Gender Reveal Party

Sorry this post is really long. I wanted to document all the details. The gender reveal party prep started the night before by us making cupcakes and inserting the secret colored filling.

We just used food coloring and frosting for the light blue filling. I got tired by this point and David took over.

I decided to confuse everyone and mix up pink cupcake liners, blue frosting and pink toppers.

They came out great!

I started decorating with the decor on our front door. Lacey did all the graphic work for me with the letters, menu cards, signs, etc.. Thanks Lacey!!

We set up a dessert table with cookies, brownies, candy and of course the cupcakes. I had to explain to the kids that the cupcakes had to be eaten all together and not as they wanted them. I did count them at various points during the evening.

For the food and drink table, I made my award winning Chili, chips and salsa and pink and blue punch. Punch Recipes- 
Raspberry Pink Lemonade (you really can't go wrong with punch, just mix up and taste along the way)-
1 two-liter bottle of pink lemonade
1 frozen raspberry lemonade mix
3 cups water
1 two-liter sprite
Tropical Blue Punch (these proportions depend on the container of the punch so just start tasting)
1/2 bottle of big tropical punch (it was a huge blue bottle of tropical punch)
1/2 2 liter of sprite
3 cups white grape juice (the recipe called for white cranberry juice, I couldn't find any)
5 scoops of vanilla ice cream

I got these puff balls (assembly required) from Party City and used them throughout the house.

I made a clothesline decoration with cut out bibs and socks and I put 1 ultra sound pic on there. I wanted to add the new ones, but most of them were of BW's boy parts so that would have given it away. The poster board is for the wives tale game.

One of the main attractions for the night was our video station. David had it hooked to our big TV and used an app to video through his iphone that you see on the ledge. Big props to Google +. We were able to video with 7 different groups of people in 7 different states (GA, NY, TX, FL, AK, NC, CO). Very fun. My brother is sporting his team blue shirt in the video above.

I wanted to give a shout out to all our online viewers. My sister helped keep the online chat going, Chris and Marla, My cousin, Christie, My sisters husband, James, My moms party in NY, and Jen and Bob in Colorado.

I also set up another little station for people to suggest a boy or girl name and we read through them later in the party.

We were ready for the game. I read a list of wives tales (for example, If baby's heartbeat is above 140, then you're having a girl) and David put these little onesies I cut out onto the boy or girl side. Yes, I had a microphone. We had 20 something people at our house and the video feeds had about the same.

The results were almost even, with a hint more on the girl side.

 

 It was now time for everyone to gather their cupcakes. 

I was trying to make sure my mom wasn't eating hers already in front of everyone on the big screen (you can kind of see her in the video). I had cupcakes made at a bakery up there with blue filling the day before so they could participate. Then we said 1-2-3! This screen shot is from Jen's computer. You can see they were having their own side bar convos because it was hard to hear.

Here are photos of the guests and their reactions!

David's speech.

BW even got some unexpected gifts! He is already so spoiled. Don't worry, Erin was so confident in girl that she brought 2 gifts with her, 1 pink and 1 blue! So funny. Thanks!!

Thanks Gina for your photos, I stole a bunch of the reaction photos from her facebook.

The 2 preggos. Ashley (our niece) is due 3 weeks behind me. She just found out she is having a girl! How cute is that going to be. 

David was the most excited of all.  A little David running around is going to be so cute.

Baby W is a BOY! from Bob Spryn on Vimeo.
Here is a video that Jen & Bob took of us playing the game and then the big reveal. You can see mom eat her cupcake and then there was a little confusion by some who did not have the cupcake, but it is great to have this recorded. David's speech is cute also. You can skip to 3:30 in the video to see the reveal. Thanks for capturing this! It was a very fun party. Thanks for everyone that came for the fun reveal in person and on the web!

It's A....

BW is a bouncing baby BOY!

We had our big gender reveal party on saturday night, more details coming tomorrow!

There was no denying that BW is a boy, he was very proud to show us his goods.

This is a picture of baby's foot! How cute is he already!

20 Week Pregnancy Survey

Wow. I can't believe we are half way there! Only 1 more day to put your vote in for a boy or a girl! It seems that team boy is going pretty strong. We have a poll up at work and it is also leaning that way (although they are prob. the same ones who have voted on the blog).

How Far Along: 20 weeks

Size of baby: Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Total Weight Gain: 7 lbs so far.

What I miss: Nothing

Sleep: I am mastering the sleeping on my sides.

Symptoms: The end of last week I had a little stomach ache on my side that just felt like I had gas built up and it went away the more water I drank and walked around. It only lasted for a couple days.

Cravings: Chicken Parmesan. I stopped on the way home last night to this family owned place in the Kroger parking lot and it was amazing. Their chicken is so thin and there is lots of cheese and spaghetti. It comes with salad and 3 rolls! I was tempted to eat the whole gigantic meal, but saved some for lunch today. I can't wait to eat it.


Aversions: I think my chicken aversion is going away. I had some yummy chicken and dumplings my neighbor made me (thanks Megan!!) and that chicken parmesan.

Movement: I am confirming movement after feeling these constant flicks/popcorn. I feel like it's a bit lower than it should be (I am feeling them closer to my pant line (lower hip/underwear line) instead of higher up where my bump is) but they are constant. It's usually after I eat and I think BW liked the plane rides, shortly after takeoff I could feel a bunch of movement. He/she was like "where are we going?" David loves airports and planes so he thinks he/she takes after him.

