Now that the first trimester is over, and we have officially announced the good news to all our friends and family, I can finally post all about Baby Shep on our blog :). Let's start with how we found out about our little peanut and how we shared the news with our family...
Finding Out
My period wasn't due until a Monday, but I just couldn't wait any longer to take a pregnancy test. So, on Friday morning I took one of the extra tests that a friend had given me (thanks, Tessa!). At first, I didn't see anything, and I told myself that it was probably still too early to get a positive result....but then I saw a very, very faint pink line! I immediately took another test, and the same thing happened...a faint line.
I figured it was time to bring out the big guns...the expensive digital test. Sure enough, it said "Pregnant" in letters that were clear as day. My hands were shaking so bad that I could barely hold the test, and my heart felt like it was beating a million times a minute.
Josh was still asleep at this point, and while I had thought about telling him in some sort of fun way, that all went out the window as soon as I saw the positive test. I immediately went into our bedroom and said "Josh....I'm pregnant!"
He was definitely awake at that point :). After enjoying the fun moment for a while, we had to get ready for work. However, that was probably the hardest time I have ever had paying attention at work. Thank goodness it was a Friday!
I can definitely say that this was one of the best and most surreal days of my life. Baby Shep was only the size of a poppy seed at this point, but I already felt like a Mom.
Telling Our Family
We had already planned on going to Austin for Memorial Day Weekend because Charlotte was graduating from high school, my grandparents were going to be in town from Arizona, and we hadn't been down to visit in a while. We had also invited Josh's parents to come up from San Antonio for dinner on Saturday. So, we knew it would be the perfect time to tell them.
Before making the trip, we ordered coffee mugs for each of our parents that said something like "World's Best Grandma" or "Happy Father's Day Grandpa." The plan was to tell them that we had bought them some fun little Mother's Day/Father's Day gifts while we were in South Padre for Steve and Diana's wedding. With the mugs purchased and wrapped, we were ready to go.
The first stop was at my Dad and Rhonda's house because we decided there was no way we could wait until our dinner on Sunday to tell them. When we gave them the gifts, they totally believed the cover story. They couldn't believe it when they read the mugs, and my Dad's face was priceless! Here are pics of the grandparents-to-be with their mugs...
Rhonda (who is pretty sure she is going to go by Nana):
And my Dad (who is undecided on his grandpa name):
Lily was also there to hear the news (she was very excited to be the first sibling to find out)...and to take a group shot.
With our first set of parents now in a grandparent haze (my Dad said he couldn't concentrate on making dinner anymore), we headed to my Mom's house.
Unfortunately, we had to wait for a few hours before Josh's parents arrived, and it was so hard not to tell my Mom! When she offered us some beer or wine while we were in the pool, I had to play cool and say that I was going to wait until dinner.
They finally arrived, and with our parents, Bonnie, Jesse, and Charlotte there, we brought out their "Mother's/Father's Day presents." Josh's parents and Jimmy got it as soon as they saw the mugs, but I think my Mom was in shock. She finally looked at me and said, "Are you pregnant?!"
After lots of hugs and celebration, we took pictures of all the grandparents with their mugs...
Betsy (aka Grammy):
Gary (aka Grandpa):
Jimmy (who declared that night that he would like to be called Nello, which was his nickname in college due to his fantastic Spades skills):
And my Mom (who is also undecided on her grandma name, but I am voting for GiGi):
Can you tell how happy my Mom looks!
Josh also called his sister Tori to tell her the fun news...
...and when she shared the news with Kate, Ellie, and Jack, they were so excited about their new cousin that they sent us a picture...
It was so much fun surprising everyone!
But we weren't done yet. Since Hannah and Sarabeth weren't at my Dad's house earlier in the day, we went back over to his house after dinner to tell them and my grandparents. I think Sara won for best reaction...she was so excited that she burst into tears :).
It was such a fun weekend, and it was the perfect way to let the family in our little secret!