DNR - JTI: 17 Weeks Pregnant Edition

As always, credit for Do Not Respond - Just Take It goes to the brilliant and beautiful Mollie Erickson, whose blog can be found here. 

Dear Body, 
Hi. I'm sure you're like, "WHAT'S GOING ON MARY CATHERINE?!?!" Except really, you're not. You seem to know exactly what to do. You're gaining weight, you're growing a human being. But also, you are losing your balance and your mind and other weird stuff. I think my belly popped this morning but I can't be sure. How does one test these things? Anyway, keep up the good work and also what are you doing to me and also I'm sorry.  Do Not Respond - Just Take It. 

Dear Snoogle, 
You are a gift from the Lord. I never knew that a pregnancy body pillow could mean so much to me in such a short amount of time. We've become inseparably bonded to the point that Jordan is now jealous. Of me, to be clear - he wants his own Snoogle. Who can blame him? I work you into every conversation. See you tonight. DNR - JTI. 

Dear Friend from College, 
Sorry your wedding gift is so late.  I accidentally sent it to myself because I can't functionally think anymore. This is evidently a "thing," so I'm going to blame it on this sweet little parasite sucking the logic outta me. You'll get it, I promise. Or, if I get lazy enough, I may just keep it. I mean, it's a Le Creuset serving piece, it's pretty nice. I kinda want one. Stay tuned. DNR - JTI. 

Dear Jordan, 
God bless you. DNR - JTI. 

Dear Entire Bag of Cape Cod Kettle Cooked Chips, 
Bye! DNR - JTI. 

Dear Leg Hair, 
You and I have been locked in a battle of good and evil since I was about 12 years old. (To be clear, I'm good and you're evil and if you have a problem with that you can get your own blog). Prenatal vitamins, while helping my growing baby, also seem to have taken your side and joined the effort to ruin my life. But I won't be defeated. I will get rid of you every day until I can't see my legs anymore. STOP GROWING SO FAST OR ELSE. You've been warned. DNR - JTI. 

Dear Woman Working at Subway,
When I went in for a pizza, you looked at my belly, looked back up at me, looked at my belly again, and then asked if I was pregnant. "Yes," I said, "But that was a risky question." You said, "I was just trying to figure out if it was a boy or a girl." "Well?" I wondered. "A girl," you said, "because you're carrying low." 

FIRST OF ALL, WWaS, carrying low is not a compliment. It means you maybe didn't have a strong core before you got pregnant (or so I've read). I'm a fitness instructor, so I sure I hope I did. SECONDLY, you've got it backwards. Carrying low means you're having a boy, which is what I think I'm having, which makes you not only a bit impolite, but also wrong. You were the first person to acknowledge I looked pregnant and I am simultaneously offended by you and excited. I have a lot of feelings that don't make sense, okay? Please just make my veggie pizza and lemme get outta here before I buy that entire freaking case of cookies. 

Dear The Baby,
Please feel free to kick at me anytime. I really loved that. It was like you were saying, "HEY UP THERE! I'M IN HERE!" And it was magical and the best ever. You've gone radio silent for a few days, which I respect, because you're not trying to be an attention hog. You're makin' me wait. I like your style, but I also miss you, so...you know. Maybe just give me one whenever you feel like it. Love you. DNR - JTI. 

Telling Our Families

My dad has a phrase that he uses: "cheapening the moment." He it rolls out whenever my mom or I would pull a camera out at a sweet moment. 

Well, pops, I gotta say - I'm so thankful I cheapened the hell out of these moments. ;) Otherwise, we'd never get to watch these videos! 

I wanted to share the videos because they were such a fun part of our first pregnancy. Jordan and I are both the oldest children in our families, so this baby is not only the first grandchild on both sides, but the first great-grandchild for all of my grandparents (Jordan's grandmother already has plenty!). Telling our folks was a big deal.

It was really important to us to wait until we could see our families in person, since this was going to be such big news (and a total surprise - we hadn't told anyone that we were trying, including my mother, which was torturous). Because of that, we had to wait a few weeks (again, torture!!) to tell Jordan's parents, and almost a month to tell mine. 

We decided to come up with a cute plan to tell everyone, so since we were going to Jordan's family's house for Easter this year, I dreamed up a little scheme. 

I'd seen this idea a long time ago (blowing eggs, that is), so I thought it would be cute to blow out some eggs (which I posted on the blog!) and fill them with a little secret message inside. I then dyed the eggs with fingernail polish to give them a fun texture and color - also a little coded message using pink and blue!  

I rolled the messages up super tight and stuffed them into the holes at the bottom of the eggs. When we went to the Scotts' house, we waited until everyone had arrived, and said we had a little gift for everybody. 

Fun fact: Ryan, Jordan's younger brother, had literally JUST said, "This eggo is preggo!" about one of their pets (who is also pregnant - go figure). Of course, he happened to choose the egg that was filled with the "This eggo is preggo" note, so when you hear him say, "I just said that!" that's why. That's also why it took everyone so long to catch on, except Kaitlyn, who figured it out immediately. It took Jordan asking his dad, "What does yours say?" for everyone else to catch on. Hysterical and so perfect. 

Also, sorry in advance for the HORRIBLE videography in all of these videos. And the fact that this video turns sideways My bad. 

 

When it came to my family, we had to wait an extra grueling TWO WEEKS! My brother, Parker, is in a band that was playing in Birmingham, which was a rare treat for our family to all reunite. My parents live in Tulsa, we're in Asheville, and Parker is in Nashville, so it's really special when we all get together outside of holidays. 

My parents, Jordan, and I had planned to have dinner at our favorite Birmingham restaurant, Highlands Bar and Grill. Oddly, our family has celebrated lots of occasions there - birthdays, anniversaries - so it was fitting that this was the place we'd chosen to tell them. My aunt Dana, Mom's sister, lives in town, so I used her as a mole to help us execute our plan. 

I e-mailed her a picture of our very first sonogram (the kind that pretty much just looks like a spot) and had her take it to the restaurant to put into the wine list that our waiter would give my dad. I knew that they'd open the list and figure it out, and since Highlands is so special to our family, it seemed like the perfect moment. 

My heart was POUNDING as we stood at the bar (I had to fake a headache and order just a water, but no one caught on) waiting for our table. As soon as we sat down, the waiter handed my dad the wine list. It was too quick for me to tape it, so I missed his reaction, which was to close the list immediately and look at Jordan, saying, "Not really." Jordan confirmed that it was, indeed, true, but my mom and I were totally involved in our own conversation and she missed this completely. 

Being the smooth operator that he is, he passed my mother the menu, and you can hear the rest. Again, sorry for the blurriness - it clear up eventually! 

JOY JOY JOY JOY!!! 

Every time I watch that video, I find something new to love: Jordan saying, "Nine times nominated!" when my mom starts crying, the last time I was able to fit into those white jeans for a while...hehe! 

There you have it!! Such joyful, precious, totally surreal moments. We are blessed to have four sweet grandparents-to-be that have been super involved, supportive, and thrilled every step of the way along with us. This little canary (size approximation for this week) is one lucky babe. 

Happy Wednesday!