We planned to keep the news to ourselves for a few more weeks. It was December and I was out at Robyn's a lot working on making stockings for our family. I told her I wanted to make 8 stockings if possible so we'd have some ready for new additions. In the end we only had enough fabric for 6 stockings, but that worked for what we needed. Robyn didn't seem suspicious at all. I was uncomfortable with anything around my tummy (like the waist band of pants) so I'd sit at her sewing machine and slyly unbutton my pants. It was exhausting to try and to ignore my nausea, not be too obvious with my snacking, or act too tired.
When all the stockings were done, a few days before Christmas, I hung all 6 on the fireplace. Matt and I were excited for the kids to come home. They noticed the stockings right off and came up to claim which one they wanted. When they saw that there were 6 they commented that it was fun that I had made one for Rocky. Uh... nope, not a stocking for Rocky. Matt and I smiled at each other but didn't say anything just yet.
The next day Matt had Emily, I had Tyler, and Amy was at a friend's house. Matt texted that he was going to tell Emily about the baby, so I decided to tell Tyler. I said, "So you know that sixth stocking? Well, it isn't for Rocky." He got this grin and said, "I knew it! It's for a baby, huh!" I was thrilled that he was excited. Tyler and I picked up Amy and as we pulled into the garage we told her. Her face was darling! "REALLY!?" she kept saying. And then came all the questions about when the baby would come and when my tummy would start getting big and when we'd find out if it's a boy or a girl.
I had some little tags made for the stockings and hung those in preparation for the Christmas Eve party for my side of the family. We were 9 weeks along and I was so excited to tell them.
It would also be a relief to not have to fake feeling good all the time. Caroline and John's family were the first to show up. Matt and I didn't say anything, waiting to see if they would notice the stockings. After about 15 minutes I heard John talking with the twins on the couch, facing the fireplace/stockings. He said, "Look at all those stockings...1...2...3... (I started to smile)...4...5...6. And look at the pretty Christmas tree." I had to chuckle to myself that he didn't notice the "Baby" tag on the last one. Then Spencer and Rachel's family showed up and Ann-Marie and Rober's crowd.
With all the commotion no one noticed the stockings until I heard Jess go up to Caroline and say, "Who's 'Baby'?" and point to the last stocking. Caroline seemed stumped for a minute, then said, "Maybe that's what they call Rocky? Er... I don't know." I started to blush and smile as Caroline then turned and said, "Vicki... is that an....announcement!?!" I said, "Yep." Then came the gasp and "YEAH!!" that caught everyone's attention. Lots of hugs and questions. Robyn arrived a few minutes later and Caroline pointed out all the stockings. It took a second before she got it. Then came her, "WHAT!! All those weeks at my house and you didn't tell me!! I was suspicious." It was so fun.
We skyped with mom and dad at the end of the party. I told them I'd made our stockings and showed them all the stockings, with a good long pause at the last one. They paused and asked what the last one said. When I said "Baby" they were all smiles and laughing while mom got teary. I sure miss them. It was fun to be able to see their reaction. We chatted for a while longer about how things were going.
For Matt's family we announced the baby through a video. Each of his siblings' families makes a video and then we designate a "movie night" where Adam (brother-in-law) arranges a conference meeting style skype session so we can all see each other. Our Utah Cornish family had made a video of "The Twelve Months of This Year." Each verse was something we had done that month. For the twelfth month we sang, "In the twelfth month of this year the Cornish family, hung 6 stockings..." and had video of the stockings with the tags. We were pretty excited to share it.
So there you have it folks, we are beyond excited to have hung six stockings in anticipation of the arrival of the 6th member of our family. We have since found out that we are expecting a pink Cornish. Happy are we! Indeed, happy are we!!
