Lil Blessings Ultrasound Studio providing laptops to two pageant winners

By BRITTANY FHOLER 

Cove Leader-Press 

Lil Blessings HD Ultrasound Studio is a new corporate sponsor for the 8th annual Five Hills Scholarship Pageant and will be providing two Dell laptops to the winning Junior Ambassador and Ambassador titleholders after they are crowned later this month. 

The current Five Hills Junior Ambassador Hayley Sawyer and Senior Ms. Five Hills Dawn Hale received a tour of the facility on Tuesday and got to get an up-close look at what goes when clients come in to see their unborn baby. 

Lil Blessings HD Ultrasound Studio is located at 102 Cove Terrace Shopping Center and offers 2D and 4D/HD ultrasounds as well as SneakPeek DNA gender testing, done via a blood draw as early as eight weeks’ gestation. They also offer stuffed animals with a recording of the baby’s heartbeat inside. The studio opened its doors to the public in January 2021. 

The ultrasound studio is co-owned by mother-daughter team, Melinda Cavazos and Alicia Traeger. Cavazos came up with the idea of opening Lil Blessings after seeing how her son-in-law was left out of the experience of getting to see his unborn son via ultrasound appointments in 2020. 

Since opening, Lil Blessings has helped countless families in getting to see their unborn babies. 

“We’ve been pretty busy,” Traeger said. “A lot of people coming in that haven’t been able to see their babies at all- this is a lot of their first time seeing them, especially dads, so it’s been pretty cool because we’ve been getting a lot of happy people coming in.”

Traeger’s husband was made aware of the opportunity to be a sponsor for the pageant and shared that information with Cavazos and Traeger. 

“When we found out it was a scholarship program for kids, we jumped on it,” Traeger said. “We’re like, ‘Of course, we’ll do it.’”

Seeing the platforms of service of the titleholders and all the work they do in the community, it was a no-brainer to join as a sponsor. 

“We’re all about bringing families together, and so if this is going to help families or help kids, then I think it’s a good idea,” Traeger said. “We’re just really excited to be a part of it, to help our community.”

Sawyer said she enjoyed getting to take a tour. 

“They do amazing things, and they make what would have seemed like a doctor’s office for couples into something more homey and a little more just them because they can take their kids into Lil Blessings with them, and they can bring their husbands and they can even put them on live streams in different states, and I think that’s an amazing concept because most of the time, the husbands and family members do not get to see the ultrasounds or the gender reveal, so that’s a big opportunity for them,” Sawyer said. 

Sawyer added that a gender reveal is a big moment, and it’s important for parents and family members to have that opportunity to be able to participate in that by way of the live streaming services that Lil Blessings offers during its appointments, where family members can view the ultrasound on their phone through an app while it is being done in the studio.  

Hale said she was amazed at the technology and the fact that something like this is in Copperas Cove. 

“I know when my daughter, three years ago, with their child, we had to go all the way to Temple to have one of these services, so I think it is a blessing- a little blessing- to have that here locally,” Hale said. “Back in my day, when I had my children, this did not exist, and that’s one thing we were talking about when we were touring it was back when I had children, it was all a surprise, and you didn’t know; so, I think this is something very special that they offer, especially in a military town with families who may be away from their hometown or maybe their spouse is deployed.”

Hale said she was happy to have a new sponsor supporting the Five Hills Scholarship Pageant.  

“This new business that is in our community is joining what I consider to be a beautiful family, the royalty,” Hale said. “It’s just such an awesome family, community. We just are so involved in the community, and the community is involved with us, and I just think it is the greatest thing.” 

Hale added that the pageant has something for everyone, contestants and winners alike. 

“Either way, win or lose, you gain something just by doing the pageant, whether you don’t win, or you do win, you gain a little bit more confidence, you step out of that comfort zone,” Hale said. 

The Five Hills Scholarship Pageant is awarding more than $100,000 worth of scholarships and prizes to contestants and winners. Each contestant under the age of 9 will walk away with prize bags worth $250, and contestants over the age of 9 will walk away with prizes worth at least $400. 

Included in those prizes for the Ambassador and Junior Ambassador are a laptop, to be donated by Lil Blessings, that will help them as they continue their additional year as a reigning titleholder with the pageant. 

The 8th annual Five Hills Scholarship Pageant will be held March 27, at the Copperas Cove Civic Center, starting at 1 p.m.