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It’s been a little quiet here on this virtual GrowGators page, but definitely not in reality! We announced our pregnancy back in August with this cute little gem:

And since then, I’ve been busy with an active toddler, 2 classes to teach at UF, moving to a new home, the holidays, and finally the birth of our son, Daniel. 🙂 So I’m now ready to jump back into blogging and all things Gators!

At 8 months

Of course Daniel is a Gator already by birth, and the welcoming of him to Gator Nation began back in January when we threw an alligator-themed baby sprinkle. (For those of you who don’t know, Sprinkle is the term used for baby showers that honor a second baby since we have most of the baby gear we needed already)!

Invitations

First up, I needed a theme. I went with our nursery colors (post coming later on decor details!) and went from there. I found this graphic set by Little Prints Parties and was able to manipulate the text on the invitation in PhotoShop as needed for my use. I created address labels with the provided graphics as well. I then printed the invitation and address labels on Shutterfly.com

Address label I was able to create from the graphics pack.

Food and Cake

The little alligators and navy/green/white colors then carried throughout including on our cake designed by Cupcake Wars champion, Sweet by Holly. I threaded matching ribbon (Hobby Lobby) through cake stands I got at HomeGoods. These cake stands are so versatile for all occasions, and I can just change out the ribbon color depending on theme! The It’s a Boy cupcake toppers are from Hobby Lobby as well.

I went with “easy” when it came to food. I ordered Olive Garden catering and it was delicious. A few small decorations on the food table including a fabric overlay, flowers, and food tent cards that were part of the graphics kit and the food table became part of the theme.

Decor and Favors

Guests were welcomed by the same sign we used in our announcement.

This sideboard welcomed guests with a few baby items:

1. The chevron fabric overlay is from Hobby Lobby and was a nice way to tie the sideboard together.

2. I created an “It’s a Boy” banner using my Cricut. I found the pennant pieces at Michael’s and then created the letters and alligators on my Cricut. I mounted everything to a piece of ribbon using silver brads. I created the effect of a drop shadow on the letters by doing the same letters in white and offsetting them a bit as I constructed the banner.

3. Lily and I had a fun activity where we stuffed a bear together and put in a sound chip we got from our 4D ultrasound of his heartbeat. We gave it a kiss and sealed it up! We displayed the bear alongside a photo of our little guy.

4. I found this navy and white bin at HomeGoods and used that to hold our favors: Milk and White Chocolate alligators from Thornebrook Chocolates in Gainesville (I had my Dad pick them up for me and drive them down)! We actually had chocolate gators from them as our wedding favors 12 years ago, so I knew they’d do an outstanding job. They included the ribbon and I tied on the tags I made. I made the sign on my Cricut, printer and with scrapbook paper and placed into a 5×7 frame.

Balloons were designed by Orlando Party Store, who sadly is no longer doing business. They were a hit though!

Easy decor: Mason jars tied with ribbon. I picked up 3 bunches of flowers from Publix with their 3 for $10 deal. Chevron tablecloth is just fabric from Hobby Lobby.

Easy decor: Mason jars tied with ribbon. I picked up 3 bunches of flowers from Publix with their 3 for $10 deal. Table runner from Crate & Barrel.

Shower Activities

Guests had fun in front of a photo backdrop that I created. I found navy and white striped wrapping paper at HomeGoods and taped it to the wall. SOOOO SIMPLE!!!!

I then added green pinwheels to add dimension, and created those 3D alligators on my Cricut machine.

Fun in front of the photo backdrop

Guests also were asked to “sign-in” at the shower. Instead of writing in a book or something, I knew I wanted something for his room. So using the alligator graphic I bought I created this sign. I then made 1-inch circles on my Cricut using 2 shades of green paper. Guests then used a navy pen to write their names on a “balloon circle.” After the shower, I adhered the circles to the artwork, some with 3-dimensional pop stickers. I love the final result!

Guests signed their names onto the circles. I placed some on display so they knew what I was creating.

The final result!

Grow Those Gators!

Gator Big Sister Shirt by AKW Creative. Find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/akwcreative%5B/caption%5D

Overall it was an amazing sprinkle/shower honoring our baby boy. I hope some of these ideas inspire you for your little Gator. Let’s Grow Gators!