Gender Reveal Party

After we passed the 12 week mark, I pretty much knew I wanted to have a Gender Reveal party and I the wheels for this party started turning in my head! Any excuse to throw a party, right?! :) This is our first baby, we wanted to "Go big" and celebrate our joyous news with those that are closest to us (and actually cared about what gender we were having!).  It worked out well that Daniel's parents would be in town for the reveal, too, so that was another big factor in having one.

I found a great deal on LivingSocial for a reputable elective early 3D/4D ultrasound place nearby, we scheduled our appointment 5 days before our party.  I wanted to have plenty of time to plan out the details before the party, like making a name banner, buying cake mix with the color of the gender and getting the balloons that we used for our reveal ahead of time.

Setting the date was an issue, but we finally nailed down a date that worked for most, Saturday, June 15th!  I'm not going to lie, the week leading up to and the day of the party I was so worried about rain ruining our outside party on our backyard deck. You really just hope for the best when planning outdoor activities in the summertime here in Florida!  Our house is small and could not accommodate all the people we invited... I guess it could, but it would be a tight fit. The day of the party it stormed a little and sprinkled about an hour before the party started!  I had to set everything up last minute, but thankfully the weather cooperated, everything went well and it seemed like everyone had a great time!

Here are some of the details from our party!

I kept the food light, just desserts.  White chocolate dipped madelines, white chocolate dipped pretzel rods, Ina Garten's Rosemary Chipotle mixed nuts and strawberry & white cake w/ cream cheese frosting that I made myself. 

I made this burlap garland, the paint chip garland above, the cake "Baby B" garland and the "Ava" garland below

Raspberry lemonade w/ blueberry skewers to tie in our party colors of navy and pink, fun signage and yummy food!

I had some help with these signs, thankfully! I thought they turned out pretty good!

Pictures of Daniel and I as toddlers and our party invitation

Here are some pictures of our reveal, of our sweet friends and some family!

I whipped up this box for our big reveal.  I wrapped it with kraft paper, taped on some circles I had left over from the paint chips and filled it with pink balloons

I was a sweaty mess! :)

Announcing our baby's name, Ava Grace!

My best friends, Ashley and Kelly.  Ashley's due 8/24, I'm due 11/24 and Kelly is due  11/20! We're all having GIRLS! So fun being pregnant at the same time as my best friends!

Daniel's brother Andrew and his wife, Briana

Our friends, Vanessa, Mike & Annabella

Our friends, Beth & Bobby

My mom and I

Daniel's family

We took a lot more pictures but I decided to keep it minimal on the blog! I don't want to bore everyone! haha Overall, it was a fun day celebrating with our families and friends.  It meant a lot to both Daniel and I to have their support and to see everyone get so excited for our news!  We have already received so many sweet gifts for Ava! She is so loved already! I have to admit, also that I have already started shopping for her. I am starting to buy things here and there for her nursery and clothing, of course.  I know I should really wait until our next appointment to confirm if she is indeed a girl, but I just can't help myself!  Having a girl is too much fun!