Start Spreading the News

My parents were coming to visit about a week after we found out we were pregnant.  We decided not to say anything in the meantime and tell them in person.  It was soooooo hard not to say anything!!  After Asa was in bed and we were all sitting around the evening they arrived, I told them we'd found something for them in Amish country.  I had traced a map of the US, marked the cities where each of their grandchildren were/will be born, and written birth/due dates around each city.  It was rolled up like a scroll and tied with ribbon.  My mom opened it and at first you could tell she did NOT get it.  It obviously wasn't from Amish country, and that really threw her off--why would I say that?  When she saw "7/4/11" up in Ohio, for some reason she read that as "2010" and thought it was referring to us moving to Ohio.  Then she realized the other dates were not moving dates, the year was actually 2011, and it clicked!  The look of shock as it registered was really fun and funny. :)  I think we surprised them. ;)  They are really excited for us and we are all anxiously awaiting meeting this little one.

For Matt's parents, we knew we were going to spend Thanksgiving with them in a few weeks but didn't want to wait that long to tell them/make them wait longer than my parents waited to find out.  Matt called and has his usual chit-chat with his dad.  Then he asked if his Mom was around and if his dad would put him on speaker phone.  I think that totally tipped his dad off... the last time Matt asked to be on speaker phone was to tell them we were pregnant with Asa. ;)  But his dad obliged. :)  Matt told them that we were thinking about our Thanksgiving plans and wondering if we could bring an additional person with us.  I think he dad became HIGHLY suspicious at that point :), but he didn't come right out and ask.  One of his parents asked, "Well, okay, but who is it?"  When Matt answered, "Well, we don't know yet if it's a boy or a girl," they let out their excited shouts and asked, "Are you REALLY (pregnant)?!?"  They are very much looking forward to meeting another little Kubo. :)

For my oldest brother and Matt's sister, we scanned the map I made (I made a separate one for each of them with the dates of the children/cousins that pertain to them) and emailed it to them, then made a follow-up phone call to talk about it. :)  For my middle brother, I was talking on the phone with him and told him I hoped his 2 boys could spend the night at my parents' while Asa and I would be visiting so we could have a "4 cousin sleep over."  Initially he agreed, "Yeah, that would be nice.... wait, a FOUR cousin sleep over?"  "Yes, a four cousin sleep over."  Silence.  "Are you....pregnant?!" :) hehe

Lastly, we didn't announce to our friends at large until we had an ultrasound right before Christmas.  When we returned home from our appointment, I uploaded a print out of the baby to facebook and posted it with the caption, "I've grown 2 feet in 3 months... whoa! ;)"  It was a fun way to make a little play on words and announce our good news. :)

We had a lot of fun revealing the big news to our families and friends.  We are very thankful for their (your!) support and prayers during a time of such growth and change!  And hopefully soon we'll be introducing our baby to you by name!  Less than 3 weeks until our ultrasound. :)