Many of you already know this, but for those of you who don't know...
We're having a baby!
We have been keeping our fun news off of the internet because there were lots of people that we wanted to tell, but in a unique and personal way, and in our own time. With news this exciting, it was way more fun to spread it out over months and get fresh reactions each time. The blog and facebook (especially the latter) would have ruined our plans....hence the silence. However, while we were in Utah over the holidays, we were able to see/tell the final three people we were waiting to tell in person - Daniel, Camille, and Olivia - so now we're going to elaborate on how we shared the news with friends and family. The following documentation is my "best of" list for the announcement/reactions.
The very best have to be the times that we got to share the news in person. These were few seeing as we live in Ohio, but they are gems!
Telling my parentals:
[September]
They visited Russia earlier this year, so we thought a Matryoshka theme would be fitting. I used four nesting dolls and started with my grandmother's birthday, then my mom's, then mine, with the announcement wrapped up inside the smallest doll. My mom had to guess what each date represented (she passed with flying colors) before she could open the doll.
The slip of paper is an inside joke I've had going with my dad for years, so those aren't actually names we considered, but my parents loved the announcement. The date is slightly off as well - baby Adams is due to arrive on 24 March 2012.
I can't wait to see my parents as grandparents - they will be amazing!
To go along with the announcement, I made my parents this certificate. If you received our Christmas letter, this is the promotion I was referring to - hopefully it made sense. This will be the first grandchild for my parents, so we figured we'd go all out with the certificate.
Next up: telling Uncle Joey.
[October]
We invited him over for dinner (I think), but it was really all about the dessert - a scrumptious chocolate cake with the best frosting/icing I've ever tasted.
Joe also received a promotion, as you can see:
It took him no time at all to figure out our happy news. His reaction was priceless, even considering he'd have to convert if he really wanted to become a godfather. =) We had lots of fun that night calling fellow Berhaners to announce another addition to the next Taiwan generation (ours is baby #3 in that group).
Final in-person announcement - telling Liz Weinberg, one of my dearest roommates from BYU:
[November]
We were fortunate to meet up with the Weinbergs over Thanksgiving weekend in NYC, and we had a delightful Thai dinner together. Liz was thrilled, and I was so happy I got to share the news with her in person!
Next up on the "best of" category list - those we told over the phone and through the mail.
If I had actual awards to give out for the best responses, they would have to go to Penny Yarbrough and Ann Odom - hands down.
First up: Penn.
[October]
This picture should look familiar to many of you - including Penn. I sent this to her (and others) in the mail with a note on the back saying only, "We have an announcement to make!" Short and sweet, but totally worth the wait to have it arrive in the mail as a surprise. I will never forget the phone conversation we had when she received it...one of those "hot of the press" moments.
Ann Odom also needs to be mentioned due to the timing of the announcement. I won't go into all the details, but I sent a rather facetious text to her that arrived at the perfect moment, which truly can only be described in person. I was planning on telling her the same way I told Penn, but then randomly felt an urge one particular night to just tell her right away via text. Her explanation of the events made the timing/spontaneity crystal clear. =)
So those are the announcements that made the "best of" list, and the following pictures are some additional pieces of the puzzle that you may or may not be wondering about.
We found out at the beginning of November that we are having a girl! This is how we told our fellow temple workers on the Saturday afternoon shift - an offering of sugar cookies covered with pink sprinkles. My days serving in the temple with Steve are numbered, but I was still excited to share the news with the great friends we've made there.
As soon as we found it was a girl, we immediately knew her name:
Ainsley Jane Adams
Unique. Classy. Scottish.
My parents sent flowers the day after we found out the gender, and I was welcomed into the world of grandparenthood when I called to thank my mom for sending the beautiful flowers, and received the following reply, "the flowers aren't for you - they're for Ainsley." Awesome. That cracked me up.
The last two pictures are from the baby shower that Jamie Benich and Steve's mom threw for us over the holidays. Steve and I got to spend an evening surrounded by family, as well as Penn, Ann, and Savannah. I'm so glad these three could make it!
We received so many generous gifts from those who came, and we're so grateful for all the love and support we felt. Even though family is very far these days, we wanted to put up a picture of this gift from Christie Hardey because it perfectly captures how we feel. We're in Ohio, my parents are in Utah, and Steve's are now living in Peru, but when it comes to family, distance doesn't matter.
So there it is.
Ainsley Jane Adams - coming our way on 24 March 2012!
