One year and counting...and the big reveal!

Seeing the lack of pictures we have from November 2013 shows how my attention to trying to document our life had drastically taken a back seat...but I at least got the important parts :)

My favorite day of the year, November 3rd. Hard to believe it was only our 1 year anniversary---especially after all the years of Whit in my life. It was funny for us to think back at what we "thought" we would be doing on our 1 year anniversary. Everything from a trip to Napa where we got engaged to a trip up the East Coast to see Fall season in the Cape that we had heard so much about. And as much as we didn't plan or expect to have a child on the way at our 1 year anniversary, we wouldn't have had it any other way. We got to enjoy a nice dinner at a restaurant we had been dying to try (that I actually could eat that night!) and of course as he always does, I was spoiled. 

We got another glimpse of the little one at 12 weeks during some genetic testing---crazy how much it had actually formed into something "baby-like" in just the 4 weeks it had been since we got our first look. We were really getting anxious to tell our family and friends now. 

My mythical baby bump at 14 weeks that I thought I was getting...probably more me pushing my stomach out at this point trying to have a bump :) 

It was finally time to tell our family and friends! We had waited until we had a trip planned home where we could tell everyone in our own special way and near the same time as everyone else. We were headed to TN for the "House Divided" game of AU and UT and thought we'd also make it a reveal weekend with our loved ones. 

It started with our flight arriving late Thursday night and Whit's parents, Susan and David, doing their normal pick up for us. We decided to do it first thing so I had gotten a shirt that said "Due in May" and wore on the plane home. What made it even better is they didn't even notice it at first. David, being the sweet man he is, made a comment that he thought I had lost weight. Well of course that prompted me to say "Yeah Right" and point to my shirt. At that point Susan got it and just kept saying "Really? Are you serious?" and then David caught on shortly thereafter. I think we really surprised them and it was a wonderful shock to them to have another grandbaby on the way.  

Next up, we offered to take the Dalton kids to school Friday morning at 7am since Mary-Evelyn and Jay were flying to NYC that morning also. We had a shirt made for Mia that said "My Aunt has a Cousin in the Oven" that she wore to breakfast that morning with the family. It was obvious it was an early morning before school because the kids were very slow to notice and even when they did it took them awhile to figure out what it meant. But we did get some excitement out of them (especially for a 7am on a Friday).

Mia proudly wearing her reveal shirt

Since we were already dropping the kids off at FRA, we thought it was the perfect time to also tell my mom, Gaga, that she was about to have a 7th grandchild on the way. And to my surprise she was WAY more shocked than I thought she would be. When Mia took her jacket off and had that shirt on (and she read it 2-3 times) she was in disbelief. I think maybe more so that I had waited 14 weeks to tell her. But I couldn't imagine not seeing her face or feeling her hug when I told her the news. It was worth the wait!

Gaga and Mia after learning about Baby Dulin 

Sadly, I don't have any photos of the rest of the reveals---(back to I was horrible at documenting things then). But they just kept getting better and better. We left FRA to head to tell my dad---I think we took him by such surprise he was literally speechless. So much so he called me about 8 hours later to say sorry and how excited it was but that he didn't even know what to say. That Friday night we invited some friends to have dinner with us and since we hadn't been in town for a while it was an easy way to say let's get together. SO---Jenny, Angie, Rob and his gf Mary joined us at Whiskey Kitchen. We had planned ahead and had a fun way to tell them. Whit went to the bathroom and secretly ordered 5 glasses of champagne to be brought to our table but to tell them it was anonymous. No one could figure out who had sent them, and since Houston and Grant couldn't join us they thought maybe one of them had. When we were one glass short of champagne of course someone offered theirs to me, Whit piped in "But you can't drink when you're 3 months pregnant, right?" Of course they all got it at that point and were not only so shocked but VERY happy and excited. I don't think Angie spoke for a good 20 minutes and again couldn't believe I had been able to keep it a secret that long. It was definitely a night to remember for us and so special to share the news with them in person. 

We got to meet up with the Martindale family in Knoxville tailgating for the game to share the news with them too!

 And we still had more people to tell when we got back early Sunday morning from Knoxville. Anne had offered to do a 3D ultrasound for Hilary and Cody to see Case so we stopped by Anne and Wesley's to get Anne and tell them. Wesley was now going to be an uncle of 7 and he was as excited as he gets or shows :). Anne was shocked too and couldn't wait to get me on her ultrasound table to take a look. We had planned on the car ride to meet Hilary, Cody, David, and Susan how we were going to tell Hilary and Cody. Hilary hopped on the table right when we got there and we all got to see adorable Case and how much he already looked like his dad in the 3D images. As soon as she was finished Anne said "Okay, Carla your turn" and motioned for me to get on the table. Hilary clearly thought she was kidding and just giggled and said "Ha, yeah". Anne noticing that she didn't get it, said it again in a more serious tone with a "I'm not kidding, come on Carla" to which Hilary started to get and said "Are you serious?!". She now got it and we had some tears and excitement over how close the cousins were going to be in age. I hopped up there and they all got their first glimpse of Baby Dulin. Anne got some great pictures of the baby and we decided since JenJen and Granddaddy were coming in that day for lunch we'd use them to tell them also. When JenJen and Granddaddy got to David and Susan's, Hilary and Cody quickly showed them the 3D images of Case and how big he was and looked like Cody. Whit came in behind to look and then said "Now what do you think about this one?" while showing them Baby Dulin. As with the other reveals it took a little bit for them to catch on to what we were saying but followed by much excitement and shock. Whit says that part was his favorite reveal. Not many people get to share that news in person with their own grandparents and I think it was more than special to him. Our weekend of "in person" reveals was over and we had lots of phone calls to start making. A weekend and time we will always remember.

Back home in Baltimore we picked up some nights of babysitting for the Foust family and someone wasn't too thrilled about the idea of learning to change a diaper on a 1.5 year old. 

And to top off a wonderful November we got to go back home for Thanksgiving at the end of the month to share our gratitude and love with all of those around us. We were extra thankful this year for our new blessing on the way.