#MicroblogMondays: It's a....

BOY!!!
(great-nephew :) )

We went to a gender reveal party for Older Nephew & Pregnant Wife's baby on the July (Canada Day) long weekend -- the first one we've ever been to.

It's taken me this long to post about it (aside from a brief, non-revelatory post after the fact), partly because they wound up having not just one but TWO reveal parties -- one for our side of the family, and one for the mother-to-be's side, two weeks later. It turned out both SIL (the grandmother-to-be) & dh & I were going to be away for that mid-July date -- hence, the decision to hold two parties. I promised I wouldn't post any photos on social media until the second party was over (this past weekend).  It's doubtful, of course, that anyone involved would be reading this blog (at least, I hope not...!) -- but I decided to honour the embargo here too, just in case...!

*** *** ***

The party was preceded by more than little family drama.  Just to backtrack a bit: we already knew the baby is a boy before the party. :)

I found out by accident two weeks earlier. We were at BIL's on Father's Day, and Nephew's Pregnant Wife was talking about registries & what to register for and looking at stuff on her phone. I get marketing emails from Toys/Babies R Us, and the next evening, I saw one & thought, "Hmmm, I think I'll take a peek and see what she's got in her registry so far."  It took me about three seconds to find her registry -- and what do you know? Along with the due date, etc., there was a message: "IT'S A BOY!"  

I almost started laughing, because -- as you might remember -- I found out she was pregnant from a Pinterest notification. :)  Really, people need to be more careful about the stuff they put online, if want it to be a secret...!  Or maybe I just need to be less nosy??  ;)  (Research always WAS my forte, both at school & at work...!)

I resolved to try to keep my mouth shut & not tell dh, because I knew he'd tell BIL, & then BIL would tell everyone else. (As I've written here before, many times I'm sure! NONE of the men in that family, from my late FIL to dh & BIL to our two nephews, can keep a secret to save their lives!)

But then, a few days later, dh mentioned wanting to look at the baby registry... I guess he could see something in my face, because he started bugging me: "What? What??"  I figured if he was hellbent on looking at the registry, he was going to find out sooner vs later... So I caved and told him.  "I'm getting as bad as you & your brother!"  I said.  We'd all been under the impression it was a girl (or maybe it was wishful thinking??) -- Nephew would start to giggle when we'd ask -- he's as good as his dad & uncle when it comes to keeping secrets ;)  -- so we figured that was a sure sign.  ;)  Dh worried that SIL -- who was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of a granddaughter, after growing up with two brothers and raising two boys -- might not be able to hide her disappointment after the reveal at the party.

On the Saturday a week before the party, dh, BIL, SIL & I went to the mall, and SIL & I ducked into a store to browse. When we came out, dh & BIL were talking excitedly.  And BIL spilled the beans to SIL.  Like dh, he thought she should know before the party.  She DID look a bit disappointed -- but I think she was mostly pissed off that BIL once again failed to keep a secret (!) -- not to mention he couldn't resist rubbing it in about getting a grandson and how "boys are better than girls;  they're less trouble."  :p 

"You told him!!"  I accused dh. Nope, apparently BIL saw Nephew with a baby boy's hat he'd ordered online, and heard that Nephew's boss's son was going to pass along baby clothes to them. (They'd had a boy.)  Nephew more or less admitted to BIL that it was a boy after that, but begged him not to let Pregnant Wife know he knew before the party.  BIL told dh first, and dh told him we already knew too.

At any rate, SIL's dad (the baby's great-grandfather), her two brothers & (other) SIL, stepMIL & stepSIL, who were also at the party, didn't know and so it was a surprise for them. (Not sure whether Younger Nephew & his wife knew -- if they did, they kept quiet about it!)

I'd kind of been hoping for a girl too... even though the idea of a girl born more or less on Katie's due date, following a pregnancy that's been unfolding in the same time frame as mine, might have been (MIGHT have?? -- okay, WOULD have been...) more painful to live with. A boy won't have quite the same resonance.... but that may ultimately be a good thing. Different gender, different outcome (I hope & pray...!)?  And less of a reminder in the future too. 

And, as I told Older Nephew as I hugged him in congratulations, "Well, we've already had two pretty cute little boys in the family, and they both turned out pretty well!"  ;) 

Anyway.

Now we know.

Let the shopping begin!!  ;)  (lol) 

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here. 

(I know this post wasn't very "micro," but it's the only draft I had anywhere near ready to go, lol.)