big news

We have a new addition to our little family arriving in June 2015!

How we found out

While packing the evening before our for our trip to California, I thought, "Hmm... this week will involve several opportunities for alcohol consumption (wedding, wine tours, etc). I should take a pregnancy test, just to be sure drinking is okay." There was a very faint second line, so I came out of the bathroom and told Dan, "I think I'm pregnant." He thought I was just being paranoid and told me to relax. I sat there for a few minutes and said, "I took a test." He responded with "Oh! Um... what did it say?" I said I couldn't tell since the line was so faint. I retrieved it from the bathroom drawer, and he stared at it while trying to stifle a smile. After a few seconds, he rushed out to buy another one and returned a few minutes later with one of those fancy digital ones ("the most advanced piece of technology you will ever pee on"). I left it in the bathroom and we walked back in two minutes later to read the word "PREGNANT" etched across the screen. No denying that! We finished packing, drove to Indianapolis, and caught our flight to San Francisco the next morning, but I don't remember any of that. I was so glad we had over a week away from work to let the news sink in. It was like a mini baby-moon!

How we told our families

No elaborate pregnancy announcement ideas for us... I was so nervous/excited to tell people that I couldn't do much else except blurt it out! We joked that for the first 12 weeks the only people that knew were the two of us, the bartender from Emily's bachelorette party, the bartender from Christopher and Emily's wedding, and the bartender from Ben and Jen's wedding. I've had a lot of "cranberry juice on the rocks" over the last 3 months.

My family: The weekend before Thanksgiving, we paid an impromptu visit to my parents house to tell them our exciting news. We arrived Friday evening after work. I rang the doorbell, and my mom's face appeared in the window, looking very confused. But, by the time she had unlocked and opened the door, she had already figure it out. She slowly opened the door with a huge smile on her face and tentively asked, "Why are you heeeere?" We walked down the front hallway to where my dad (also looking confused), Christopher, and Emily were sitting at the kitchen table. I pulled the strip of ultrasound photos out of my purse, and everyone was so excited! Well, not everyone. Mom called Kevin to come downstairs, and when I said "Guess what? I'm pregnant," he responded with, "Ugh" and walked right back upstairs. Classic Kevin, not a huge fan of babies in general. Fortunately, he was much more interested/curious the next morning.

Since Kelsey was still at school, everyone kept their lips sealed about the news until I saw her two weeks later for our Girls' Weekend in Chicago. At least mom and dad had lots of practice this year from keeping Dan's Jeopardy! outcome secret for so long. When we picked Kelsey up at school, I asked "Are you excited to be an Aunt?" (the answer was yes, much hugging ensued).

Dan's family: We'd just finished the long drive to Dan's parents' house and were standing around the kitchen with them and Colleen prepping our take-out Chinese dinner. Dan's mom asked what we'd like to drink, and I (glumly) said I'd have water instead of my usual glass of wine. Then Dan said "Yeah, she won't be drinking for a while." That followed with "You're pregnant!" and much hugging. We saw Tim that Friday in New York and told him before we went to see Cabaret. He was very excited also!

Addendums to some previous blog posts

california, here we come: Yup, I finally got to see Northern California and COULDN’T DRINK ANY WINE. At least I didn’t mind nearly as much when the wedding got moved back a day, and we had to cut short our time in Sonoma! Tucked in with my Christmas presents this morning was a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from the winery we toured. The card said it was from the baby, but the handwriting looked suspiciously like Dan's. At least I'll finally get to try the wine after the baby arrives!

bachelorettes, donuts, and roller coasters: At Emily’s bachelorette party, I made friends with a bartender who made me a few pretty little cranberry juice drinks with stir sticks, a garnish, and no alcohol. I had everyone fooled, even my parents who drove downtown at 1 a.m. to pick up their “drunk” daughter! Sorry ‘bout that, mom and dad! I also had to be “sick” that weekend and miss out on the roller coasters. I felt like a bit of a fraud in that Banshee photo, though I did ride it back in the Spring.

goin’ to the chapel: Again, lots of cranberry juice at Christopher and Emily's wedding. Carried around a half-empty beer bottle for about 2 hours. Fooled lots of family though, and that’s the important thing! At the brunch the next morning a couple people casually asked, “So when will you guys be having kids?” to which I was so tempted to reply, “June” and watch their faces as they did the math.

happy thanksgiving!: One more thing I’m thankful for this year: our own little growing family! Also, my super-supportive husband who has been helping me hide the pregnancy by secretly drinking my glass of wine or beer at various events, including Ben and Jen’s wedding. Poor guy has been drinkin’ for two since September. Rough life!

it’s beginning to look a lot like christmas: We met up with my Aunt Ruthann and cousin Courtney just outside the Macys in Chicago. My aunt asked, “Is anyone shopping for anything in particular today?” as we were walking through the revolving doors into the store. I turned back and smiled, and when we were all inside the door I said, “Maternity clothes!” Aunt Ruthann was (literally) jumping up and down with excitement. Trying on maternity pants was a little depressing as I envisioned my future giant belly, but MAN are they comfortable.

In conclusion…

It’s been an exciting but extremely stressful time. We appreciate all the support from family and friends. Keep us in your prayers. Also, I promise to at least ATTEMPT not to be an annoying mom blogger. Hopefully I got a lot of it out of my system with this ridiculously long post.