Otto's Baby Bash Weekend

I'm a little behind in getting this posted. I was so exhausted after our whirlwind trip to Indiana that I just kept putting this off.

We headed to Indiana after work on Thursday evening (6/16 - Jef's Birthday). We got to town around 9:30p, to waiting parents and doggies. Stewie always has such a great time being at Grandma & Grandpa's house with Domino & Gracie.

On Friday morning we headed over to Ashley's (my sister) house to get started on party prep. As soon as we get there Claire runs up and gives me the biggest hug. I hadn't seen her in 2 month so I thought she might be a little shy at first. Not the case, she loves her Aunt Kika!! Mom, Ashley and I leave Dad & Jef to hang out with the kiddos while we ran to Joann Fabrics &  grocery store. The rest of Friday was spent prepping food and making sweets. Ashley really out did herself this time and stayed up until midnight working on the cake. When we walked in on Saturday morning this is what we saw....



Top Layer: White cake w/ Butter Cream Frosting
Middle Layer: German Chocolate Cake w/ chocolate chips and Butter Cream Frosting
Bottom Layer: White cake w/ Butter Cream Frosting

It was INCREDIBLE!!!

Our original plan for Saturday was to have the festivities in the backyard, but the rain early in the day prevented us from doing so. We quickly made plans to set everything up in the house and got to work. 

The food table was set up in the dining area. We had a cheese topiary, potted fruit, a marshmallow & rice krispies topiary and chicken & steak kabobs!
Everything was so yummy!!




The drink station was not far off with Water, Tea & Lemonade
and Capri Suns for the kiddos!





Ashley also made some of her famous Sugar Cookies
for everyone to take with them.

 Once everyone had their fill they headed upstairs for games & the photo booth.

We had 3 different game areas set up so people could play at their leisure (and at their own risk). Table #1 was the Smelling table. There were 10 diapers filled with various food items. The person who got the most correct won a prize! To the left is my Aunt Maggie and friend Cindy demonstrating how to play.    

From there you could head over to the other side of the room to guess what day Baby Otto will grace us with his presence.

Next to the calendar we had some twine and scissors for everyone to guess how big my stomach is. That sounded like a good idea back in April when Ashley and I were planning everything. Then I show up much bigger than I was 2 months prior and it didn't sound so appealing anymore.

In my opinion, the highlight of the night was the Photo Booth. We decided to set it up in Ashley's art room so it would be more isolated. Anyone who wanted to come have their picture taken had the option to wear fun hats. Some belonged to one of my Great Aunts. The computer took 3 pictures (quickly) then printed out a 4x6 photo for everyone who participated.
 

Ashley's Art Room with Smile banner

Here are some examples of what everyone took home as well as the kiddos just being silly with the hats.  

Erika, Dad, Ashley & the top of Claire's head



This one was Jef's idea. The camera was quick so you had to be too.
We even practiced our moves.



Even though things didn't go exactly as we had planned, it turned out to be a great night with family and friends. We are so blessed and thankful to have each and everyone of them in our lives!!
Also, there are more pictures from the evening so if you have us as friends on Facebook you can view them there.

Plans for Otto's Baby Bash

June 18th, is when we are having Otto's Baby Bash for our family & friends in Indiana. I will be in the middle of week 29 of 40 for the party. I'm hoping the Indiana summer will be kind to us, since we will be hanging outside.

I'm so looking forward to this evening. I'm trying my best not to refer to it as a "shower". Jef and I decided we wanted to have a co-ed party to be able to include ALL of our family and friends. I got the inspiration from the episode of Gilmore Girls called "Will You Be My Lorelai Gilmore?" when Rory throws Lane & Zack a baby shower for their twins. The word "shower" comes with so many girlie notions, so we decided to call it a Baby Bash!! The party will be "family friendly", but not girlie!!! I will be sure to take lots of pictures and post them here once we get home.


Here is how our homemade invitations turned out. Ashley (my sister) is such a creative talent. I'm lucky to have her around when I need help making anything.

"What's In A Name?"

We have chosen to name our son Otto Cranston. Most people's reactions have been excited when we tell them. Although, I'm sure there are some who are thinking "That is so weird!". That's fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion and they have kept it to themselves. Others have asked how we ended up coming up with the name so I thought I'd elaborate on that. 

I'll start with Cranston because it actually has a family connection. As some of you know last year I started tracing Jef's family tree and ended up learning a lot. I ended up coming across family that Jef hasn't had contact with since his Dad passed in 1995. To get started on Ancestry.com I needed his parents information. His Dad's name was Theron Cranston, but he went by "Pete". I thought that was such a cool name when he told me years ago. Anytime I hear a unique name I make a mental note of future kids names. This is one that worked out. The name was also given to Jef's brother Michael as his middle name. Below is a picture of Jef as a baby and his parents and brother.


Pete, Etta, Michael & Baby Jef. So sweet!!

Otto will end up being the 4th person (that I know of) in the Cunningham line to have Cranston as a middle name. While researching the family tree I found that Pete had an Uncle named Robert Cranston. Below is a picture of Jef's Great Grandfather (John Columbus Melton Jay Van Cunningham), Grandfather (Milton Commodore) and Great Uncle (Robert Cranston). This family definitely has unique names.   

John , Commodore and Bob

Now on to Otto. Once I got to a stopping point with Jef's side of the family tree I decided to move to mine. Growing up I've always known that both sides of my family have come from Germany. My parent's wanted to give me a German name when I was born so that is why I am Erika with a "K" and not a "C". I wish I had some awesome family story or connection to Otto, but I don't. I've always thought it was really cool, but had never given it much thought. A couple years ago I was watching a documentary called Anne Frank Remembered. This is a story that I grew up learning about in school and at home. As a kid you know this is such an awful thing that happened, but to sit through the interviews and stories as an adult has a deeper impact on you (or me at least). The documentary goes through the Frank family's life and their friends and co-workers who did everything they could to help save them. Anne's father's name was Otto. Otto Frank was the only one out of the eight that went into hiding to survive the Nazi camps.

June - Welcome 3rd Trimester

Today begins week 27 of 40. The 3rd Trimester (depending on how you count)!!!! 14-ish more weeks to go. I also forgot to mention that I PASSED my 3 hour Glucose Test. No Gestational Diabetes for me! YAHOO!!!
June is shaping up to be just as busy as May was. This week we will bought tickets to see Hillsong United in Nashville on August 18. The show is 2.5 weeks before my due date, I hope Otto stays in there until after the show. 

June 4th we are celebrating my sweet friend, Amy, as she is about to welcome Baby Boy Gomez into the world. The shower will be held at Homestead Manor Plantation's Tea Room in Thompson's Station, TN. I'm so excited to visit this place. We drive by it all of the time and have never stopped.


 I met Amy and her husband, Mike, last fall when my friend Christina organized a girls Fun Fall Day at Gentry's Farm and the Pumpkinfest in downtown Franklin, TN. We had a blast at the farm, going through the corn maze, going on the hayride (even though no straw or hay were involved) and picking out our own pumpkins!! Then we headed to downtown Franklin for some yummy street vendor food and of coarse a little Starbucks Carmel Apple Spice. As conversations throughout the day progressed I found out that Amy's husband plays guitar for a band called Unspoken. How funny is that? Spoken & Unspoken!! We ended up getting the boys to come over to Christina's house that afternoon to help us carve the pumpkins we bought at the farm. They hit it off right away with their discussions of gear and life on the road. We are very happy that they are Christina's next door neighbors and our new friends.


Amy, Erika & Christina pickin pumpkins!