What will it be? A she or a he?

Almost immediately after finding out Baby #3 was on its way, Kate sent me a picture of a Gender Reveal Party. She asked if Wesley and I were game to find our "what" Baby Bender was in a fun way. I was on board. I knew this would be the last time for the gender game so why not make it fun?!

We planned on having a small group of friends over to Ashley and Todd's house the night we had our ultrasound. Kate and Ashley would know the results but everyone else - including Wesley and me - would be in the dark. 

They were going to fill a box with pink or blue balloons and once the box was opened, everyone would find out if we would be welcoming to our family a boy or a girl. 

Gender Reveal parties are fun, but the suspense in waiting was killing both Wesley and me! Jackson wasn't worried - he already knew in his heart the results - but Wesley and I didn't know what color balloons awaited us at Ashley's!

The weather was not cooperating with us as we prepared for the reveal so we decided to go ahead without two families. Thankfully, both families showed up right before we opened the box so everyone was able to see:

What will it be? A she or a he??

A SHE!!!!

Here's a frame-by-frame of the reveal....

Jackson was trying to peak and I was so worried we were going to see something before the right time.
For some reason, I was really worried about spoiling the surprise - like I could spoil the surprise of finding out it was a girl! 

Right here, I am thinking - I know there are blue balloons in here and Jackson and Wesley are going to be sad...but then....

Here's where I saw the PINK balloons for the first time!!!!

I finally let it sink it and realized - I really wanted a girl!! I had been saying Boy #3 but once I saw the pink, I was so excited about meeting our daughter! 

And Wesley couldn't hide his excitement! 

Yay! The wait is over!

It's a GIRL!

As soon as the reveal was finished, the bottom feel out! Perfect timing! We all ran indoors for the rest of the party. 

In addition to the balloon surprise, Kate whipped up a pink cake 

Thank you, Ashley and Kate, for making this night so special and memorable for our family!!

Allison and Katey and their families joined the fun
(Josie, Will and Luke
Kristy, Sean and Kieran
Rocky, Ashley, Camp, Shep, and Haven also joined the party. )

Oh..and Kate made Jackson and Philip these adorable shirts. Jackson's was pink because he thought it was a girl and Philip's was blue. The only time Jackson wavered about his guess was when I pulled out this shirt. He wasn't too keen on wearing a pink shirt until I told him Mr. Rocky would have one on too!

Another HUGE surprise for the evening was when I looked out the front door and saw my parents at the party!!!
They surprised us by driving down for the reveal and I was SOOOO glad they did! It was so much fun to share this special time with them and I am so thankful them made the drive to be there with us! 

Joining the family -
Elizabeth Wesley