My event went well and I was back in the office trying to concentrate until noon, when I planned on leaving to get ready for our doctor's appointment and the party. Michael's interview went great...he was hired on the spot! He starts in a week. We are both so happy!!!
We ate a quick lunch at home and then it was off to the hospital for the anatomy ultrasound. I was told to drink 32 ounces of water prior to the appointment, so since we had to get there 30 minutes early, I used that time to drink my two bottles of water. I was finishing up the bottle of Kiwi Strawberry flavored water, when they called my name. I told Michael I thought I may pee on the exam table, either from all the water or the excitement - I wasn't sure! Michael was not feeling well, but he assured me he was just as anxious as I was. The setup of the room was not like the one at our doctor's office. She told Michael to sit on the opposite wall from me! I asked if he could come closer and she said he could stand at the end of the bed... On top of that, the screen was perpendicular to me, so I had to uncomfortably turn my entire head to the side to even get a glimpse of the screen. She was not very informative about what we were seeing on the screen, until I started to ask a hundred questions. I hated that Michael was so far away from me and we couldn't even hold hands during this special moment that was coming.
Then, she begins looking around to "discover" the gender. As for us, we can't make out a thing on the screen. Michael described it perfectly - it looked like a lava lamp! She says after a few moments, "I think it's a girl." I had imagined this moment being so beautiful; perhaps I put too much thought and hype into it. She was only "fairly confident" that it was a girl. We told her we were having a gender reveal party that night, so she tried looking again. She informed us that usually if it were a boy, you should be able to see the boy parts by this point (20 weeks). So since she didn't see them, she assumes it's a girl. She said she was 80% sure, but I didn't hear that number so I asked her what "fairly confident" meant - if she was 90% sure and she said she could say that! So I guess that's pretty good odds, but it's still not certain. Although, it may always be like that for a girl. She said you can usually see 3 lines for a girl, but she was not able to clearly see that either. I am hoping that our 21 week appointment with our OB, she will do an ultrasound and be able to let us know for sure. The only picture we got was of "her" feet. She kicked me at the exact moment the lady took the picture. There were a couple pictures of the face, but they look scary since you can only see the eye sockets; it looks like "ghost rider" (according to Michael).
So leaving the hospital, we were both not nearly as excited as we thought we would be. Not that we were upset it was a girl, we just felt like we didn't know for sure. And we had a Gender Reveal Party to throw! We went home and filled the balloons for the Reveal box and packed up the car and headed out. We arrived at Bear Creek Park, where my parents and Mallory were already setting up. Jen and Mike arrived shortly thereafter. We had the tables covered, food prepared and ready, decorations out and ready for our guests at 6 pm. Michael's parents ended up sick, so they were unable to be there, which is another reason our minds just weren't in it. The attendees included: my parents, Jen, Mike, Amy, Ga, Pa, Bill, Milly, Elyse, Philip, Carrie, Mallory, Josh, Ashley, Nathan, Brie, Chelsea, Jeff and Grayson.
Mallory had her camera set up and we were ready for the reveal right at 7 pm. We brought the box of balloons out to the grassy area and everyone was gathered around. My mom was chanting "girl, girl, girl" and my dad was trying to peak through the cracks. On 3, we opened the box. 1, 2, 3....and out went the pink balloons! My mom was overwhelmed that her first grandchild would a baby girl and my dad started making his rounds to tell everyone that he KNEW it was going to be a girl! Ashley flew into the air, as she was ecstatic that her daughter Brie would have a girl friend, and Chelsea came up to me covered in goosebumps - she said she had chills she was so happy for us! We then let everyone know that they were only 80% sure at this point, and hope to find out soon! The rest of the family hugged us and congratulated us, telling us if they were right or wrong in their predictions. It was so sweet to be surrounded by all the love!!!
At this point, people could dig into the cupcakes, since they were filled with pink icing...and off limits until we had revealed the gender! They were Cookies and Cream flavored - my favorite! Thanks to my friend Robin Garcia with Cupcake Central for making these gems. I can never have enough!!
Michael and I called his parents and his Mamaw to let them know the news. Michael told them to hold off on the shopping until we knew for sure. My family is the opposite - I know it's going to be hard to resist shopping for a little girl, regardless of that 20% margin. We did not expect any gifts, but I guess people could not resist. We got a beautiful silver frame from Amy, wipes from my parents, diapers from my grandparents, assorted baby items from the Fullers, "lips" pacifier from Mal and Josh, adorable duck outfit from the Bayer's and 2 outfits and the cutest shoes from my sister and brother-in-law.
Everyone got a Hershey's bar (or a handful) on the way out.
We cleaned up and headed to Los Cucos for a late dinner. All of us had aching feet. This mama had not sat down since the doctor's office! Michael felt miserable and we were both ready for bed! First, we had to go tell Grandmere the news though... My parents, Jen, Mike, the Bayer's and us all gathered around and I gave Grandmere a cupcake. She already had a clothespin with a mustache in her hand, showing she predicted a boy! I reminded her that if the inside was pink it was a girl and blue for a boy. She opened up big and took a bite. I asked her what color was inside and she said "yellow" (because of the cake). She went in for another bite, but still couldn't see the pink clearly because of all the frosting, so I took the toothpick and wiped away the white icing. I told her it was pink for a girl! She said "I guess we'll accept her!" Everyone laughed. I said "She'll be sweet like me" and she said "She couldn't be." I know she will love her great-grandchild no matter what, she had just been calling my belly John for months now! And I can't blame her...someone as sweet me - that's going to be tough! :)
Thanks again to everyone for all the support, love and gifts. We appreciate it all! For those who were not able to attend the party, you were there in spirit and we have plenty of time to celebrate the coming of our little girl (...or boy)!
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