Sharing With The McBreens

The revelation to Kelly's family had to wait until our Thanksgiving trip to Florida. Adding to our anxiety was the fact that her folks were stopping to visit my parents in Hudson on their way down to Florida. Luckily Renee and Harry were able to keep quiet and we arrived in Jacksonville 2 weeks later, fresh off of our first doctor's appointment. We had a few printouts of the ultrasound made and had one framed for the future grandparents. Kelly had been feeling nauseous the whole trip but blamed it on a bumpy flight when her parents asked. When we got to the house she presented her mom with a gift of some "wedding photos" and Kathy eagerly opened the package. The printout confused her at first but she soon caught on and when she did she yelled so loud that I think everyone from Florida to Illinois knew what had happened :) We were immediately mobbed with hugs and kisses by everyone, including all of Peter and Stacy's extended family. We then proceeded to stuff our faces with turkey, squash casserole, some sort of delicious sweet potato dish, lots of deserts, and a few cold beers (well, just me on the beers). It was really a great night and we were very fortunate to be able to tell everyone in person.

160 BPM

Our expectations and emotions were high on the way to the doctor for our first checkup. But we were also understandably nervous. We arrived at the hospital at about 8:45am- just early enough to sit anxiously for half an hour before we were ushered to the back. Our ultrasound tech was a very sweet and understanding older lady and she got right to business, squeezing what seemed like an exorbitant amount of "belly jelly" on Kelly's stomach. After a few sweeps of the wand she found the gestational sack and identified a heartbeat... 160 beats per minute. I think I asked if he/she was getting a workout or something stupid like that but all I can really remember was the look on Kelly's face and the feeling of happiness that overtook me.

Sharing With The Wrights

Timing is everything right? Well, as timing would have it, I ended up back in my hometown of Hudson, OH a mere week after we found out that Kelly is pregnant. The Wright family had gathered to see my dad through surgery and while it was still early since we hadn't been to the doctor yet, it was the perfect opportunity to share the good news. I wore my "Best Dad in the World" t-shirt under a sweatshirt on my way to the Cleveland Clinic. After surprising my dad by showing up, and subsequently making him cry (sorry Dad, but it's true), I sent him into tears again when I told my immediate family that there was a reason I was wearing that t-shirt. Actually, I couldn't even get the words out before my mother guessed that Kelly was pregnant. Mother's intuition I guess... or it was just that obvious. Soon after, my grandparents and aunt and uncles showed up at the hospital and I told them all as well. Lots of hugs and congrats. We talked all about babies and celebrated the recent Obama election and at the end of the night my dad had a smile so we were all happy. The only thing that could have made sharing the news with them better would be if Kelly was with me, but it was great to raise my dad's spirits and tell them all in person.

Getting Good News

So after months of trying we got great news on Sunday, November 1st. I'll let you guess what it was :) I woke up to let the dogs out after a long night of Halloween partying and proceeded with the normal Sunday routine of cleaning the kitchen. I heard Kelly slowly make her way out of bed soon after. A few moments later my heart dropped as I heard my wife scream my name at the top of her lungs. I panicked and bolted up the stairs only to find her smiling and holding a pregnancy test in her hands. She exhaled a barely audible "I'm pregnant!" and then jumped around my neck for a gargantuan hug... and some less sizeable tears of joy.

What a great way to start the day...