Congrats! It's a...

This past weekend was a fun one for our family as we learned the gender of the baby growing inside of me. With our first two children, my husband and I found out the gender during the typical 20 week ultrasound. This actually worked out perfectly because one was a girl and the other was a boy and so, being the planner that I am, I was able to prepare for each baby based on their gender. For our third child, we waited until she was born to find out that she was a girl. I laugh and call my patience to find out the gender "a love gift" to my husband because he always wanted the surprise of a delivery room reveal. Sadly, however, it wasn't as fulfilling as either one of us had hoped. Maybe that was because of the bad hospital experience or the fact we didn't have a name for her. Not really sure, but with this baby, we agreed to find out the gender in advance.

As the day of the ultrasound approached, I began thinking about creative ways to find out the baby's gender. I contemplated having the ultrasound tech write it down and then we would hold onto it until Christmas (a couple of weeks before the baby is to be born) as a fun gift to each other. I thought about just one of us finding out and then coming up with a way to share the news with the other. Yet, nothing seemed as exciting as I was hoping and being the 4th baby I wanted to make sure he/she had a special reveal.

After some thinking (read: time on pinterest), I came up with the idea of having the tech write down the gender and then we would take that paper to a baker who would make a cake that was neutral on the outside, but on the inside would be pink if it was a girl or blue if it was a boy. I proposed the idea to my husband who eventually agreed to it.

Finally, the day arrived! We left our children with a babysitter and headed to the appointment. It was great to look at the baby (I am still amazed at the gift of life and that a little human is inside of me right now!) and after a few minutes the tech had us look away so she could finish the scan and find out the gender. We enjoyed trying to have self control looking only at each other or the ceiling. Once she was finished she had us wait outside of the room, and a few minutes later, she presented us with a sealed envelope which read, "Baby Dugger Boy or Girl?" Inside the envelope was the gender along with photos.

Ah, the excitement began to rise in both of us as we took the envelope to our cake decorator. We dropped it off and then enjoyed a lunch date. The entire meal we laughed and pondered what the baby would be. My husband, who generally enjoys waiting for surprises, began to think that this cake reveal would work well for our family - we still would be able to have to suspense, but we could celebrating in a controlled environment and could get the children involved unlike at the hospital.

The next day, our cake was delivered and we waited a few hours before cutting into it. My husband came up with the idea of taking a tally, making a video, and having it be a big deal. To see his excitement, made me all the more excited. We finally cut into the BLUE cake and celebrated, as a family, the newest member, Baby Boy Dugger. How exciting.

It was, by far, our favorite way to find out the gender. We kept it intimate and yet a celebration all at the same time. It had some suspense and flair to it. My husband enjoyed it and so did I. It made me begin to think about the atmosphere it created in our home: excitement, fun, and a little bit of suspense. Do I go out of my way to plan fun things which make my marriage full of excitement, fun, and a little bit of suspense? Seeing how much my husband enjoyed the cake reveal made me wonder how else I could apply games, date nights, and other silly notes into our marriage to give him a level of excitement and fun? How refreshing (and pre-children like!) would that be for my husband to walk in from work and never know what he was going to find? How would that help him be encouraged at work to know he is coming home to a special dinner surprise? The possibilities are endless and fun and I can't wait to plan more excitement into our marriage and family... starting today!

What are fun surprises you have done for your husband?