'0' Birthday for Baby Taos
This weekend Heather Gamewell (Indilea’s ballet teacher) and I put together a surprise baby shower for Johanna.
The cover story:
I told Johanna I was being interviewed by a reporter from El Financiero, the Costa Rica’s version of the Business Journal. I left in the morning to set up the party, and called her an hour before party time with the message:
He’s got a photographer with him, and when I told him about you, and the kids, and about Summerland, he got all excited! He wants to do a photo shoot at the pool with the whole family. Can you put on some makeup and be ready in an hour?
(This was Cherie’s idea. I never would have thought about how ladies don’t like to show up to their own surprise parties looking frumpy – a lesson I should have learned for Johanna’s 28th birthday, when I took her to a Nia class, and we returned home to a dozen unexpected friends, and we were all sweaty and red-faced.)
Anyway.
Johanna was not thrilled. AND she knew something was up. She played along, and was really happy that she did, when we got to a pool festooned with balloons, and 3 friends ready for a party!
(Everyone else showed up half an hour late. It IS Costa Rica, after all.)
Although she knew SOMETHING was up, she did not expect a big event like this. When I told her there were flyers, and a secret Facebook event, she was very happy we had gone to so much trouble for an amazing, wonderful, nurturing mother like her.
It was apparent during the party: everyone loves Johanna.
Some photos from the day:
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- ’0′ Birthday for Baby Taos
The potluck was Dairy Free AND gluten free. (Its Johannas party, I told everybody, she should be able to eat anything she wants to.
The pool was a big hit with the kids, and kids and adults played some really fun games, hosted by Heather and Zane. We stuffed ballons in big t-shirts (to empathize with the pregnant lady), had a sack race, and played a really cool game where everybody had a balloon tied around their ankle. By stomping everyone else’s ballon in a chaotic heel-thrusting crowd, the last one with a balloon was the winner.
After the party, we went back to the house, had a quiet family dinner, and the kids and I played games and cleaned while Johanna took a bath. It was a wonderful day; the kind of day we see a lot here, in Costa Rica.
