Gender Reveal Party

There has been so many fun things happen lately, and I hate that I haven't blogged about them. Life has a way of just happening, I guess! I never realized how busy the end of school is---I swear it's just as bad, if not worse, than the beginning of the school year.  And we only have three in school so far--I just can't imagine what it'll be like in a few years with all six in school!

We've had so much fun already this summer, but one of the coolest things ever happened last Sunday. My friend, Caroline, surprised my family, friends and me with a gender reveal. We had a Dick and Jane theme (I wanted to be original--such a snob). I thought that other than being origianl (yes, I searched the web and saw nothing of the sort), it fit two Enlsigh teachers to have a literary theme--and so we did. I also happen to kind of love vintage stuff--so really it was a perfect!

Caroline did such an amazing job putting the party together. She did all things "decor" and "style." I love how creative she is---I plan to be her someday when I grow up :)  She made the invitations, set up the cute decor, and planned the big reveal. The manner in which she revealed our baby's gender was a surprise to everybody up until that moment!

Let me walk you through one of the coolest days of my life!

                                                   Welcome to our Gender Reveal Party!

                                 Here's our family of seven waiting to hear about our eighth member!

 Caroline and her husband built and painted this lemonade stand. I love it and want one exactly like it--remember I want to be her someday! Copy-catting really is the biggest form of flattery! We had cherry and regualr lemonade on our stand here.

 This table full of goodies was to the right of the drink stand. We served Ceasar salad, brushetta salad with garlic toasts, chips with guacamole, white queso and salsa, crackers with blueberry or blackberry jalapeno jelly poured over cream cheese, fresh fruit, sausage balls, and cocktail shrimp! Some of these things have been my cravings--the salds mostly!

Caroline had such cute vintage items to add to the table. My mom also let us borrow some toys from her childhood--this red trunk included (it held a stash of little doll clothes, originally)!

 I didn't get a close-up of this table, but it was adorable. Caroline made little tags attached to clothes pins for people to pin to their shirt--these read "Dick" or "Jane," and the guest chose one based on their own prediction for our baby's gender. This table also had little cards where each guest could write their name, whether they thought it was a boy or girl, and any name suggestions they had. I've kept these suggestions for the baby book!

After filling out their cards and picking their clothespin, the guests could sit down at the tables and play with all the vintage toys (of course, this worked because we had lots of littles there)!

 I tried to get around the room and visit with all my friends and family. I was so thrilled that they all came and were nearly as excited to find out about our baby as we were!

 Miss Caroline--the hostsess-- and me! She is so sweet and giving. I don't know how she comes up with all the cool ideas she does, but I do know she's had lots of practice throwing parties. This girl is in her element whilst party-throwing! I really don't know how she does it--I mean, she has four kids all five and under, blogs nearly everyday, serves in some ministries, and is a great friend! So blessed to call her friend!

Here's my first family of all girls-- my mom, sis and me. I was so happy my sister could make it to the party, but I wish my SIL and her family could've been there. It's been too long, Nancy!!!

Prior to the party, I wrote on a few chalkboards. One said what the Chinese calendar, the Mayan calendar, and the ring test predicted our baby's gender would be. In order it was girl, girl, boy! This chalkboard just lists some old wives' tales about predicting gender. There was only one true "girl" answer--one of the answers was both. But at one point during party planning, Caroline did assure me that the baby was just one gender!  

 Kids played outside for quite some time at the park next to the shelter house...

 ...while the adults ate and mingled.

Here is Peach and one of her besties! It appears they both thought "girl" and "boy."

I'm not a huge cake fan--but I'm a huge frosted cookie fan. And a week before the party I found the coolest place for such a treat. I wasn't even looking, but this cookie place happened to be next door to a pizza restaurant the girls and I ate at after a doctor's appointment. A few days later it dawned on me that I should order dessert for the party from there. I didn't go wrong--these were delish!

