I had a surprise baby shower last Sunday! I posted some pictures here. I was very surprised because they did it the day after the funeral of Hank’s dad at Hank’s house! Who would have ever guessed that!

Well, apparently my sneaky husband had been working at it for months… since June! Hank was gracious enough to offer his house before his dad became ill, and decided to keep things going even after things took a turn for the worse. Our friend Marilyn K. took charge of all the planning, with help from my mother in law and grandma-to-be Doña Anne. They did such an excellent job! They hired our friend Eric the chef (and his lovely 6 year old daughters Liliana and Sofia) to cater it, and the food was truly outstanding. My favorite was the scallops (big ones!) wrapped with crispy bacon, but everything else, including the frittata, pork, green beans, and many other things were also outstanding.

I was also amazed at how many people showed up (and that Andy was crafty enough to contact everybody J). There were the usual Vespa Lane (Hank’s street) suspects: Marilyn (hostess) and her daughters Michelle and Kristen, Linda, Michelle D. (who came all the way from S. Weymouth, but stayed for the weekend), Robin (a former Vesparian, but who lives now in Merrimack), Hank’s daughter Paige and his mom, Marilyn P. There were also friends from MIT: my great friend Debb (of course, she has been at every single big event of my life since I met her!), Kimberly, Mari (boricua!), and Vidya, who was so helpful keeping track of all the gifts. Other friends present were Desiree, Karen C. and her daughter Thea (who came all the way from Norfolk, MA), my friends from work Fran and Karen E. (yes, there were 3 Karen’s there!), my neighbor Nancy and, of course, my beloved New England family: Aunt Caroline, Diane and his daughters Grace and Bailey, Doña Anne (grandma to be!), Willhelmina (auntie to be!), and Shannon and Erica (cousins to be!). It was so great to see everybody!

OMG, BG got SO many gifts! I scored a few for myself too (some creams, lotions, etc.), but BG was definitely the big winner. This kid won’t need anything for a few years now J. We got so many cute outfits, blankets, everyday necessities, feeding necessities, books, toys, picture frames, memento keepers and even a tub and a stroller! There were so many other things, too many to mention here… but thank you everybody for your generosity!

Good thing my neighbor Nancy was there, because we filled up her car and ours! I still haven’t put things away, but I kind of like how the nursery looks all festive with all the gift bags J I will try to do some organization this weekend.

Harry, Hank’s dad, was very excited about the baby, and I think he would have approved of the shower taking place on Sunday anyway. He loved to party and he loved to see people happy. He was cheering for the baby to be born on his birthday, September 20 (EDD is September 22)… it may happen, who knows!