Katie & Justin

Here was our fist peek at Baby D at only nine weeks old!

“A little gummy bear” — as the ultrasound tech put it.

We told my family when all of us were together at my sister’s new house in Crystal Lake to celebrate birthdays for my nephews Jacob and Evan, as well as my mom’s. (We went to a ski jump competition nearby just beforehand but Justin and I were late — we got there only in time to see the final jump!)

Anyway, I (painstakingly) waited till after my mom opened her gift and then said we had something else coming but not till August. I think it took a bit for everyone to realize what I meant — apparently because it wouldn’t be that surprising if I gave an actual birthday present months late!

Of course, everyone was super excited but my sister Emily probably had the funniest reaction because she was the most shocked. Also somehow my sister Kelly dropped a brand new, wrapped baby gift in my lap only minutes after our announcement! (It was a band you can wear over your pants when you can no longer button them. She originally bought it for a friend, but I’m glad I ended up with it because I had to start using it soon to keep my pants up!) My sister-in-law Kristen had a funny comment when we dialed up her and my brother, who live in Missouri. My mom showed them the ultrasound pic through FaceTime and Kristen said, “Whose baby is that?!”

We told Justin’s family while we were all together celebrating his brother Fred’s birthday at Murphy’s, a bar/restaurant near Wrigley Field. Strangely, both of Justin’s parents were expecting that very announcement at that party! His dad said he had a dream about it and his mom also said she just had a weird feeling that it was true and we would be telling them that day. So crazy!

My cousin Caitlin apparently had the same premonition. I texted her, asking for her address (so I could send her the Christmas card), and her response was: “Why, are you pregnant?!?!” I couldn’t believe it! I literally only said, “Hey, what’s your address?” in my text, haha. So I called her right away, saying, “How in the world did you know?!?!” She said that she, too, had been having a feeling that someone she knew was pregnant. Then within a week, she found out that not only was I expecting but also one of her friends and another cousin. Too funny!