This is my mom's little red table from her younger days. Caroline had this cute little wagon that we stuffed with some trailmix for the kids. We also had paper plates (instead of the glass one we used for adults) and little after-dinner mints!

Once everybody was done eating, we all headed outside. The whole group broke into teams based upon which gender they thought Baby Copeland was. Look how huge the "boy" group was. I was a little surprised. I figured most people would think we were having a girl based upon our recored. That surely wasn't the case!

 Look how little this group was! Matt and I didn't announce what we thought our baby was until right before this picture. I wanted everybody to make up their own mind and not base their guess off of mine or Matt's.  I know some people think moms have intuition about their baby's gender--but I usually don't! My first inclination with this child was "boy" because my first trimeseter was so much easier than all five previous babies.  But as you can see in this picture, both Matt and I thought our little one was a girl! A total of 16 thougth this baby was a girl, whereas 26 people thougth "boy." I even made some snide remarks about how I was so sure this was a baby girl in my belly to my friend, Heidi, standing next to me in this picture. We had a good laugh--we were totally sure!

 After the pictures, we headed inside and Caroline handed Peach (who just learned to read this year) a book she made. Peach read the book aloud to the whoele group! It was written as the old "Dick and Jane" books were written with words like "Look. Look and see. Look and see what baby will be."

It was a little hard to hear her sweet little voice, but after she'd been reading for a minute I thought I heard her say "It will be a BOY!" See my face in the picture above--it's one of confusion and shock.

And this is me laugh/crying. I did hear "boy," and I was completely taken away. I had totally prepped myself for girl because I honestly didn't think we made boys. I had gotten used to the idea of having a house full of girls. I was ready for the challenge of six kids--and all were going to be girls. But when I found out it is a boy, I had a huge reaction. I had no idea I would react this way.

I just couldn't believe it. I told Matt later than evening that I had no idea I would cry, and I had no idea where the tears came from. I would be just as happy if I was having a girl. So I think the tears really did come from the pure schock I was in. Of course, my husband was as calm and cool as ever. It takes a lot to get a big reaction from him, but he was very happy too. He just doesn't break down cry/laughing when he hears news like this. That role is apparently left for me :)

 My memory is a little fuzzy, but I think this is where Caroline is reading it again to make me really believe what I heared was correct. And by the way, the illustrations and words went together so well. I'll have to show a page by page of this book becaus it was seriously perfect! And I loved that Peach got to announce it to the whole group! How special for her--for all of us!

                                                                        Yep, still in shock!

It's a BOY!!!!

Thank you Caroline, for throwing such a fun party. I had an absolute blast. I seriously would do this again in a heartbeat--so worth waiting the four weeks between our sono and the party. And thank you to friends and family who showed as much enthusiasm as I was feeling!

Zoo, Music Program and Tornadoes!

 Ever since we bought our zoo pass, we have been going almost once a week. The girls are so happy about that! Back when Brownie picked out the zoo animals for our shoebox zoo, I let the middle girls pick out tattoos. Here is Bug's elephant and...

 Boushka's giraffe.

 Our zoo recently added a temp penguin exhibit. In the weeks leading up to this exhibit, the zoo put out a bunch of penguin stuff. I got these three cuties to pose for a whole 10 seconds!

 This particular time we went to the zoo, our stroller was MIA. So sweet Scrunchie walked/got carried the whole time. She was so sweet the entire trip. She pointed at every little thing--it's so cool to see her see all of this stuff for the first time.

 I was told that we absolutely had to stop at the elephants--so we did. And this made some little girls happy.

 I think the snacks helped to make them happy too!

 This girl loved the ducks. She would point at them and say something in cute jibberish. Oh, I love this stage--no matter how exhausting it may be!

 I took about 25 pictures of them posing near these flowers, and this is the best one. Honestly, I think it's quite cute.
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 A couple weeks ago, Peach had her school program. Before her musical debut, we took the girls to a local burger joint. It's been around for 60 some odd years.  We noshed on old fashioned food and ended with shakes.

