Monday, January 4, 2009

The first day of work back in the new year officially signifies the end of the Christmas Holiday. We have been going so much the past month that I haven't had any time to blog, here or at The South End Zone But, so help me, I will do better. With football season over, I'm going to focus on this site and chronicle the growth of my child inside Stephanie the best way I know how: irreverent wit, smoldering charm, and lots and lots of poking fun at my incredible wife.


We told our family over Christmas, and that was so much fun. We threw a birthday party for Stephanie's dad at our house, and put a picture of Steph's first ultrasound in an ornament and hung it on the tree, but we didn't announce anything. Not one single person noticed. Dammit! We were really hoping somebody would.


So, on Christmas Day, my mom and my sister and her family come over to have lunch with Stephanie's family, and I sneak the ornament in and put it on Debbye's (Steph's mom) tree. After lunch, we position our mothers in front of the tree (and the STILL unseen ornament) for a picture.


Stephanie focuses the camera and tells them to smile on three.


"One!"


"Two!"


"I'm pregnant!"


*click*


In a perfect world, the picture would reflect their surprise. Debbye teared up the wonderful way that Debbye tears up... which is the same way that Stephanie tears up when watching The Notebook, or reruns of Extreme Makeover Home Edition... or that commercial for Travelers Insurance with the dog trying to find a place to bury his bone and the Ray LaMontagne song playing in the background. My mom looks absolutely surprised, then breaks into a huge smile. And then, without any choreography, Debbye moves to hug her son-in-law before she moves to hug her youngest daughter, and my mom moves to hug her daughter-in-law before she moves to hug her youngest son. It was a really, really special moment in my life.


And this would be a great place to put that picture. If it turned out, and properly reflected their reaction. I wouldn't know. We haven't looked at it yet. So much for the perfect world.


We told the rest of my family the next day, and then last week, after Stephanie's second visit to the doctor went great and her first trimester started to wind down, we took the social media plunge. Now facebook knows. Lord help.


The onesies have started rolling in. Hurrah, hurrah.