I was super excited when I found out my cousin Bree and her husband Justin were expecting. She’s the first of us cousins to be having a baby and it’s such a new and exciting time in all of our lives, especially for her. We drove up to Sterling Heights, MI after work last Friday and stayed with my Aunt and Uncle. To say we had an awesome time is an understatement! I just love knowing my extended family as an adult. As a child you don’t seem to understand the value of the relationships with extended family. As an adult you cherish the moments you get to spend with them.
Salina, my oldest cousin, drove up from Kentucky but arrived even later than we did so we didn’t get to see her until Saturday morning. So Saturday morning Bree came over and Salina did her make up and we did her maternity shoot. I was so happy to be able to gift this to them. I was so happy to hear they loved the photos. Saturday afternoon was the baby shower. It was so awesome to see how many people there were that came to show their love and support for Bree, Justin, and their soon to be born child. Bree and Justin didn’t want to know what they were having so my Aunt, Uncle, Salina and other cousin Marlea planned a baby shower around a bumble bee theme. I can’t help but LOVE the Burt’s Bees goodies. I LOVE Burt’s Bees (my mother in law got me into Burt’s Bees years ago). So everything was yellow, white, and black. I loved the creativity that went into planning the details of the shower. You can see the details at the bottom of this post. We played some cute games, had a wonderful lunch, and I got to see my Aunt Willow too! I had no idea she was going to be there so I was happy to see her! Bree and Justin have chosen the name Robert if it’s a boy and Payton if it’s a girl.
After the shower all the girls met back at my Aunt and Uncle’s house and we spent the rest of the evening laughing, telling stories, listening to how all of us fell in love with our significant others, listening to my Aunt tell us some funny baby stories, seeing all of my cousin’s baby clothes, feeling Bree and Justin’s baby kick (which was so cool because I’ve never felt that before), and who could forget hanging out with the pooches? I love animals, you can see where I get it from! 
I wish we had more time to spend there but unfortunately the weekend had to come to an end. We made our trek back to Illinois on Sunday night.
To Bree and Justin: Bree, it seems like yesterday when we were flying back and forth between FL and MI to spend those two weeks together. It’s been so awesome seeing you grow into the beautiful woman you are today. Justin, I haven’t known you very long but you fit into the family beautifully. I can’t believe your two year anniversary is coming up and I couldn’t be happier to have been able to share in the joys of coming to your baby shower. May God bless your baby, the delivery, and your family. I love you both and can’t wait to meet little Robert or Payton!
