The Big Reveal

After we found out we're having a baby, we immediately wanted to be able to tell--to shout it from the rooftops, if you will. But the logical part of me wanted to wait until after 12 weeks, and I was determined to stick to that. However, we decided pretty quickly that we'd tell our parents and siblings as soon as possible. Just so we could let someone in on our little BIG secret.

We got the positive pregnancy tests on a Tuesday, and it just so happened that Michael's sisters were both going to be coming home for a visit on Saturday. We knew we wouldn't be able to get through a visit with them without saying anything, so it was clear that Saturday was going to be the day.

We wanted to tell my family around the same time, so I quickly pulled together a family dinner at my mom's house for Sunday... regardless of the fact that we had JUST had a family dinner on the Sunday before. I wondered if anyone would be suspicious, but when I offered to make chili for everyone, no one seemed to bat an eye at the idea of a good meal.

The next step was to figure out how to tell everyone. I really wanted to do something cute, but not something everyone had seen before. There are so many good ideas out there, and since I hadn't given it much thought it advance, I suddenly felt the pressure to pick just the right thing.

Ultimately, I decided to stay true to myself. What better way to tell than by baking something? I had heard stories of something called a "gender reveal" cake. After the big ultrasound, the couple brings the cake to their families, and when they cut into it, it's either pink or blue--revealing to everyone the sex of the baby. I figured I could take that idea and make it into a "baby reveal" cake by making it both pink and blue. When I told Michael, he was completely on board with it.

And, well... it turned out exactly how I hoped.

The only challenge with this idea is that it had to wait for dessert! We had to sit through mingling, dinner, and clean-up with our families before we could get everyone settled down for dessert. In the meantime, our lips were sealed, which was really hard!

Michael's Family:
First, we ran into a bit of a snafu getting my younger sister-in-law home from college for the weekend. We were in a panic because we really wanted her to be there, in person, when we told the whole family. Her original ride home fell through, so we were left trying to figure out an alternative. Cristina really didn't want to inconvenience anybody, so she was refusing all of our ideas. Although we thought for SURE she would think something was up, we ended up insisting that we'd come to get her to bring her home for the weekend. We drove the hour there and the hour back just so she'd be there for our big announcement. Luckily, she didn't really think anything of it.

I told my mother-in-law that I had made her favorite banana cake. I've made it for them numerous times before, so it didn't seem unusual to them that I would bring a cake for no special reason. My stomach was in knots and my heart was racing as my mother-in-law began cutting into the cake.

The first time she pulled the knife out, I immediately saw pink crumbs. I wondered if she'd even cut a whole piece before she figured out that something was up. Sure enough, she noticed--she said, "Wait. You've never made it like this before. Why is it pink?" I tried to write it off, casually saying, "Oh, I just decided to add some food coloring this time, for fun." She continued to cut the cake, and finally pulled the first slice out onto a plate. At this point, she saw the blue. My mother-in-law seemed confused, but did not get it.

Thankfully, my sister-in-law was paying attention as well, and she immediately blurted out, "WAIT A MINUTE. IS THAT SUPPOSED TO SYMBOLIZE SOMETHING?!?" Michael and I kind of just looked at her, smiling, and Melissa started screaming "Are you serious??" and everyone else caught on, and more screaming ensued. It was hilarious.

My Family:
The next day, I brought the second banana cake to my mom's for my family. This time, I was in charge of cutting the cake. Again, I was totally anxious, practically shaking as I cut into the cake. I plopped a piece of cake onto a plate and handed it to my sister-in-law, Kara. There were comments like, "Ooh, pretty colors." And I said, "Yeah, I used food coloring."

I handed out a second piece, this time to my mom. No one was saying anything. Inside, I was dying. After Melissa had figured it out so quickly the day before, I was thinking for sure someone would know from my family, too. Finally, as my mom was about to dig in, she said, "What's the significance of the pink and blue?" I just looked at her. Still, NOTHING. I gave Kara a look. Nothing from her, either.

I stood there in awkward silence, and suddenly, my brother goes "You're pregnant. She's pregnant!" I wouldn't have expected one of my brothers to be the first person to figure it out, but was so thankful that he did! The rest of my family was messing up our plans! :) My family was really excited, too. I joked with them that they're all pretty slow on the uptake since they were so clueless at first.

It was a really fun experience to be able to tell both of our families, and I think they all appreciated the creativity behind the reveal. Now that we are "out" to the whole world, some of them are sharing the story with others, too. It's cute.

We made the announcement to our families when I was only 5 weeks pregnant. Now? 14 weeks pregnant... tick tock, tick tock, tick tock...