It's A........ | Gender Reveal

I've not been updating weekly. Truth be told, nothing is changing week to week. I've not had a whole ton of symptoms with this pregnancy, they're not going and coming or getting worse or easing off, so there's very little, if anything to report on a week to week basis.

But at our 11 week appointment on 2/25 we decided to have some optional testing done. Here in KY it's called the Harmony Test, I'm not sure if they call it that other places, and the only reason I say here in KY is because I've heard youtubers talk about it and they don't call it by any name. Anyway this test tests for all sorts of chromosomal abnormalities including Down's Syndrome and for diseases like Cystic Fibrosis. Because it's checking baby's chromosomes it can tell as early as 10 weeks the gender of your baby. And so with that on the table in front of us, how could we resist?

They took my blood and said "we'll call you in 7-10 business days." So we came home to wait.

The call finally came on Friday March 4th. I told Aaron as soon as he got home from work a half hour later and so we set about pulling together the cheapest most on-short-notice Gender Reveal party you've ever seen.


Like an idiot I neglected to take any photos of how we decorated inside, but everything came from the Dollar Tree. We accomplished the whole shebang for $40, including food.

We decided to have it at my Mom's house. She's got a gorgeous back yard, plenty of parking space and is always good at a moment's notice. We covered her kitchen table with two table clothes, one side blue, one side pink. We did the same to the snack bar area in her kitchen, one side blue, one side pink. On the table we added little pop up centerpieces that said "Baby Boy" and "Baby Girl" and sprinkled some plastic safety pins out. We used the snack bar for the food. We bought 3 boxes of pizza from Little Ceasars and my Mother in Law brought sandwich things and drinks. We laid the sandwich stuffings out on two plastic trays from Dollar Tree to make it all pretty lol. We hung two banners, one boy, one girl, across my Mom's back door and called it a day. It was simple, but very cute, and very inexpensive.

We even got the balloons from the Dollar Tree. For a buck a piece I was super pleased with them!


Here are some photos from the big moment. It's hard to be in the photos and make sure they're up to your photographer standards. But I like them for what they are. When I start showing a bit more I will be sure to have to good maternity shots taken. I'd love to remember this time forever.

Part of our frugal party was this box. My Mom moved 4 years ago and still has a ton of boxes left over that we are trying to use up. She wrapped up a big UHAUL box in craft paper that she already had and at the last minute she printed off, hand cut, and glued the little hearts to the front and sides. The sky was gorgeous that day!

Because Aaron and I already knew what our little baby was, this was totally for our families. We were way too excited to hear their reaction for us to stand still and pose and look surprised. We had our moment the day before in our kitchen. It was private and special.

As soon as the box opened I was swarmed by my Mom, sisters in law and my niece - who is the only granddaughter on Aaron's side... for now ;) 

My Father in Law knew it was a girl from day one too. He wasn't surprised at all. 

IT'S A GIRL!

So happy! 

It's hard to believe that in 6 months (thereabouts) that we will be parents. To a little girl. Holy Cow. The sunset was so beautiful there at my Mom's that we just couldn't pass up an opportunity to have a few shots done there. Huge thanks to my brother in law for pressing the shudder button! 

So our secret is out! Our baby is a baby girl! We are still in this "can't believe it's real" stage. Even today, as my Mom and I started tackling the storage room that's going to become baby girl's room, I still couldn't wrap my mind around "in September there will be a baby living in this room." It's insane to think about it being real.

So what are we going to name this little darling? Well.... if you know Aaron and me at all, you will know that this name thing has been something we have been stuck on for months. We started thinking about names in October, before the miscarriage, and only arguments happened. This time around, same deal. We settled down on a name we both could agree on, but neither of us loved it. But we were willing to settle because there wasn't any arguing about it.... until one afternoon about two weeks before we found out she was a girl the name came to me while I was talking to my Mom. I texted Aaron, he loved it, and that was the end of it. 

We chose to name this little miracle Candis Anne. Candis is my Mom's middle name. She was named after her grandmother Candis. And Anne is Aaron's Mom's middle name and Anne of Green Gables is one of my most favorite things in the world. It just felt right from the minute it rolled off my tongue. Aaron said "I LOVE THAT" via text message, and so it was decided. It was way too easy, but it felt so right that we haven't revisited the subject since. Now that we've told everyone, it's totally official. When we told our Mom's they flipped. We also agreed on a name for a boy, should it be the boy that we've been assuming we would have first for years. But it's a secret until we have a boy. Should we have a boy. Ever.


I can't even begin to explain how over the moon we are. We are still also very cautious. My family isn't letting me do much besides simple housework, like dishes and laundry. My father in law texts me almost daily to make sure I'm resting. Aaron has been a champ helping me when I ask him to, and even when he makes me let him help me. My Mom is a phone call away for anything I need. I'm so grateful.


On the roster for the next few weeks is finish cleaning out her room, we made some serious headway today, but it's no where near done. We plan on finishing up cleaning her room out this week, and move everything into storage this weekend, cause its supposed to be nice weather. Then the room gets a goooood cleaning and then it's time to paint. We will also be painting our bedroom. We had paint left over from when we painted the living room and kitchen, so painting this time around is totally free! Yay! Plus everything will be the same color, nice and clean. I like that. Then I can start really planning out Candis' nursery. How I want it to look, how I want the furniture set up. She will be here before we know it and I hope to have her room ready by the time my baby shower's come along so that I can just bring stuff in and put it where it needs to go.


Thanks for sharing this fun, special time with me!

Missy