boy or girl? piece of cake!

Finding out the gender (and telling others the gender) of Baby #2 has been so much fun! There were three big moments that this baby's gender was announced... all of which involved cake. Once with just Ammon and I. Once with my students. And once with my family. Cake just makes it so much fun! Okay here are the stories of each gender reveal.;l kl

me + ammon
Last Tuesday I woke up with a painful UTI. (I get them a lot so I knew exactly what it was when I woke up... sigh...) I thought about just toughing it out and doing some home remedies like I did last time I had one, but everything I read said that if you're pregnant, just go in. So then I thought I would just tough it out while teaching and then go in as soon as school got out. This plan would have worked except for the part where it became so painful that I didn't think I would be able to teach. I desperately started texting subs in hopes that someone was available. I didn't have any emergency sub plans, but I figured I could go in before school started and just put something together. Sub after sub said they couldn't come in. I panicked. Then I cried. Scratch that. I sobbed. Like a baby. And I whined. Ammon was such a good listener. He listened to me as I pathetically exclaimed through tears, "Teaching and being pregnant is SO hard!" Luckily, just when I thought I would have to go in and teach, a sub texted back saying he could come in! So I rushed over to the school, typed up my sub plans (before the bell rang and even after the bell rang as students were trickling in), got the kids settled and ready for math, explained things to the sub, gave him my plans, and then left to go home where I could schedule a doctor's appointment and rest.

Luckily I was able to get in right away. The doctor's appointment started off very routine: a long wait coupled with questions and a prescription. But then I found out that the family doctor I saw also delivers babies and sees many expectant mothers as patients. So when he found out that I had minor concerns about the baby (ya know, the every-day worry that something could be wrong), he pulled me aside to give me a quick ultrasound. The ultrasound was done on a dinosaur machine so the "graphics," if you will, were not that good. However, I was just so relieved and excited to see a little baby moving around. And that the doctor didn't see anything wrong. We discussed checking the gender (I was 16 weeks), but with how old the machine was and the position that baby was in, we decided not to worry about it. Plus Lily was getting really fussy and tired.

After going home, drinking a lot of water, taking my prescription, and resting, I started to feel much better. I still felt uncomfortable and had to urinate often, but I felt well enough to go out and about. The sub I got was for the full day so I had the rest of the day off. Ammon wasn't working either (by the way, can I just say how incredibly grateful I am that Ammon didn't work that morning!? He was able to watch Lily while I was figuring everything out, join me for my appointment to keep my mind off the pain, and he went and got my prescription for me!), so we decided to use the day to officially find out the gender. I was going to go through Utah Valley OB Ultrasound, but I didn't have insurance through them and I couldn't get ahold of anyone after 2 different phone calls. So then I started to consider this place called Fetal Studio in Sandy and in Lehi, which seemed sketchy to me at first, but after reading the reviews, I decided to call and see if they had an opening that day. I called and they did, so I set up the appointment and got ready to go.

I was SO impressed with Fetal Studio. The ultrasound guy (I don't know what to call him!) was from Lithuania. He was very friendly and the atmosphere of the room was very impressive. The room was very spacious, there was a large screen that we could all watch comfortably, there were toys that Lily could play with, and there was soothing music playing in the background.  Lily was so content playing with the toys until she saw her momma laying on a bed next to a machine and her belly exposed. Lily FLIPPED. That baby girl of mine is so protective of her momma and dadda. There was nothing Ammon could do to calm her down. She wanted to be with me and make sure I was okay. I was so impressed when the ultrasound guy offered to let her lay next me. Best idea ever! The second I held her, she immediately cuddled up next to me and stopped crying. It was such a tender moment getting to be with my two babies at the same time. It was just so neat that he would allow her to be so close to all of that expensive equipment. Yeah, he totally has my business. :)

When it came time to see the gender, he had Ammon and I close our eyes. Meanwhile, he snapped a picture and labeled it with "It's a (insert gender here)!" He then put that picture in a sealed envelope. He also took a few other photos for us to take with us.

After the ultrasound, we zipped on over to the Sweet Tooth Fairy in Orem. By the way, can I just say how difficult it was to find a bakery willing to make two special cupcakes to reveal the gender? I called Walmart's bakery, Macey's bakery, Smith's bakery, and Allen's bakery. Either they had no idea what I was talking about, they only made cakes, or their decorator was unavailable so I would have to try back another time. When I called Sweet Tooth Fairy, they immediately said, "Oh yeah! We can totally do that!" Finally! Someone who not only gets what I want, but is also willing to do it! I took the results to them and after a little confusion at the beginning (the girl that was working there was not the same girl I spoke with on the phone), they made the cupcakes within the half hour.

The secret envelope

 After the cupcakes were done, we went to the new little water fountain area next to H&M to eat our special cupcakes. Once we found a peaceful spot all to ourselves, we anxiously got out our cupcakes and snapped a few pictures together.

The results are in that cupcake!

Before I announce the next part, let me tell you what we wanted and what we thought it would be. Both of us wanted a girl. We have absolutely loved being Lily's parents that we wanted another one. I also wanted a girl because we already have everything we need! I have been saving all of Lily's clothes so I was hoping (and I think subconsciously even planning on just) using all of her clothes again. Even though I wanted a girl, I thought it would be a boy. A couple weeks ago, the thought just came to me. I was walking from the car to my front door and thinking about a friend of mine who is also pregnant. Her first is a boy and mine is a girl. Then it just hit me... "I'm going to have a boy and she's going to have a girl." Ever since then I thought, "it's a boy." Ammon didn't have a feeling either way until the ultrasound. When he saw the ultrasound at Fetal Studio, he saw the profile and thought, "That's the face of a boy. It's a boy."

