“Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon”

That is a quote from the incomparable Winnie the Pooh.  He loved balloons!  Come to think of it, I’ve had a few dogs that love balloons, too.  And all my kids seem to go crazy over them.  I distinctly remember Emma playing with her first balloon at about 10 months old.  Lara had one, too, but for some reason Emma’s reactions stick out in my mind.  But I digress.  All of that has nothing to do with my post today.  I got off on a tangent! Time to reign it back in…

This past weekend, Britt, Jake, Finn and I got to be a part of a very memorable time in some dear friends’ of ours lives.  (Emma and Lara were with their other dad at the time.)  Jenny and Brian are pregnant with their first child, and this weekend they had a little get together to see if “Baby B” as they were calling it would in fact be a boy or a girl.  You may recall that Britt and I had a similar gathering, and we cut a cake to reveal the batter color indicating if Shocker would be a girl or a boy.  Our friends too it to the next level – using BALLOONS filled with helium in a big cardboard box.  It was SO FUN to watch.  But first, I have to tell about the games we were subjected too.  She had a 3 stage “Daddy Olympics” of sorts that my fabulous husband got to participate in – and he survived the first 2 rounds!  Round one had 8 dads from the audience chugging water form a baby bottle (the first 6 finished moved on):

Notice Britt was the only man on team Pink.  Or at least the only one man enough to don a pink shirt!

Then, they had to CORRECTLY diaper and put a onsite on a baby doll.  There was some cheating going on here!  I knew Britt would excel at this one – he was the only dad with an infant on the panel!  He even cuddled and burped his baby when he was done!  The 4 fastest moved on…

Round 3 was a pacifier spitting contest.  (Think watermelon seeds…) This was pretty funny.  All 4 daddies had very different techniques, and I have to give my hubby props because he came in second!  And there are not any pictures of this event as my camera freaked out about this time, and really, what can possible be more attractive that the ones above from the bottle chugging… ;)

With our friend Darci (who was also on team PINK with me), I got to help MC a game of “Old Wives Tales” where Jenny was asked 15 questions related to old wives tales that “predicted” the gender of the baby.  As you can see from the board at the end of the game, it was VERY heavy on the “boy” side…

After everyone had voted pink or blue, cast a lot for the corresponding name they thought the parents had picked, consumed fun foods based on her cravings, cute blue and pink treats, and LOTS of bottled water to stave off the heat, and the games were all done, the time had FINALLY come.  A friend of Jenny’s had the dubious job of acquiring the balloons in the correct color and sealing them in the box.  The guests all gathered around Jenny’s mom’s side yard to watch the happy couple open the box.  Here is the video I took revealing the gender of Baby B:

It’s a BOY!  The look on Jenny’s face is priceless!  She has lots of little boys in her family, so I know she will get lots of good advice.  And of course, she can always ask me, too.  We are so excited for them and look forward to welcoming Braxton Wayne in November!  

Jenny and Brian – thanks for including us in your big day!  LOVE you guys!

And lastly, I have to mention the HEAT (previously alluded to in the party wrap-up)!  While it is oppressive, this week is the first week we’ve hit triple digits, and by this time last year, we had been in the thick of it for almost a month.  And, it still looks like this summer will be better than last summer.  I am trying to not complain about the heat, because NOTHING can compare to the misery I was in last summer with the record breaking heat, my complicated pregnancy, and an old home and air conditioner that simple could not keep up.  I am a million times better off this summer, and for that I HAVE to be grateful!  Thank you Lord, for providing!