mindy! They both helped with food, too (delicious). And Emma hosted everyone in her beautiful new apartment! And Maribeth didn't yell at me when I threw my camera at her & said, Hey!! Take photos, please!! Oh my goodness. Love these friends.

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It was all for me!! For my baby! Crazy. And surreal, still.

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Thank you, girls. I love you all < -------------- THIS MUCH ------------- >, plus a little bit more.

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Photos (from me + Maribeth).

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