1.22.17

I was in the bathroom getting ready for my friend Carolyn's bridal tea shower. Your daddy was in the living room reading. It was an otherwise quiet Sunday morning. I had a thought that maybe I should check to see if i was pregnant yet, since daddy and I had been trying for a few months.

When that pregnancy test turned positive SO quickly, my heart flew a million different directions!

I was so surprised and excited that we had conceived you!

I was instantly aware and terrified that our lives had just changed!

Suddenly nothing else mattered but you.

I ran to tell your daddy the news and, forgetting all of the Pinterest-y cute ways I had planned to tell him when this day finally came, I found myself standing in front of him...I simply shoved the pregnancy test in front of his face and said "Look!" (...very poetic and original, I know). And then your daddy and I did just that for the next few minutes. We looked. At the test...at each other...at my stomach..?!

It slowly started sinking in for both of us that YOU, my dear Penelope, were already growing inside me. YOU were on your way, ready or not.

We decided it was best to not announce the news since we needed to see the doctor first. So I went to the tea in kind of a weird daze. I was there. But my mindset was already changing. The tiny things that mattered to me before suddenly didn't matter anymore.

Fast forward a few weeks when we finally saw the doctor. They showed us your tiny heartbeat and gave us a Due Date. Today was that Due Date! January 22, 2017. As an Aquarius ♒️ you were going to be my little Water Bearer. I know very little about Aquarius personalities, but I already loved you SO very much!

However, you are not an Aquarius. YOU, my dear, decided you wanted to be a Capricorn! ♑️😉 Why? Because you decided the world needed to meet you 11 days sooner, and because even in utero you were already a strong, confident tiny human!

Penelope Rae Kress, I love that you make life unpredictable. I love that you pushed your way into this crazy world at a moment when your daddy and I were completely caught off guard. I love your inquisitive eyes, your tiny button nose, and your feminine little mouth that is already expressing so well.

And I love YOU, my darling!

Happy 11 days old, Penny Rae!