Little did we know that on April 19th we would find out that Emerson was going to have a brother of her own, too.
"So what do you want?" ...came the gender question the moment we told people we were having a second baby.
"Make it blue!"
"Make it pink!"
And while so many people gave us their opinion of what they thought the baby was, we had one thing on our minds: HEALTH! That anatomy scan was a roller coaster as moment by moment another part of the body was checked, and by the grace of God all was in working order.
Ultrasound Day
I asked the ultrasound tech how many of these scans they schedule per day, and she said four. We were the first couple that morning. I told her my prayer was that every other couple entering the room that day would have as good a report as we did. I also told Ryan that our entire prayers that evening needed to be of thanks.
The ultrasound tech already knew that we wanted to know the gender, and since I now know what to look for on ultrasounds (made possible by previous parenting experience and Google) there was no way we could wait.
The baby was checked from head to toe, and she started with the head and worked down. As we neared the spinal area I said, "Are we about to find out the gender?!?" because I knew it was getting close. By that time the baby flipped over...
"Do you think you know what it is?" she asked.
"I'm pretty sure it's a boy."
"You're right!!! It's a little boy!"
My heart almost leapt out of my chest.
"A little BOY, Ryan!!!" I could hardly believe it. Ryan is one of ten Moody grandsons, and now there are three great granddaughters. Our son will be the first grandson and great grandson on both sides.
We were in the same room and looking at the exact screen where we had Emerson's gender appointment. It was so surreal.
I'll say this: if God wanted to give us ALL girls we would be equally thrilled, too, but people love telling you what they want you to have. I was just so excited to see what His plan was for us. Having said that, my entire life I have wanted one of each. There are a million things I love and ideas I have about parenting both a girl and a boy.
And I can neither confirm nor deny that the first Birthday theme was decided upon before I even got off the examining table. It's just the way I'm wired.
So I was on cloud nine on the way out of that room as my mind was swirling with thoughts of trucks and baseballs and all things boy. Not to say that girls can't get down and *DIRTY* too, as evidenced by this trip down memory lane...
Me circa 1986 after making dirt angels in the driveway.
I've known several people recently that have chosen to wait until the birth to find out if their baby is a boy or girl, and kudos to them for such patience. If you've ever seen me tapping my foot in line at the bank or looking around frantically when the person in front of me at the self checkout is entering a barcode, you'd realize that this option is not for yours truly.
For me, waiting until the birth to find out the baby's gender would be like waiting until inauguration day to know who won the presidential election, or saying to myself on Easter Sunday, "I think I'll google who won the Super Bowl now." It's just not happening.
The Party Prep
When we told our parents back in February that we were expecting again they were beyond thrilled, and among the questions and conversation my Mom said, "You're not going to have one of those reveal parties again, are you?"
With all due respect, Mama...what planet have you been visiting?
Here is a graph of recent sales spikes at Hobby Lobby and Michael's.
Step 1: Get your guests involved in the fun. One of the first things I made on my Cricut machine were helmet and tutu pins that would be placed in a basket as people arrived. They would each wear their guess.
Then I cut some adorable shapes that I would somehow incorporate.
I knew I wanted to design a massive bulletin board sized banner, and it sort of just came together piece by piece. The background would be a football field, and I found some precious outfits at the craft store. Throw in a ribbon banner and glittered poster, and it turned out exactly as I had envisioned.
Step 2: The food table! This is where you can really have some fun. I chose all 'health' foods for the guests, such as homemade iced sugar cookies (that took about seven hours to make), a Spring candy mix of Reese's and all things chocolate, homemade baby outfit and boy/girl suckers, a massive cake, peanuts, chips, and lemonade. More on the lemonade in a moment...
I really appreciated these two accompanying me on party errands and sweet Emerson's help making the cookies!
Sanitation notice: yes, I did pull her hair back.
I was thrilled with how the dining room turned out.
I also found some real props, like my Dad's NY Giants helmet, a football trophy of Jay's, and one of my old dance costumes.
As guests came in I made signs with these instructions:
"He or she? Which will it be? Wear a helmet or tutu to cast your vote!"
And now that so many of my friends have children a bounce house was a must!
How was I going to do the big reveal for so many people in a way that they could all see? Then an idea hit me: when I was the cheerleading captain in high school the whole squad would come to my house once a week and paint run-through signs. Bingo! Now I just had to find some huge pink and blue paper and enough paint. I got the wooden poles from Home Depot, and the saving grace were the tent stakes, which held them in place while the wind whipped around.
...and the poor ref actually popped and deflated.
I found this precious garland at Party City and of course put together a running slideshow inside and outside so that people would have something to do and look at.