 This one had the best seat in the house--daddy's shoulders!

 And then we went to the school to listen to Ms. Peach sing her beautiful heart out.

 We got there early to grab a good seat. We were in the second row!! Brownie wanted to goof around prior to the beginning of the production. So we did (as pictured in the above photo). But when the show started, I honestly got a little verklempt. You know how sometimes weird thoughts pop in your head and they hit you head on??? Well, I had one of those shortly after her program started. I started thinking about all the moms, who for one reason or another, never get to experience what I was experiencing. I thought about all the kids who aren't here today to sing in their kindergarten program. I thought about moms serving over seas. I thought about moms who passed before their little ones were in kindergarten. I thought of them all--moms and kids. And I was overcome with bittersweet feelings--which I'm assuming are self-explanatory here. I know that everyday is a gift, but for one reason or another it just hit me hard at that moment in time. I'm just so happy I've been allowed enough time as a mom to these kids, to see the things I've seen, and to feel the things I've felt. The whole gamut of emotions I've felt since becoming a parent---I wouldn't trade any of them for anything in this world. And I hope I'm around for many more things to see and feel with them!
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 And then there was date night--a date night that I even wore a dress to--Shocking!!

A few weeks ago, Matt and I had our date night we get with our co-op group. We went to an early movie and saw 21 Jump Street (funny), and then we were stuck on what to do. Our original plans were to travel about 20 miles north to a casino, but there was a possibility of bad storms within an hour or two. It really didn't sound like much, so we got on the highway to go to the casino but at the last moment we exited to stay in town---just in case something crazy happened. I, of course, had visions of our destroyed city being barricaded and the police stopping anybody trying to get in. So the thought of me not seeing my kids was too strong--Matt felt this same feeling, but without all the crazy scenario stuff I think. We ended up going to a designer showcase house in our town. The moment we parked to get out of our car, the rain stopped. We happily went in to this gorgeous house, and we were presented with shoe booties. I sat down to put them on, and the tornado sirens went off--almost out of the blue. Usually, around these parts, we have a clue when they will go off. But I honestly thought everything was good because we had just listened to the weather report in the car as we parked. There were storms, but no tornadoes. 

 

So, a little panicked, we rush to the basement. We didn't even pay to get in. We're standing in this overcrowded basement with a lot of annoying people wanting wine, and all I want to know is where in the hell the tornado was. Matt, of course, is telling me not to panic. But he's not a mom, so he doesn't get it. There's some weird thing inside of moms that goes awry when there is the possibility of danger and her babies are not under foot or anywhere nearby. So I'm texting my friend Caroline (who has my kids) trying to make sure they know what's going on (because we were in totally different parts of town and I didn't know if the sirens were going off near them), while also trying to talk with my mom to figure out where the tornado is. I kept getting cut off mid conversation, but last I heard there was a funnel cloud near the high school. Which just a year ago there was a funnel cloud there and it hovered above several of my friends' houses before going away. Caroline's house was in this same pathway. 

 

 To distract myself, I took the picture of Matt and me above, and I also took this one of all the old people concerned about wine. I only say "old" because it was weird being just about the youngest one there, but also the most worried. Apparently, these folks have lived through enough tornadoes to not care about anything other than where the wine is. But whatever...

After 30 or so minutes of standing in this basement waiting on this tornado, my feet were so swollen that I could not even get my dang shoes on. But the sirens stopped and we got word that everybody was okay, and that there was only a funnel cloud. Since we knew our kids were safe and happily playing with their friends, we continued with our date. We walked through the house and went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants before picking up the kids. And when we got back to Caroline's,  I apologized to her and her husband for having to deal with 9 kids all 6 and under during something like a tornado. Still thinking about the path of the funnel cloud near the high school, I asked Aaron, Caroline's husband, if he knew anything about that funnel cloud. He then told me when he went outside to look it was right above their house.

