Everyone knows now....finally!

The cat is officially out of the bag now. We finally told my brothers/sisters-in-law over Christmas. The reveals were rather funny.

We told John/Jenny last Saturday night. In order to make it obvious (so I thought), I wore a tight shirt, leaned sideways against the wall and and rubbed my belly. My brother John didn't blink. Nothing. Nada. Even as the rest of the family was breathlessly watching him for a reaction. My sister-in-law Jenny seemed to notice, but didn't say anything. Good thing I had a back-up plan! After about 5 minutes, I went upstairs (under the guise of needing to change into more comfortable clothes) and put on my bright green "Bun In The Oven" t-shirt. It took Jenny about 2.5 seconds to get it then...John about 5 seconds. Jenny said she noticed the belly, but wasn't sure if I'd just packed on the holiday weight a little early. Always better to err on the said of silence in that situation. John, of course, hadn't noticed a thing.

My Grandma Washburn also found out along with John and Jenny. When I walked down in my shirt, she laughed along with everyone else, but we quickly learned that she needed a little explanation on what "Bun In The Oven" meant. I suppose that isn't a phrase that too many 94 year olds know.

We didn't get to tell Joe and Juli at the same time. Joe got in Sunday night, but Juli didn't get in until Monday morning. For Joe, I did the same tight shirt/lean against the wall routine that I did with John and Jenny. The family's over/under on him noticing was 4 minutes. Let's just say he went over. I saw him look at my gut a few times, but he never said anything. I should have waited a little bit longer. Instead, I took off my sweater to reveal my green shirt. That got his attention. He kept saying "Really? I can't believe it" over and over again. I should have waited a little longer for the reveal because he said he was about a minute away from telling me that life without kids was treating me kindly... i.e. I'd gotten fat! That would have been priceless!

We didn't see Juli until the next morning. Instead of going through the whole routine again, cut to the chase and I walked downstairs in my shirt. She was leaning against the counter talking. I walked in... said "Hi"... stretched... and complained about being stiff. She said "Hi" back to me...gave me a funny look....sheepishly walked over to give me a hug...and then walked back to the counter and kept talking. By this time everyone was staring at her wondering when she would read my shirt. After a minute or two, she caught on and screamed. Since I hadn't walked over to give her a hug, she thought I was mad at her.... but I was just trying to get her to read my shirt!

Needless to say, we are both happy that everyone knows now. It was tough for us, and I'm sure tough for my parents, to keep the secret for a month. But it was all worth it.

Stay tuned for pictures of me in my shirt with my 19 week baby bump!