Elina’s “Little Man” Baby Shower

In the past year, our family has been blessed with an abundance of baby boys, 4 to be exact. My brother, Valentin’s, son, Valentin III was born in November 2014, my baby Nathaniel was born in February of this year, my sister, Elina is due with her baby boy at the end of June and my sister, Karina is due with her son at the end of August. It’s going to be so fun watching all these boy cousins grow up together.

This past weekend was Elina’s baby shower. I am so sad that I couldn’t be there. I really enjoyed all the great pictures of the shower. Of course it’s not the same, but it’s next best thing to being there. I thought you would enjoy seeing the pictures too. Since there are so many other expectant mothers and their thoughtful family and friends who plan their showers, you might get some ideas, or simply enjoy browsing.

My Mom, my sister, Karina, and Elina’s awesome sister-in-laws did such an amazing job with all the decor and the food. It was such a beautiful celebration.

The show stopping cake was another creation of my sister, Karina. Isn’t it stunning? It was a chocolate fudge cake with a cream cheese and ricotta filling, with chocolate ganache, raspberry preserves and fresh strawberries. Sounds heavenly! 

She made the cake for my baby shower too. She is such a talented young lady. She also made the cupcakes, which are Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. Even though she is pregnant as well, she worked tirelessly on the decorations and to make these incredible cupcakes and the cake.

I love the way they set up the “sweets” and drinks area.

Here is the happy young family – Elina, with her husband Vlad and their girls, Adalia and Ariella. It’s so exciting that Maximus will soon join them.

Unfortunately, nobody took pictures of the food. You can’t really blame them, can you? When you’re hungry, all you want to do is dig in. There weren’t any food bloggers among them:). I will try to include links to the recipes that I have on my blog.

Here’s what was on the menu:

• Chicken Kebabs – here’s a similar recipe.
• Pulled Chicken – similar recipe here.
• Vegetable Kebabs – They are simply seasoned with olive oil, salt, ground black pepper and grilled. Sounds simple, but tastes phenomenal. Our family loves them.

• Salt Potatoes – I have a recipe on my blog
• Pasta Salad – this was made by Elina’s sister-in-law, Alina, who also played a huge part in making this baby shower a success, even though she is also very pregnant and due in a few short weeks.
• Corn on the Cob
• Mint Lemonade – this is a family favorite. We serve it at almost every family gathering.

The children had a great time playing outside. With a toy car and a huge water slide, there was plenty to keep them occupied. Don’t they look happy?

We’ll be going to NY for a visit this summer, and I am so excited to meet my new nephew and spend time with all my northern family members.