It was a whoppin' 100 degrees while we were setting up for her party. YIKES. We were running late, Lily was getting too hot, Todd wasn't back with the balloons yet - the perfect recipe to make Jewely stressed. But fortunately it cooled down a little and a nice breeze picked up by the time the party started. More and more people came, the presents started piling up, and I realized just how many people love and adore our little girl. All in all, we had 51 people at the party. WOW! And all but 6 were family members! Talk about a big family.
So, first came the gender reveal. This was Todd's big project, and he did an amazing job. I was so impressed with the amount of time and creativity he put into it! On the birthday invitation we asked everyone to dress in PINK or BLUE to guess the gender. As I looked around at all of our guests, I saw a LOT of pink, but I stuck with my original intuition and wore blue.
We had our doctor appointment the day of the party, and instead of telling us both the gender, he just told Todd out in the hallway. I wanted to be suprised and Todd totally indulged me. I'm not sure how he did it, but he never ONCE hinted what the gender was! We just avoided talking about it because we knew it would slip out somehow. Well, he found a little poem and stuck it in a BLUE balloon (his first trick...) and hid it amond the myriad of other blue and pink balloons. He had all of the children stand in a circle with plastic forks, and let them go to town popping balloons (I know, not the safest activity, but it was so fun!).
I saw a little note fall out of a blue balloon, so I immediately assumed it was a boy. My mind went racing, trying to put all of the pieces together. Over the last few weeks I realized just how much I wanted another girl, and wasn't sure how I'd handle the news if it was a boy. Well, in my mind I'm thinking "ok....it's a boy.... now what?"
My nephew, Ollie, brought me the piece of paper, and when I opened it I found this poem:
In mommy's belly I will grow.
Tiny fingers and tiny toes.
Some don't know what my gender will be.
Although you might already see.
Guess if I'm a girl or boy.
I'm sure either way, you'll jump for joy.
Read this poem with great care.
Look really close, but please don't share!!
Solve this poem and you will know the gender. Keep it a secret though, some of the family still doesn't know.
Well - I interpreted the poem to mean that since I was wearing blue, I already knew what the gender was. So when everyone asked what it was, I yelled, "IT'S A BOY!"
While everyone was reacting to the news, Todd interrupts and says "Nope!... It's a GIRL!"
(My doubtful face, lol)
WHAT?! I was stunned, and really, really confused. The little sneak totally set me up! I'm actually really glad we didn't get that moment on video, because I felt quite dumb. My sister came over and explained that if you look at the first letter of each sentance of the poem, it spells ITSAGIRL.
(Explaining the note)
(The news sinks in)
Oh!...duh. But really, I was in no frame of mind to analyze a poem in the first place, so I would have never gotten it by myself. But either way - I was over the moon! Besides the fact that my husband totally set me up (which, I admit, was hilarious), I was elated to find out that it was another girl!
IT'S A GIRL!!
After the gender reveal, Lily then opened her MANY presents. We were so touched by everyone's generosity. She received the most amazing gifts and the cutest clothes! We are very excited for this summer - she is going to have a blast with all of these new toys.
(Elmo's photo-bombing from under the table...)
Then came the cake smash! She immediately started digging in, but as soon as she realized there was food all over her hands, it came to a quick stop. But it was fun while it lasted! (To be honest, I'm kind glad she didn't make more of a mess.)
We finished off the night with cake, ice cream, glow sticks, and sparklers. All in all, I'd say the party was a success! I had such a good time, and I hope everyone else did, too. I know Lily had a BLAST! But thank goodness she only turns 1 once...
Love you all!
