Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, How I Wonder What You Are: Our Gender Reveal

Finding out "Bow or Beau" was so incredibly exciting and we couldn't wait to share with our loved ones!

(Word to the wise: if ya wanna skip a whole lotta mushy, estrogen-induced rambling, scroll down for pics and details of our gender reveal.)

First of all, I have to start by saying there was NO way on God's green earth that I could ever NOT find out the sex of the child I'm carrying as long as technology allows it.  Anyone who knows me knows I'm a planner.  Waiting 4+ months to find out was torturous (to say the least) enough for me.  Like, I f'real lost sleep over it....  Had 2 nurseries fully planned (one for a boy, one for a girl)...  Was the most anxious I have EVER been in my entire life (no joke- doesn't compare to annnything else) on the way to the doctor's office to find out...  Legit cuckoo.

Beyond that, I think a little respite mid-pregnancy is well-deserved and much needed.  There are PLENTY of surprises to be had  during labor and delivery... I'm sure of it.  I spoke with an old friend this past weekend who recently had a baby, and she said she'd waited to find out, and in retrospect, she wouldn't do that again.  She said there was SO much going on during her labor and delivery as it was that the sex of her baby was among the last things on her mind (she had a feeling it was a boy and wasn't that surprised to find out she was right).  One of my sisters-in-law suggested that we have the sonographer write down the gender at our appointment and put it in an envelope so that we could go to dinner and open it privately with just the two of us later.  Pre-pregnancy, that sounded like a sweet idea.  Being knocked up?  No way, no chance, no shot, no how, nevvvver could I purposely elongate the wait.

In the end, I'm so glad that we found out at the doctor's office.  It was so special and far more emotional than I ever could have imagined.  Besides, there was no way for us to not know what we were having in that appointment...   it was like BAM... without a shadow of a doubt a boy!!   It was clear as day, our little man's penis displayed up there on that screen (must be from my side of the family! haha).  Mike was up out of his seat with his hands in the air celebrating before they'd even told us.   After confirming it, the sonogram technician kept looking around in there, and as she was telling us what she was looking at and how everything looked great and healthy, I had the most overwhelming feelings of love and gratitude overcome me.  My heart could have exploded it was so full.  As I quietly cried (which I was not at all expecting), I was so glad we did it the way we did.   As soon as I knew, I felt so much more connected to our little baby boy.  And without even discussing it, his name (previously undecided) kept resounding in my head. After the appointment, we were able to celebrate at Capital Grill, where of course, names came up.  We had it narrowed down to a few options, so when the first name that Mike said aloud was the name I kept repeating in my head as I watched my little man up on that sonogram screen, I was so excited!  We high-fived, I told Mike that's exactly the name I was feeling in my soul the second we found out it's a boy, and we decided right there that that was it.  Our Brody Dean (Dean is the correct pronunciation of my maiden name, and we also wanted a D name to honor Mike's dad).  

Still, as I write,  cheesin' from ear to ear,  I honestly cannot believe that I'm one of THOSE women... you know, the kind who actually loves pregnancy.  Always hoped for it, NEVER expected it.  To me, in addition to the connection I feel with our child carrying him, it's things like finding out if it's a penis or peekachu, naming him/her, and sharing everything with our loved ones that make it so easy to enjoy (despite the obvious downsides that come along with it- my mouth just watered thinking about my first cocktail after birth/breastfeeding).  So of course, we couldn't wait to share the big news with everyone, especially our family.  Here our some photos from our little gender reveal:

The det's from the cookout:

We kept it simple for this.  Everything was super easy, and I broke it up over a couple days prior, so I only spent like 20 mins a day over 2-3 days getting ready (so an hour total for the cute stuff). Just did a display and a kitchen and put pink and blue hydrangea on the patio table, since it was a cookout....

• I used a burlap table runner I had from before* and tied the sides (a few inches below where it falls off the table) with blue and pink ribbon bows (these were 50 cent spools from Michaels- got 2 blue and 2 pink for 2 bucks!)  *cut from a 14" x 10 yd burlap runner roll... used it for multiple tables at a shower, and I'm sure it will come in handy again (thinking fall decor!)
•  I strung the same ribbon through the chandelier over the table 
• Made a "beau or bow?" tally on chalkboard contact paper 
• Colored in "HE" and "SHE" with blue paint marker and pink Sharpie on Hershey's chocolate bars (the blue sharpie didn't work well on the plastic-y wrapper material) for a s'mores platter (we made s'mores by roasting the marshmallows on skewers in our outdoor chimnea)
• Ordered my fav cute cupcakes with the center blue for anyone who missed the reveal to have their own little reveal
• The reveal: I covered silly string with coordinating paper and ribbon.  When everyone was outside, Mike and I attacked them, screaming "It's a...." and then spraying blue silly string all over them... good times :)
• Extras: ordered fun paper straws in pink and blue from Etsy; the same ribbon around my beverage dispenser; displayed pink and blue rock candy; festive pink and blue lunch and beverage napkins (scored at Five Below thanks to a tip from a friend of mine)
• We just served regular cookout food- burgers, sausages, and all the fixings and sides (some of which people brought)- nothing fancy... I got away with NO cooking (not my fav thing to do anymore since getting knocked up)
• Drinks- We had a simple bar set up on the kitchen counter for people to make delicious summer cocktails with either vodka, gin, and/or champagne; fresh lemonade (in my beverage dispenser) and soda and tonic water mixers; and St. Germaine elderflower liquor, cucumbers, fresh basil and mint, and jalepenos.  People had fun concocting delicious cocktails.  People also brought beer and wine... 

The whole thing couldn't have been easier or more worthwhile!  Oh and our reveal photo was shot and edited by one of our besties (Thanks J, aka the official Barnes family photog!) and assembled in an app on my phone (Photo Grid).  There are apps to create similar effects if you're not good at photo editing- I found Color Splash Effect and Color Touch quite easily on my phone's app store for free.

I've never been so excited for a li'l penis in my life!! :)

xx,

Proud Baby Mama ("WOOT WOOT!!")