Half Way There

I've made it to the half way point. **praise hands** A part of me feels like the baby will be here in no time, but I also feel like 20 weeks seems so far away. I mean, we still have Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, and St. Patrick's Day to get through. The leaves still have to fall from the trees and Charlotte's one snowfall in the winter needs to blanket the grass until it all melts away in the afternoon sun. Flowers will be blooming again before my due date rolls around and daylight savings will have already graced us with her sunny presence. Still so far away, right?

To tear or not to tear?!

Juice Drop #2 is a...

B O Y !

I am still in a bit of shock. But over the moon excited to meet our little man! I was mistaken yet again. With Anna I could've sworn I was going to see blue cutting into our reveal cake and this time I was envisioning pink but, boy, was I wrong! >> See what I did there? ;) And guess what guys?! No tears of sadness--only tears of joy! I really was just so happy. We now will have one of each and we couldn't feel more blessed. 

Our gender reveal party was amazing. We had our close friends and family surrounding us in celebration (so thankful my dad, brother, and sister were able to be here and my mom and other sister skyped in!), the weather was perfect, our new secret park was all ours (just recently found this park and we're always the only people there. Saturday was no exception!), and the cake/cupcakes were gorgeous, and most importantly, delicious! 

I went with a peach, mint, and gold color scheme. Peach for girl, mint for boy. I thought it was a perfect color combo for this spring party. Travis' cousin Angel made our cake and cupcakes again. She is just amazing. She always does a beautiful job and her cakes always taste so yummy. I don't know if this time can be outdone. Just look at that masterpiece!

Since not everybody knew everyone we thought it'd be a good idea to use name tags. The name tags were also a way for our guests to vote for Juice Drop's gender.

Team Boy (who inevitably knew the outcome!)

Team Girl (looking rather sparse and in the end lost the vote)

We enjoyed a great meal grilled up by my awesome dad and sides were brought along by guests. And then finally after we were stuffed it was time to cut into that cake and see if it was a baby boy or girl growing inside of me! 

Here we go!!!

The moment I saw blue!

You can tell Travis is yelling out "BOY!"

Pure Joy!

I love how Anna has no idea what is going on the entire time. She has no idea Mommy's having a baby, no idea she's going to be a big sister, no idea she's getting a baby brother. She does kiss my belly though and that makes me think maybe, just maybe, she's has a hint of what's to come. 

Not quite sure how ready I am to have a boy but I'll tell you what I haven't been able to stop watching our ultrasound dvd and 22 weeks just seems way too long of a wait before we can meet our sweet little guy!  

Little He or Little She?

The butterflies began fluttering as soon as I arrived at Abby and Amanda's house. I couldn't believe the day had finally arrived. We were going to find out the gender! Wait, who's baby is this? Certainly not mine, but for a second I had to remind myself I'm not the one who's pregnant here. Gender reveal parties are where it's at! The suspense, the excitement, the waiting, and then...the REVEAL! It's a big deal. And only those who have participated can truly understand the joy + eager anticipation that are involved.

 

We had a small get together Saturday night to celebrate our good friends Stephen and Heather Jackson and the newest addition to their already precious family of three.

Little Kiah came running into the living room clueless as to what we were all doing. All she cared about were the pink and blue m&m's set on display. As we took pictures voting on what we thought the Jackson's baby gender is, Kiah was not to be left out.

"Pick blue or pink, Kiah. Do you think you'll have a baby brother or baby sister?"

She chose pink!

The rest of the votes...

We enjoyed a delicious meal together but not without our conversations centering on that cake and what color would be seen once it was cut. We just couldn't wait!!! Dishes were cleaned just as quickly as the food was devoured and the time had come to pop open the champagne (sparkling grape juice for Heather!) and let the Jackson's slice into that cake! Shrills from the ladies and woooo's from the guys led up to that last moment and then...

IT'S A BOY!!!!   

 

 

Everyone was so excited! Heather really wanted a boy and Stephen got his mini-me. And once again, I was wrong! Note to self and others: when asking what I think a baby's gender will be know that it'll always be the opposite of what I guess. I've never been right, not even once.

We immediately checked the gender reveal picture just to be sure. Because, you know, we're ultrasound technicians and know exactly what we're looking for.

The cake ended up tasting better than we had thought it would and the pop of blue made it that much better!

Seriously, gender reveal parties are the best! I loved every moment spending it with my friends and eagerly waiting to see what color was inside that cake. How blessed that little boy is to have such wonderful and God-fearing parents in Stephen and Heather and a sweet and loving big sister in Kiah! Now the next reveal will be when we get to finally meet the little guy--I can't wait! Here's to great friends, a new baby boy, and being a great big sister!

"You mean I have to share my mommy and daddy now?"