A shower of blessing

Yesterday I was the "guest of honour" at Baby Kes' baby shower, and I'm still overwhelmed by the love and gifts showered upon Kes and me. My friends and family had organised a cross-continents shower, with gifts coming from as far away as Korea. Wow!!

~ ~ ~ ~ The funniest part of the shower--not funny "haha" necessarily--was that it was in the same place, attended by many of the same people, as had been my bridal shower almost exactly a year earlier! They pronounced me a good Nigerian wife for giving my husband a baby within a year of our wedding, and we all laughed (though I was embarrassed by this public pronouncement).

~ ~ ~ ~ The shower attendees were even more international than the gifts, coming from the U.S., Canada, Ireland, France, New Zealand, Nigeria, and India. I hadn't realised that baby showers were an American thing, but I assured my good Irish friend--who's getting married in April to a Nigerian man--that we'll throw her a baby shower when the time comes, even if it's not cultural! One surprise was seeing my classmate Aaron, who's just returned to Nigeria after having schooled and lived in the U.S. for seven years. He dropped off his wife and picked her up afterward, so I got to have a nice chat with him.

~ ~ ~ ~ My "theme," if you want to call it that, for my baby decor and toys is African animals, and the shower centered around that. The shower started with a game led by a fellow Nigerwife (and my former English teacher). We had a list of animals and had to come up with the different names of their family members: mother, father, baby, and group. Did you know that a group of penguins is called a parade? Or that a mother bear is called a sow? We had lots of fun and learned a lot about how little we know. :)

~ ~ ~ ~ I was overwhelmed by gifts. I loved each and every one (including Pampers and wipes, which are pretty darn expensive here), and I'm thankful to everyone who contributed to make Kes and me feel special! Some of our highlights were:

• a bib that I cross-stitched for a friend's baby seven years ago, that she returned for my own baby;
• a windchime in the shape of a monkey (excuse me, infant--the name of a baby monkey);
• stuffed animals, especially a fleecy dog and several giraffes (including a purple one);
• a hospital bag full of goodies and necessities for delivery;
• pain-relieving spray (I'm serious!);
• a jungle animals diaper bag;
• two Curious George onesies.

~ ~ ~ ~ All in all, we had a wonderful time, full of laughs and excitement. And now I'm even more eager to Kes to arrive!