I put a chalkboard by the road to welcome people, and later some neighbors rode by trying to sneak a peek. They noticed that I had twice as many football balloons attached to the sign as I did ballet. So...I threw in some extra pink to make it even and not appear suspicious. Thank you, Carolyn and John Henry!
And we rolled out the
Step 3: Invite in style! I used my trusty graphic design friends at UPS for yet another fabulous invitation.
So all was set and prepared.
The Big Trick
First up at lunch time that day we told our parents and Kevin the news. Jay was attending a workshop, so we couldn't Face-Time him and Laura until later that evening.
Almost all of our parents had said over and over that they thought it was a boy, and we didn't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing they were right...just yet! We brainstormed on how to shock them, and one thing - or shall I say PERSON- came to mind.
That person was Steve Harvey, who is most recently famous for announcing the wrong winner at the Miss Universe pageant. Yep; he was our guy.
I brought out a mysterious black and white box for Emerson to open.
Inside the box was a pink, frilly tutu and headband. Mine and Ryan's instructions to each other were to simply smile and say nothing when they all yelled, "It's a girl! I don't believe it!" We let them go on for about 15 seconds until I said, "Emerson, I think there's something else inside that box." That's the point at which some jaws dropped, and my Dad's face turned white. They thought we were going to say it was twins.
Didn't you folks already see the ultrasound back in February with one baby? What was this; the story of Mary and miraculous conception!? We quickly debunked that theory.
Inside the envelope were the real ultrasound images, and on top was Steve Harvey's picture. We showed Emerson his picture for a week leading up to it and had her practice saying his name.
"Look, guys...it's Steve Harvey!!!"
"THEY'RE FOOLING US! HE MAKES WRONG ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!"
Then we passed around the pictures so that they could see the results for themselves.
"IT'S A BOY! WE KNEW IT!"
Ay, yi yi. Five seconds ago we tricked you! Now you knew it all along. Uh, huh.
And of course...little man already has his first outfit.
That afternoon we had many friends and extended family members coming over for the reveal party. One of the last things on my to-do list was to fill the canisters with lemonade. My Mom was skeptical about this device, but because it appeared festive I insisted on using it. Colossal mistake.
As soon as I poured the lemonade the bottom of each canister began dripping all over the white table cloth in the dining room, so I transported the monstrosity to the kitchen counter and put bowls under it. "Let's just leave it here for now, and we'll serve out of pitchers." But my suggestion wasn't satisfactory to my mother, who insisted that we pour out the liquid at once.
I was attempting to curl my hair with one of those wands (unsuccessfully), and the moment I burned my finger I heard a crash and tsunami taking place in the kitchen.
While my Dad attempted to pick one of the jars it smashed into a million pieces, and the three of us watched in horror as a tidal wave of yellow, sugary juice cascaded all over the counter, onto the floor, and poured down like a rain forest into every single drawer and cabinet within its reach.
Scene recreated for dramatic effect.
It ruined recipes, pictures, important documents, place mats, you name it. Not to mention the STICKY nightmare! Water would have been bad on its own, but when you add probably 30 grams of sugar per serving times about 150 servings you have an absolute MESS. This happened ten minutes before guests began to arrive, so we frantically put everything in the cabinets in trash bags, threw them in the bathtub, and tried to act like all was normal.
"I'M SORRY, FOLKS! THE JAR WAS WET AND HEAVY!" my Dad screeched over and over.
So are seals, which is why it's best that they remain stationery.
Ultimately no elderly ladies or children stepped on glass or slipped, which I'd consider a success. We wanted to avoid something like this happening at all costs.
And oddly enough, out of all the party supplies I purchased somehow this sign wasn't one of them. Maybe next time.
Spreading the News
ANYWAY! I was so happy to greet and hug everyone as they arrived while we feasted on all things sweet and anticipated the reveal.
At 4:30 I herded everyone like cats into the yard for the big moment. In a precious last minute gesture Emerson decided she wanted to do it with me.
I had everyone turn around for a few seconds, counted to three, and we tore through the blue banner. It was so special!
The Name
This is a true story. In college I would doodle names I liked for my future children. This is probably part of the reason why I didn't receive President's List letters in the mail, although my grades were still good. I found a sheet of paper in my bedroom months ago with a list of names for a little boy. Landon was one of those names. I've always loved it. It's different, and I don't know anyone with that name personally, although that doesn't really matter. I just wanted something extra special. And in the ultrasound his profile looked just like Ryan, so honoring him with the middle name only seemed appropriate.
We can't WAIT to meet Landon Ryan. Emerson is oh so excited, and I'm preparing my heart for the moment they meet each other.
After all...it just might be sweeter than all the lemonade in the world.