Maternity Clothes: I purchased some maternity jeans from forever 21 in Chicago. They had a huge 2 story store with a small maternity section and you can't beat 20 something dollar jeans that have stretchy sides on them. They sit a bit lower and don't have that big stretchy band over the stomach, just on the sides. I pull them up a bit, but they are very comfortable. I wore them once this week. I also wore a maternity shirt Leah lent me yesterday and that was fun. I just need to do laundry, no real need to wear it. The jeans were a necessity, I can't wear any of mine any more.

Best Moments this week: Coming home from my trip! It was fun, but I love just being home unless it's to travel to see family and friends.

What I'm looking forward to: Our Doctor appointment friday for the big gender reveal!! I hope baby cooperates. We also have a fun carnival at work tomorrow afternoon that spouses and kids are invited to with taco food trucks, funnel cakes, jump houses and games galore (don't worry we'll take pics). Then on saturday we have the gender reveal party.

Notes: I really can't believe we are half way. I expected to be showing a whole lot more by now. I don't really feel pregnant besides the constant hunger, I just feel like I've gained a few pounds in the tummy region. I can't wait for the weeks ahead and to see little BW. Stay tuned on Monday for the big reveal! If you are fb friends, then you might get a sneak peak on saturday night after the party! BW also got the cutest gift from my friend, Jen. Check out these cute hipster pacifiers!

Sorry Ladies, He's Taken!

When I returned home on Monday night I went upstairs to find this! David had our bedroom painted while I was gone for a much better price than quoted the first time. That was so nice and sweet of him and I am very lucky to have such a thoughtful and caring husband.

I love the color, it turned out a bit more blue than gray, but with all the accents with table and curtains I'm going to do it'll blend nice with the bed. I love it! 

I'm Back!

Sorry I've been MIA for a few days. I am finally back from my work trip. We went to Chicago for a few days and to Louisville, KY to check out a trade show. I have never been to either, but really enjoyed Chicago. I will share a few photos with you so you can check it out.

One night after dinner, we decided to get dessert or as we like to call it 2nd dinner. We went to this pizza place famous for it's deep stuffed pizza. I have to tell ya, these girls can hang with a pregnant girl eating any day. I was never hungry, they always wanted to eat and hit up the bathroom so I was good to go.

Check out this pizza. It had like 5lbs of cheese just in our pizza. (sorry camera didn't focus)

We walked from Dinner to the park and took photos along the way.

It was very cold, if you couldn't tell by me bundled up. The lows were in the 50's, but it was very windy (the city def. lives up to it's name) and it did rain a lot of the trip.

We made it to Millennium Park and saw the bean! It was hard to get a good picture at night, but you get the idea. It is like a mirrored lima bean looking structure.

It's very cool to see and I really do like the city a lot. It is worth a visit if you haven't been. I also wanted to make a note of this fantastic dinner place we went to, but didn't' take photos of. You need to go to Quartino. It has great italian food at a great price. Make sure you make a reservation though, it's hard to get in. We stayed at Hotel Felix and also loved that.

This is the only picture we took from Louisville, KY. Our hotel looked like it was right out of the movie, the shining so we reenacted it. Holly and I look a like so we pretended to be the scary twins. I know it doesn't look like we worked much, but we did.... a little.

19 Week Pregnancy Survey

How Far Along: 19 weeks

Size of baby: Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.
Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato.

I had to post this picture. Look at what baby is doing in there!

Total Weight Gain: Still 5ish lbs so far.I promise I am eating, I do wish I had a catered buffet every where I went so I could graze throughout the day.

What I miss: A nice cold cut sandwich with all the fixings.

Sleep: I am mastering the sleeping on my sides. Pillows are your friend.

Symptoms: Feeling pretty good all around.

Cravings: Salad buffets and pizza


Aversions: Still not eating much chicken

Movement: I am still feeling some little popcorn flickers that may or may not be BW in there moving around.

Maternity Clothes: This may need to happen sooner than later. My belly def. decided to sprout this week. Of course on the day that I am trying on clothes to go on a work trip for. I literally went to at least 10 diff. stores and bought 2 things total. My belly is more noticeable in regular clothes (see picture below). I am rotating like 2-3 pairs of pants and no jeans are going on this body until I get maternity ones (which I'm not sure if I can keep them up yet).

Best Moments this week: Hearing BW on Ashley's heart monitor. That was really fun for both David and me.

What I'm looking forward to: Our Doctor appointment next friday for the big gender reveal!! Make sure you vote, only 8 more days! I still have a bunch to do for this gender reveal party, but it's going to be fun. Can't wait to share more details next week.

Notes: I am heading to Chicago and Louisville, KY for a work trip this weekend and I hope to see and eat lots of fun things! Any recommendations?

Sorry about the faucet, I should really crop that out.

David Builds a Bunkie Board

This weekend David also built the bunkie board for our bed. In case you have never heard of one (I haven't either till I started googling) It provides support where a box spring or foundation cannot be used due to height limitations, it is useful for bunk beds. We wanted our mattress to sit a little bit higher, but not too high.

The bottom layer of wood slats is what the bed came with. David added the 4 horizontal boards with the mdf on top. He then nailed them together to make a nice platform.

My only issue now is that our mattress does not fully cover this square area so we might lower it a little so it sinks below the bed frame area. The duvet fits and covers most of this, but I'm just obsessing over it all. It was an easy fix that saved us a bunch of money. I love having a handy husband. Sorry he's not pictured at all, he kept walking away so I snapped pictures.