Ahhh... I'm so glad I didn't know this during the time the sirens were sounding. I would've been a complete wreck had I known the location of that near-tornado. But needless to say, mother's intuition never fails! I'm just so thankful for two responsible friends who had my babies, and the angels looking over that house and the people in it.

I'm hoping for a rather uneventful date night next month!!!

The Parties

On Boushka's birthday we had the grandparents over for dinner and presents. The birthday girl chose to for everybody to have their own pizza. So we made 9 pizzas. She also wanted cheese sticks, salad, and pudding for her dessert. 

The cheese sticks, I think, were her fav. They were the first food she requested!

We served marinara and ranch to dip these homemade puppies in.

I think she enjoyed it all! This smile lets me know.

Our older two girls each made her a special birthday card. Here is Brownie's.

And here is Peach's card.

After dinner she opened her presents. The girl obviously doesn't want for much, but that is an even truer statement now. She made out like a bandit--new dress up, dolls, book bag, and a chair.

All her dress up stuff made her feel like a princess. Her sisters helped her get all dressed up.

And the Mickey book bag was a hit.

Her pudding dessert is in the background here--with her number 3 candle sticking up.

And finally, this weekend we had her actual birthday party. All Mickey Mouse themed. Except these cupcakes--I guess they were red/pink , and I did stick little Mickey toppers in them--so it works.

My friend Lynette made this awesome cake. To my knowledge, she recently got into making cakes--but she's doing a fantastic job.

And my friend Caroline--the same one who knows the sex of our baby--made these little tents. Aren't they awesome?

She also did the lemonade signs. Too cute! Bouska loved them!

Here's the party table. The kids decorated their treat bags here and were able to eat their food here.

A more close up view.

I set out some "handy helpers" for the kids to munch on while they worked.

We also set up a little dessert/treat table. At the last minute I threw this "3" banner together. I like it when cute things come out of a "I feel crafty" night.

What's a treat table without Pluto's Puppy Chow? I love puppy chow. Isn't one of the best things about having kids getting to revisit your own childhood. So glad I have a good reason to make this stuff! YUM!

I believe at one point some of the kids started eating the M&M's right out of the dish with a spoon. HA!

We also played Pin the Nose on Mickey. Isn't she adorable? Mwah!

We snapped a quick picture with our birthday girl. We love you sweet Boushka. Hope your birthday was everything you dreamed it would be. We adore you! Many blessings in your fourth year.

Love mommy and daddy.

The Weekend

We had a fun weekend. I picked Matt up from work on Friday afternoon so we could head to our doc and sono appointment. We have a good 30 minute drive to the doc, so we had plenty of time discuss if we would really go through with our plan to NOT find out the gender of our baby.

I was solid on not finding out, but as I like to say, Matt put ideas in my head. He started asking questions and putting what if' situations in my head. I started to think I wouldn't be able to hold off finding out if our baby was a boy or girl. But we made it through our sono without gaining a clue about our baby's gender. The sono tech didn't have much faith in us, but we made it out of the parking lot without opening the envelope. And we made it all the way home and handed it over to my friend, Caroline. She is the only other person to know the sex of our baby because she is going to reveal it to us and all of our friends and family. I'm getting very excited to celebrate this sweet life.

Matt and I were able to grab a bit to eat on Friday after our appointments. It was just the two of us, so we were able to enjoy some quiet time. We then came home and got ready for our baby Boushka's party (can I still call her a baby now that she's three?).

We woke up early Saturday morning for our first softball game--we had to be there around 8:30 for our 9AM game. Sweet Bug made her game debut as a player and Matt and I  made ours as coaches. Our older two played last year, so this was all old stuff to them--HA! The girls all played hard and did so well. At this age, we don't keep score or even have umps--in fact, the league is called instructional. So this is all a learning experience--which if I'm going to be coaching, is a good thing. I'm excited to see how the summer goes--though after our excruciatingly hot afternoon practice today, I can't say that I'm excited to be 7 months preggo coaching in the heat/humidity!

