October 2012 - More Babies!

When I first found out I was pregnant, one of the million thoughts going through my mind was who else would be pregnant at the same time. I already knew our friend Abby was pregnant, but she lives in Michigan, so our comparing notes would have to take place via Facebook.

I soon found out that I would be joined on this crazy journey with two great friends! Brianne is due just two weeks ahead of me, and Belinda is due about a month and a half after me. It is so exciting to go through this together! I've known both Brianne and Belinda since kindergarten, and it seems quite serendipitous that this is happening to us at the same time!

September 2012 - School Days

Near our 12 week appointment, I decided it was safe to share our news at school. A couple close friends at school already knew, but for the rest it would be quite a surprise! Our school is pretty unique in that our students love to know pretty much everything about their teachers, so I knew they would be excited, too (not to mention the fact that some of them had been asking me when I'd have a baby for over two years!).

I had already told our principal about the baby a few weeks back, and he told me to let him know when the information was public. I emailed him one morning to let him know it was, and not two minutes later he sent an email to the rest of the staff telling them all! In our small school, that also means the students knew in about five minutes flat. They've been excited ever since - especially with helping pick out interesting baby names - usually their own name or a variation of it, or something crazy like Sage Loveblood.

Here's a picture of my College Writing 2 seniors during Homecoming Week, right around when they found out:

September 2012 - Announcement Pics

To announce our big news to others, I wanted to do something creative, and again Pinterest had some answers! I took some ideas from them and asked our friend Courtney Draxten to take some photos for us. We had a great time with her on a wonderful fall Sunday at the Kirkbride (state hospital) in Fergus. Maddy was such a trooper - I am pretty sure she loves being the center of attention and having her picture taken. Here are a few of our favorites. Thanks, Courtney!

August 24, 2012 - Titus' Birthday

On August 24, it was Titus' 31st birthday as well as my cousin Katie's wedding. I was still quite tired and we hadn't shared our news with the rest of the family yet, so I tried to hide my lack of energy through the wedding and reception. It was also a little tough to escape the smokers without seeming rude! Luckily I have never been much of a drinker, so people rarely questioned me this summer about why I wasn't drinking (except for Aunt Karen!). The reception was beautiful, and it was fun to be with our extended family. We ended up leaving early due to being so tired, but we had a great time.

August 2012 - How We Told Our Parents

We wanted to come up with a fun way to tell our parents our exciting news, and where else do you find great ideas but... Pinterest? I (Mindy) saw some ideas on there that I liked and took a few pictures. Titus helped choose the best one:

I even tried to buy Titus some new shoes for the occasion, but he refused. :) We told our parents pretty early on for a few reasons, including the fact that we wanted them to share in the excitement, but also because I was extremely tired and we thought they should probably know why! (I pretty much slept through the month of August, but I got some energy back just in time to return to teaching on time.)

We had Carolyn, Steve, and Diane over for dinner one night, and we gave Carolyn and Diane both presents for "helping out so much while I was gone" at the writing institute I attended in for three weeks in July. Carolyn says she knew what we were up to right away, but who knows! When they opened the presents and saw the picture above in a frame, Carolyn got in on the news and said so. It took Diane a couple minutes longer, but they were all very excited! A couple days later we had Kirby and Shelly over for dinner and also gave them the surprise present. Our parents all knew then, but we kept it a secret for a few weeks longer from everyone else!

August 2012 - It's a Baby!

After 5 1/2 years of being asked when we are going to have a baby, we can answer it for you: April 2012!

Our first appointment was in August, and we were lucky enough to get a little ultrasound. (The doctor may think Mindy is a bit of a worrier and wanted her to see the baby was actually in there and doing fine. We're okay with that!)

The baby was barely a blip on the screen, but he/she was there!