Thursday, September 15, 2016

Gender Reveal


I never knew for sure if I wanted a gender reveal or not.  I tossed the idea back and forth before we ever got pregnant if I’d actually wind up wanting one or not.  Then when we found out we were expecting I knew I 100% wanted to have one & do something fun and different for the actual reveal. 

My original thought was the push pop confetti, I thought that would be a fun way for everyone to participate, but it just didn’t seem “big” enough.  I also considered popping the balloon, but I wanted something that I had never seen done before so I took to Pinterest and Etsy and found the perfect theme, “bows or arrows”.  If you know me, you know I have a slight obsession with all things southwestern themed, arrows included, so this was perfect.  The down side was that Joe is not a hunter and had never shot a bow and arrow before so I had to get his approval before making my final decision.  He was game and we borrowed a friends bow and arrow and Joe was able to practice prior to the party.


The best part about this theme was that I found an adorable Etsy shop called Charming Touch Parties that makes the cutest party supplies ever.  You can buy them in premade kits or you can customize your own which was the way we went.  They were so friendly and replied very quickly to all of my emails and questions.  They gave me lots of options and the quality of the products was phenomenal.  I loved every piece and you could tell they put a lot of time in effort into the details of each cup, rosette, & banner.  I also had my MIL make some really cute Rice Krispie treats with pink & blue feathers and almond bark that turned out awesome & a friend of mine gifted us delicious cake pops which were a total hit!


I ended up making a canvas to attach a black balloon filled with paint that Joe would shoot.  We did not know the sex prior, our friends received the results and they were in charge of filling the balloon on the day of the party.  We bought acrylic paint in pink & blue and all of the other supplies from Hobby Lobby a few weeks prior so that Joe could practice shooting the target.  I’m really happy with the way it turned out.  We set the canvas up in front of 2 bales of hay to catch the arrow and hung the “Bows or Arrows” banner on 2 shepherd’s hooks behind it.  It turned out so cute &  I love that we have the canvas as a keepsake that shows the splattered paint color, something that we will keep forever I’m sure. 





We had the party from 4-6 at my mom’s house (she just did an overhaul of her landscaping so her yard is beautiful compared to ours with 2 huge piles of dirt in the front yard) and did the reveal around 4:30.  It was one of the most exciting moments of this pregnancy so far.  Like I said, I was convinced it was a boy, so when I saw the paint color I was totally shocked and actually in tears which is not something I normally do.  I was really worried about what Joe was thinking.  I know that he is so happy that everything is working out after all we went through, but I was afraid he would be disappointed or let down a little bit.  Overall he was just shocked at the result as he said that his whole life whenever he pictured his child he never imagined a girl.  I know that she will have Joe wrapped around her finger and it will be love at first sight when she comes.

I’m so happy we decided to do the gender reveal.  With everything we did to get pregnant I just decided I’m going all out to celebrate as often as possible and keep everyone has involved as possible since they’ve been supporting us for so long.  We think with our second child we will try to not find out, but for the first one I’m so glad that we did.  Now we can break the bank buying bows!

15 comments:

  1. PINK!!!! Yay! Congrats girl! I'm so glad you did a gender reveal party, you deserve it! <3, Pamela Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  2. What a cute theme!! Thanks for the recommendation on the etsy shop I will definitely check them out for Bowen's birthday party!

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  3. I've been following your story in IG and I am elated for you! Going through infertility myself, I know the joy and excitement you and your husband are feeling! Our gender reveal was Ruffles or Rifles and we did the same concept of a reveal. Yours went much smoother than ours! We have our canvas hung in Audrey's closet. It's such a sentimental piece to us. That was the day that it became REAL that we were having a baby! Congratulations again! I can't wait to see your story unfold on IG.

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  4. So cute. I love that he had to practice shooting prior to the event, makes the guy more involved, you know?! The party looked like a blast!

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  5. I love the theme! We thought about doing the shoot reveal too! So fun!

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  6. Yay!!!! A girl!! Looked like an adorable party. (I'm kind of partial to girls) :)

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  7. I love this idea!!! Will you share her name or keep it a secret?

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  8. Congrats!!! So excited for you all!!

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  9. So cool! Congratulations on a little girl!

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  10. Etsy is the best! I bought so much nursery decor from there and buy lots of home decor from there as well. I love gender reveal parties and there are so many cute endless ideas but I don't think we'll ever be able to have one. I am such a control freak and my anxiety makes it worse. Plus I'm so impatient when it comes to things like this. So we definitely didn't do a gender reveal party with this being our first baby. If we ever decide to have another, I've entertained the idea of maybe doing a gender reveal party but then anxiety kicks in like what if the person responsible for revealing the gender reveals the wrong gender? Even though we had the blood test done and I know that is way more accurate than an ultrasound, I still had anxiety about what if it's wrong? And then even at our anatomy scan, I still worried that it was wrong even though straight away the tech confidently confirmed we were having a girl but I think after my ultrasound after that, I can finally believe we are having a girl. When we found out the gender, I was nervous at what Jesse would say/ think. But he said he already had a feeling it was a girl, so he kind of prepared himself for it prior to finding out. I just sometimes worry what if we do have a 2nd baby and it's a girl again and he never gets a son to do guy things with? But I'm sure once Rory is here, she'll melt his heart. Just wait until Joe feels her move or kick for the first time! Jesse hasn't felt Rory kick yet but the first time he felt her move, he cried and now he just can't wait to meet her.

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  11. oh my gosh i totally got teary reading this! i feel like KC would be the same.. or rather, i would think the same. he only has 1 brother, and has just never pictured himself having a daughter... though now we have 3 (female) cats he's like i think i could handle it! haha because that's totally the same ;)
    i absolutely love the theme! bows or arrows - so freaking cute.

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  12. Yayy!!! I think gender reveals are so fun!!

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