You may remember a few weeks ago when we shared this image that we will cherish forever!!

When we were deciding what we wanted to do to learn and share the gender of our 3rd baby, we had so many different thoughts based on what we have experienced with our previous 2, what we have experienced with friends, and what we wanted for our likely last baby.  When researching I had a hard time finding ideas that fit what we ultimately decided we wanted to do….so I wanted to share all about the reveal today with you!

When we were pregnant for the first time, we knew that we wanted to learn the gender when we could.  Ok, Michael would make me edit that if he was here…I knew I wanted to learn when I could.  I think he would have been happy with the surprise every time, but I am just too much of a planner for it! So we learned at our 20 week ultrasound. I didn’t really know that there were any earlier options at that point and we were just so excited to know.  We did, however, also know that we wanted to hear from each other or together, versus learning from the ultrasound tech…it was our first baby and that just felt so much more personal! So we bought 2 cards (both with white envelopes), one for our future boy and one for our future girl, gave them to tech, and she filled the correct card with the ultrasound picture and put it in a larger envelope for us to take with us. We went to the location of our first date and proposal and opened it together, and I will remember that afternoon forever…I am tearing up just thinking about it! We were so excited to start our family, and thrilled to pieces over our little boy.

For number 2, we made the same plan– we were going away for the weekend the day of the ultrasound, and were going to look at the answer on our little trip. But we were impatient…and ended up looking in the driveway before we left. We were both shocked, even though Michael did think this one was a girl. I was so sure, for whatever reason, I was only going to have boys, and completely elated to know that I was going to have a daughter.  That weekend ended up with a little more shopping than intended, but we just couldn’t help it– it was such a fun discovery.  Michael drafted up a fun little riddle that we sent to loved ones to find out.

This time, knowing that it is likely the last time we would experience this, I wanted something that could involve our loved ones in a different way.  I had been to gender reveal parties before and thought they were fun, but a little too much fuss for me– something about the couple already knowing and having everyone come to find out what they already knew just didn’t speak quite to what I wanted (though we loved experiencing it). I knew we wanted to find out with our loved ones, but wasn’t sure how to make it happen. This is when I started researching. We knew we needed something that was outdoors, and we knew we would have it photographed so we didn’t feel great about anything that might go wrong the first time (like someone hits a baseball with the colored chalk inside/etc).  But furthermore, we wanted it to be something everyone could experience together if we were all finding out together!  My google searches lead me to large confetti cannons, and I loved the effect– and the thought that I can blow up this image above and this little baby could see all the people who loved them then, and were so excited to find out!  I had a really hard time finding any real info about how people pulled it off though…so we went to planning on our own!

We knew that we wanted to do it closer to 16 weeks if possible because we were traveling with family the next week, and loved the idea of knowing by then. We had learned after our 2nd baby that there are lots of places you can do quick elective ultrasounds after 15 weeks to find out, so we made an appointment.  Then the party planning began.  We also knew that we didn’t have time, based on how far along I would be, to do the ultrasound and then order cannons, and we knew we needed someone to help with all that so that we didn’t know the answer! So we chose a dear friend of mine who I knew would orchestrate it all perfectly (and she did, complete with a pink AND blue on the outside cake and the correct colored frosting inside!), and gave  her the envelope the night we had the ultrasound (which was just a day before our party!).  A few weeks prior, we shopped and shopped for confetti cannons, and ended up finding these that included a set of both pink and blue (we ordered a couple of sets).  If you are interested in this, I also want to caution you to make sure they are really confetti cannons by review– confetti poppers will NOT have the effect you are looking for!  We knew we wanted a lot of confetti, so we ordered 1 per “family” group that would be there, in both pink and blue (don’t worry, my friends and I have put the pink ones to good use since with a princess photo shoot for our daughters!) so that we were ready to go. They were marked by the company, and my friend made sure none of the markings were visible, and brought just the cannons that we needed!

Our closest family and friends (who could be there!) met wearing the color they guessed, we ate dinner, and then we went outside at sunset.  We counted down, and were in for yet another huge surprise in our life (even though Mike and I are both wearing a little blue out of respect ;-), we both thought girl this time).  And we were thrilled. And our first born little man? I cannot even tell you of his excitement.  Most of our closest friends, most of his social circle, is girls– and we are so thrilled for him to have another boy to run around with in just a few short years! Anyways, we absolutely loved the whole thing and it was so FUN to get to learn with our loved ones (even that night, they were all surprised that we didn’t know yet and were learning with them). It was an evening I will absolutely never forget.  Maybe this can inspire a gender reveal for you too!  We made a video for family who couldn’t be there and I am sharing just a snippet of it below.