We came straight home and spent the next 5 hours prepping food and doing some cleaning for the birthday party. We had a Mickey theme again--as per the birthday girl's request. She didn't want to put on her Mickey dress, but she still looked beautiful in her Easter dress (the one she chose to wear). We had some friends and family to hep us celebrate, and it was a beautiful time to celebrate my Boushka beginning her fourth year of life.

Once the party ended, I took a seat and put my feet up. I was in a ton of pain after being on my feet from 8:30-6:30, but my baby is totally worth it. Thankfully, I woke up this morning with 90% of the pain gone. And good thing too because it was time to take care of the party hangover--the mess. We had a low-key day of laundry, groceries, and softball practice, but it was still enough to bring back the pain in my legs and feet. But I know this will all disappear after my sweet baby arrives.

So here's to the rest of the week being fantastic. The next few weekends are going to be Super Crazy with tons of activities going on non-stop. But as long as I can keep propping my feet up occasionally, then I say BRING IT ON!

My Boushka is Three

(I thought this posted a few days ago. This post is about a week old---oops!)

Somebody special turned three on Saturday.You'll have to excuse my tardiness for I'm still in disbelief that she is three years old! I honestly don't know how they  have made time fly even faster, but they have!

She woke up to a few goodies on birthday morning. I like to start their special day off right, so I always put out the "reserved" sign in front of their seat. I also put out a few small goodies.

 But before the birthday girl could even get to the table, we had to take a picture of her with big sis, Peach. These two are just like two peas in a pod. They are my verbal kids. They talked the earliest and have quite the grasp on the English language. These two were also my crazy-hair babies. They had such long hair at birth--and a ton of it. One just happens to have red, and one is more blondish.

She's showing off her goodies--Micky Bandaids. Does it get better than this? In her world--not much better! You can also see the new finger paints---yaaaayyyy (what the H-E-Double hockey sticks was I thinking???).

And more paint---this is the fingernail variety. She loves to paint nails.

She wanted to wear her crown, but it kept falling to the side. But we got a picture anyway. She also got a package of fruit snacks (which is a big deal when your mom never buys them for you) and some fake nails with Daisy Duck on them.

You can't see Daisy well, but here she is on these sweet little nails.

The rest of the day was kind of crazy with two soccer games, a sick sister (who threw up five times--mostly within minutes of each other) and another sister with a tick. I seriously couldn't write this stuff! But we did have a special birthday dinner in there for our girl complete with the seven of us, Grammy, Gram and Papa. She picked pizza (everybody had their own mini pizza), salad, cheese sticks, and lemonade for dinner. She also wanted chocolate pudding for dessert--so that 's what she got.

We will be celebrating with a party this weekend. Of course this is a Mickey Mouse and Friends party--just like we had last year. She's one big fan! 

Happy birthday to my sweet little Boushka. Everything I imagined you'd be by three years old, you are--and so much more. You have the pretty hair like I imagined. The big, dark eyes. A petite stature. A super kind heart. And an understanding of how to use words to convey anything and everything. But you are so much sweeter than I could've imagined. You've got the sweetest little girl voice that I want to capture on video just so I can hear it for always. The way you look at me when you're excited is something I never could've dreamed up. The way you love your sisters so much is something I hoped for, but the sweet ways you show your love is something else. You are my tiny--I tell you this all the time.  When I tuck you in at night, you always want me to "tuddle wif" you--and no matter what else I have to do or how tired I am, I always "tuddle" you. I can't get enough of you. Often times, you are my breath of fresh air when I need to relax. You calm me down and ground me--making me realize how deeply I can love and how happy I can feel. One of my six hearts belongs entirely to you, my precious girl. There is so much I want to share with you. To tell you. To teach you--and I hope I'm blessed with all the years it will take for me to do these things--- plus a whole lot more. Because I want to see you pass them on to my grandchildren--knowing that the love they feel from you was planted in your heart many moons ago. I love you, Boushka (thiiiiiisss much)!