After snapping some pictures of us with our cupcakes, we asked each other if we were ready. We said we were. So then we counted down and then took a bite at the same time. I saw Ammons' cupcake before I saw my own. I don't remember what I said when I found out, but I totally remember what Ammon said and the look on his face. The second Ammon saw his, he excitedly exclaimed, "I knew it!" We hugged, we kissed. Meanwhile, Lily is freaking out in the background because she wants our attention... and our cupcakes. We told her she was having a brother and shared our cupcakes with her. By the way, those cupcakes were incredibly delicious! Sweet Tooth Fairy, you never let me down!

That night, we called Ammon's family and announced it to them. They live in northern California so it wasn't like we could do a little party to reveal the gender to them. To tell them, we got on Skype with them and told them the story. Then we sent a picture to them through a text, and so they found out by getting the text. They were very excited for us. 

my students

To announce the gender to my students, I built up the excitement by having them make guesses on a paper ducky and hang it on the wall outside my room. 

Then, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break, I brought in a cake I had ordered through Walmart. I didn't know what it would look like when I ordered it online. I just ordered a vanilla cake with buttercream frosting, just hoping that the decorator would make it look cute. When I picked it up Tuesday morning, I was so excited! It turned out so cute! 

My students had no idea that I got a cake. (When I got to school, I hid it in the faculty room fridge.) I just told them that we would be having a "gender reveal party" at the end of the day. I think they thought that I was going to announce it by just telling them. I even had a student come up to me and ask, "Mrs. Lott, how is it going to be a party?" I told her, "You'll see." My students are becoming very accustomed to me saying that. I like surprises, what can I say? 

When the end of the day arrived, I gathered the students at the carpet and told them the story of how Ammon and I found out the gender and to get an official tally of the guesses. The following pictures crack me up! Apparently this is what I look like when I tell stories.

That face is so hot right now

Babe face

The faces just keep coming

After telling the story, and building up the anticipation as best as I could, I finally cut the cake. When I was cutting it, I made sure to do it very slowly... as slowly as I could without killing them. 

When I finally pulled out a slice for all of them to see, there was an uproar of excitement! I love the following picture. It really captures the joy that I get from my students. They were SO excited when they found out! Even those that guessed wrong were excited. 

After showing them the slice, I sent them back to their desks to fill out a little "Wishes for Baby" paper. Then I called their names one at a time to come get a slice. Their answers for the paper were both silly and sincere. And that is exactly what I had hoped would happen. 

Buying the cake was totally worth it. My only regret is not cutting it accurately enough to save myself or Ammon a piece. But from what they told me, it was delicious.

my family
My poor family had to wait until Thanksgiving before they found out. They were the last to know. To announce it to my family, I made... can you guess... cupcakes, of course! I am very proud of how they turned out.

First I baked a vanilla cake with blue food coloring. Then, after it cooled, I squished all the cooked cake so that the texture was similar to  sugar cookie dough. Then I used a Christmas-ornament-cookie-cutter to cut out little circles. Then I poured chocolate cake batter into the cupcake wrappers, just as if I was making normal chocolate cupcakes. Before putting them in the oven, I added the blue ornaments in the middle. Then I baked them. They turned out perfect!

To add the frosting, I simply put the Pilsbury confetti frosting in a sandwich bag, snipped the corner and used that to swirl on the frosting. 

To make the team flags, I used blue and red Popsicle sticks, blue, white, and pink paper, and a glue-stick. They took a while to make, but they were really easy and turned out super cute! (I used my handy-dandy Cricut to cut out the triangles.)

I didn't put flags in all the cupcakes, just in case there was an uneven number of guesses. So I just made plenty of each gender, making it so each family member could decide whether they thought we were having a boy or girl.

17 weeks

I was secretly on the blue team

Nephi stayed up late the night before making pumpkin pie!

When we got there, I found a safe and easily-accessible spot for the precious cupcakes. It was fun to see family members get a flag and show off what team they were on before it was time to even eat them.

Here are just some really cute pictures of Lily playing outside with her uncle Ryan. 

After eating a delicious Turkey dinner and resting our tummies for a bit, it was time to eat the cupcakes. Many of my relatives were out of town for a soccer tournament, but there were still plenty of people around to choose a team. 

 

Blue Team (6 cousins, my dad, two of my brothers, and my grandma.)

Pink Team (My brother, my cousin, my mom, my cousin-in-law, and my aunt.)

 Once everyone was situated and ready, I counted down and then everyone took a bite. My brother Taylor and my dad's air fists are priceless. I love the following two picture so much!

My grandma is so cute, still trying to figure out the cupcake. :)

Lily was on the blue team too. But, of course, we couldn't say it until afterwards. :)

She kept trying to eat the wrapper. It was adorable!

Getting a family picture with the cupcake was very difficult to do because Lily didn't want to look at the camera... she wanted to dig in! :)

There we go! :)

Oh my goodness, this Thanksgiving was so much fun! I loved being with family, eating delicious food, surprising everyone, and receiving so much love and support from everyone. Plus, Lily was stinking adorable. It was a very good day, indeed.