What Will It Bee?

My baby sister, Natalie, and her husband, Levi, found out this week that they have a healthy not-so-little 20 week old baby GIRL on the way.  Nat has unfortunately carried on the Vinsant-girl tradition of feeling horrible and vomiting often (even a bit again today, I hear), so Hillary and I really wanted her to have a fun night with friends celebrating the baby (and the fact that the past two weeks have not been as nauseating as the previous 18).  

It was so much fun.  One little boy I know was so excited he could not contain himself.  He couldn't contain himself all night.  He basically ran laps for hours, although he stopped long enough to have cake.

I feel compelled to share that neither the gender-reveal party nor the "What Will It Bee?" theme were original to Hill and me; however, we did our best to put our own spin on it with some personal touches.  We love our Nautilus, and we certainly could not have pulled it off without our mom who helped with the party and helped move Hillary and her husband out of their house the day before the party.  (Also, a big shout out to Jonathan for watching the kids all afternoon.  And finally, I have to thank Evie Rose, for taking a few good naps for just the right amount to finish up a few projects.)

Guests picked which antennae to wear based on what they thought the baby was going to be.  The girl antennae had bows, the boy ones didn't.

Sisters.  Hill and I both guessed "girl."

Guests filled out "Who Will Baby Look Like Cards" and "Wishes for Baby" cards.  Her friends were so fun, and they really got into the wishes.  Many wishes were sweet, and quite a few were hilarious.

While planning the party, I found a print by an artist who sells on Etsy that Natalie had pinned.  It went with our theme so perfectly, so I put it in a very basic frame for the party.  It's not overtly "baby," so it would be cute anywhere in Nat's house whether or not it ends up working in the nursery.  I didn't know if she would recognize it or not, but she immediately did.  She's such a deliberate, responsible pinner.  

Hillary skewered tons of blackberries and pineapple--yummy and quite bee-ish.

To be completely honest, the cake was disappointing.  I used a bakery I've had success with in the past, but this time, they didn't follow my directions, what they did do was done poorly, and the cake itself wasn't very good.  You win some you lose some, but they did put the correct icing color inside, so it served its purpose.

We had pizza, salad, and fruit, and then it was finally time to cut the cake.  I had them use chocolate cake and blue or pink icing.  I worried that pink cake would just look burn-ish brown; and I thought blue cake might look dull.  I figured the colored icing had a better chance of showing up next to a dark cake color. Where my mom was standing, she was able to see the icing color before the rest of us.  I love her expression.

Speaking of cute expressions, Nat had the next one.  It's a girl!

Spencer had insisted it was "Ruby" as soon as we told him "Ruby" was going to be the baby's name if it was a girl.  The week leading up to the party, he constantly talked about "Ruby's party," "Ruby's wreath," and that Natalie was having "a Ruby."  He was right!  He was really hoping he would get to meet her at this point.  He started to pull up Natalie's shirt after this shot.

The available cake was a nice distraction from the disappointment of (again) not getting to meet the baby yet.  He had the first piece.  I apparently no longer have any shame.  I just grabbed it, and immediately got him all settled eating.  I think it's called survival.

Everyone settled in and talked, ate, and laughed.  It was really a sweet time.  The men ended up in one area, and the women in another.  The precious kiddos ran (literally) between, among, and around everyone and everything for most of the evening.  

I've learned to listen to whatever size the cake place tells you that you'll need (based on your number of guests), and then go down two sizes (meaning, go down two inches in diameter).  Then, you won't have half of the cake left over.  

I love parties where the kids come and hang out too.  It reminds me of my childhood when my parents got together with some other surgery residency families.  The moms would talk while the dads fell asleep, and all of the kids ran wild for the evening.  Those get togethers were one of the highlights of my childhood.  

These kids seemed fond of the concept themselves.  Pretty soon we'll have another little one to add to the mix.  We've been telling Spencer the baby is coming in the fall, when it's time for pumpkins and turkeys.  This information is never well-received.