As the winter was turning into spring, the Bower-Micelli-Thomopoulos hoem became a flurry of preparation for the wee ones arriving soon. Tony was busy reorganizing closets and dressers while Hank and Jonathan were in charge of putting together swings and the basinettes. The cribs and changing tables were already in place, and the following weekend was the combined baby shower. Due to the issues in the early part of her pregnancy, Angela had a scheduled c-section for April 24th, and Samantha's due date was May 22nd. With the mamas-to-be getting closer to the end of their pregnancies, Mona was in charge of the party preparations which she thoroughly emjoyed doing. With Angela being on bedrest, it was decided that the shower would be at the house. The guest list was quite varied, and with several people coming in from out of town there was a block of rooms reserved at the Fairfield Inn. Coming in from Iowa were Rosie, Candy, and the rest of the gals, Marcie was coming in from California, Tony's cousins were cming with Aunt Rosa from Italy. and a few other assorted other friends were coming from around the country. Mona even gave Carmella a job in taking care of the food - still no seafood or fish though. The only job she gave Tony is to make the cake, or rather cakes. The day of the shower, Jonathan and Hank would be on car duty - moving any cars as needed, Tony would be assisting Mrs. Rossini in refilling trays and plates, and Mona would take care of games and activities. At last count they were expecting around 35 ladies, so Mona rented a tent plus tables and chairs for the backyard.

It was the day of the baby shower. "How are you feeling Mom?" Sam asked.

"Oh, these siblings of yours are playing 'kick Mom's bladder' today. How's my granddaughter doing?" Angela inquired.

"She's moving around, though pretty gently right now."

"You're lucky Samantha. Mattey and Bella sure are active today! Though I guess Dr. Shaw did say they'd be doing that the last couple of months. So be prepared for little Marie to start doing that soon."

"Thanks for the warning, Mom."

"Of course!"

Mona surprised Angela and Samantha with new dresses. They were in coordinating flowery pink and blue colors. Of course they both cried when she gave them the dresses. Heck, she even cried a bit herself!

"Oh, Mother! Thank you! You've done so much already."

"Yeah Mona, I really appreciate it. You're an amazing grandmother, and I can't wait for little Marie to meet her great-grandma!"

"I can't wait to meet her either, Sam. We'll have to think of what she'll call me. Maybe Nana? No, that reminds me of my mother."

"Dad used to tell me stories of his great-grandma, I think he called her Nonni," Sam said.

"Maybe. We'll figure it out. Who knows, maybe she'll come up with her own name for me."

"Now Mom, what would you like to be called? Grandma? Nana? Something else?"

"I like the idea of Nana, if that's okay with you Mother."

"I'm fine with that, Dear."

"That'll work out great. Dad already said he'd like to be called Papa, and Hank's parents like the idea of Grandma and Grandpa, so there won't be any confusion or needing to use first names."

"Now that we have that settled. let's get you two ready!" Mona stated.

Guests began arriving around noon. Hank and Jonathan helped in bringing around gifts to the backyard in addition to moving cars. Tony and Hank brought out the chairs from the living room for Samantha and Angela to sit in, along with some footstools, and Tony was ever the host in making sure that lemonade glasses were filled for all of the ladies. Mrs. Rossini was busy in the kitchen getting the food put on platters and trays, while Mona made sure to greet everyone and get them their name tags. When Aunt Rosa and her niees came, she gave Mona a huge hug.

"Rosa, so good to see you again!" Mona said.

"You a-too, Mona! Where is a-Tony?" Rosa asked.

"He's in the kitchen with Carmella."

"Who a-is that?"

"She's our friend from Brooklyn."

"I a-see..."

"Aunt Rosa! So glad you could make it! How was your flight?" Tony asked while giving his aunt a hug.

"It a-was good. Tony, who a-is Carmella?"

"She's our friend. Actually, she's kind of like a second mother to me."

"Ah, is that a-Mrs. Rotini?"

"Yes, Mrs. Rossini."

"Yeah, Tony?" Carmella called out.

"Sorry, Mrs. R. I was just explaining to my Aunt Rosa who you are. Mrs. R, meet my aunt Rosa Micelli from Italy. Aunt Rosa, this is Carmella Rossini from Brooklyn."

"Nice ta meet ya, Rosa."

"Nice a-to meet you too, Carmella."