gender reveal party -- the deets

warning: picture heavy post! i probably should have broke this down into two...but too late now!

i am so happy we went through with the gender reveal party! it was a blast to share such a special moment with our family and closest friends! we had such a good time and i think it was fun for everyone else as well! here's a play by play, complete with details...

invitations - please ignore the fact that i took a picture of it with my phone. it was a PDF file and i couldn't attach it to a post, so you get this. one day, i'll take a picture of the actual invitation, since that's the only picture i DON'T have...

 i had my very talented friend carli create the invitations and i printed them at fedex/kinkos. i mounted them on cardstock (on clearance!) from target.

decor -

• paper straws from sweet lulu - these were definitely a splurge, but so worth it in my opinion. they were so fun!

• gender votes (bows and mustaches) -we just finished unpacking everything so we had plenty of cardboard boxes headed for the trash. i decided to cut one up and paint it with chalkboard paint. it was free and pliable enough to stick pins in it. worked perfectly. i cut mustaches out of grey felt and tied simple bows from pink and orange ribbon. 

 

• photobooth props - i printed these on paper (from ohhappyday) and traced them onto foam. the pirate and batman were most definitely the crown favorites. unfortunately, there weren't many girly ones to choose from, so they were kinda lame.

•  a while back i had created a bunting banner for a photo shoot that unfortunately never happened so i quickly decided this was the perfect opportunity to use it! the ribbon bunting behind the banner is the same fabric i used for the bows. i purchased a small "jelly roll" of fabric from michaels, cut the strip into thirds, and tied it on jute string. it was a perfect backdrop to the bunting banner.

•  the big reveal - like i mentioned before, we had plenty of moving boxes destined for the trash so we saved the largest box and i wrapped it in black craft paper and wrote on the front with chalk. i took it to a party store, along with the envelope from our perinatologist and had them fill the box with the corresponding color of balloons. i had a friend pick up the box to avoid a spoiled surprise.

of course an obligatory shot of the photo booth/reveal station

• paper products - i purchased hot pink and teal/blue plastic plates from hobby lobby. i had originally planned to get these at the dollar store, but hobby lobby had better quality and prices, thanks to their 40% off coupons!

food - let's be honest, feeding 40+ people is overwhelming and can quickly get expensive! luckily, i had some wonderful friends and family help out in that department.

• appetizer - 7 layer dip made by stan's step-mom. delicious!
• honey baked ham - sprouts was running a killer deal on ham! i think it was like $1.50 per pound
• BBQ chicken - i love market street's texas tumble chicken. i miss not living close to a market street for that very reason! they happened to be running a special on their hand trimmed chicken breast ($2.00 per pound), so i purchased that to finish of the meat
• potato salad -stan's mom makes a killer potato salad and she was happy to help out
• green beans - my sweet friend, brittany, opened up her lovely home and cooked up some delicious green beans 
• mac 'n cheese - stan's step mom contributed some delicious mac 'n cheese to help out
• baked beans with bacon - stan's aunt was kind enough to whip up some yummy baked beans to wrap up the dinner menu

drinks -my parents supplied most of the drinks, and brittany and i picked up some beer that went pretty quickly. we also made a champagne spritzer that may or may not have tasted very good. it was more than half empty by the end of the party, but it was made by two preggos who didn't do any taste testing! oops...

• water
• soft drinks
• tea
•  beer
• champagne spritzer

dessert - cake balls from sugar derby  - these were absolutely amazing! our friend has always loved to bake and likes to do things like this on the side, so we hit her up for some of the most amazing cake balls i've ever had!

 

i'm pretty sure that wraps up the details of the party. here are some fun shots of friends and family!

Team Boy

Team Girl

he deserves his own photo because he's so darn cute! brittany's adorable son, Van

these two beautiful ladies were two of stan's best friends throughout his school years. and still remain today!

i grew up with these women! brenda (in the middle) was my best freind since the 6th grade! i love her dearly. that's her younger sister cortney on the right. and of course my mom on the left.

my sweet friend kristine. they moved back from nashville 4 months ago! best day ever!

stan's dad, step-mom and grandson, dash

my mom and dad

on the left, chris and tammy. tammy was my sister's best friend growing up and chris was one of my brother's friends. funny how that worked out ;) that's their sweet baby girl, Izzy. on the right is my sister and her boyfriend, jessep.

we met all of these amazing people through the lovely lady in the yellow shirt, michelle. her husband floyd is on the far left. next to us is our friend lauren and her fiance hunter. the far right is our friend (and stan's boss) brandon, his beautiful wife clarissa and their sweet baby kolbe.

carli and braden. like i mentioned before, stan grew up with carli. he is officiating their wedding in june! AND they will soon live one apartment building away from us!

i could not have made it throughout the past 4 years without these women in my life. they are a breath of fresh air and the truth when i desperately need to hear it from someone other than my husband! i owe a lot to them and am so blessed by their friendship.

our old small group when stan worked at providence. i absolutely hate that we aren't 10 minutes away anymore :( i love them dearly!

the guys

stan's mom's side of the family. his mom and step-dad on the far left. his great aunt next to us. on the far right is his aunt carol, his grandpa and next to me is carols father-in-law.

stan's dad's side of the family. on the left is his dad, step-mom and granddaughter. to the right of us is sister-in-law Alex and son dash, stan's sister jennifer and her husband charlie and their son charleston and on the far right is our brother-in-law jeremy (belongs with alex) and their other daughter!

our long time friend josh and his wonderful girl, kaitlyn

my parents and nephews, dalton and logan

and because i'm lazy...see this post for the big reveal!

he's definitely moving in there!

if cash's current state inside the womb is indicative of his personality out of the womb we are in for the ride of our lives! he moves ALL. THE. TIME. seriously. and his favorite time to play? 10:30 pm. right as this momma is trying to go to sleep.

stan doesn't get home until around 8:45 pm on wednesdays and thursdays due to work, so i usually try to eat a light snack around 6:00 and cook dinner when he is on his way home so we can eat as a family. especially now that we finally have a dining room table again! yesterday was no exception, so we ate dinner around 9:00 and by the time i had cleaned up and made breakfast for tomorrow, it was about 10:00 and i was beat. stan is usually still winding down around then and i decided to head to bed. for me, this means catching up on my words with friends games before i finally shut the lights off.

as i was laying there i felt the strongest movement from Cash i have ever felt! a couple moments later i felt it again. i have felt him move a lot lately, but until last night it had just been like he was swimming around in there, flipping and such. this time it felt like an actual kick. like he was doing karate or something! i put the phone down and pulled my shirt up out of curiosity, just to see if i could see it from the outside. i didn't really think i would be able to, but lo and behold, i could see small jolts in my belly! i called for stan to hurry up and get in here so he could see it also! we patiently waited and finally Cash performed! stan was so amazed! of course, he put his hand on my belly and Cash immediately stopped moving. stan eventually went back into the living room and i went back to my words with friends game, thinking cash had gone back to sleep.

Cash started moving again 10 minutes later, as stan was shutting things down. I told him to hurry and get in here again and stan felt his baby boy move for the first time! it's true, i cried. it was so special to finally share something with stan that is tangible regarding his son. it's so weird growing a little baby inside of you but not being able to physically share it with the one person you love most. we can finally enjoy those times together now! so exciting!