Confession, we actually told the girls that we were having another baby back in April when I was 14 weeks along. They were all cautiously excited. The miscarriage in Austin has cast a long shadow and the girls had lots of questions about how we knew that this baby was healthy. For that reason I didn't post about it until now. (At this point I am 31 weeks pregnant. Plus I'm generally behind in posting, as usual.)
At that point Leona said she wanted another sister. Clara said she wanted a brother or she would throw it in the trash. She was taking a page from Collin's book because that's what he said when he found out his mom was pregnant with kid #5 who turned out to be Cambrie and we are very glad that he didn't carry through on that threat. Clara mostly was just excited about the prospect of shopping for a totally new wardrobe since she pointed out that if it's a boy he can't wear any of the girl clothes that we have already. Eliza thoughtfully said that she didn't care what it was as long as it was healthy because she just wanted another sibling. It was bittersweet to hear the maturity in that statement because I know where it has come from.
Fast forward to May 18th and Collin and I went to the ultrasound. First of all everything looked totally healthy on the baby, which was a big relief. Secondly, from the first scan of the baby it was obvious that it was a boy. Both of us waited until the ultrasound tech said it before we really believed it though since we didn't trust our own ultrasound exertise.
Eliza had requested, and Clara seconded the request, that we do what the Caldwell cousins had done and purchase either pink or blue silly string, remove the lids so that the color was a secret, and then let them spray it to reveal the baby's gender. So that's what we did. I had actually saved two pink cans of silly string that were extras from Clara's birthday party thinking that I would then only have to buy one more can when it came time to do the reveal. :) The reveal ended up being very anticlimactic as the kids barely even remarked on the blue of the silly string and what it would mean for their lives and more focused on spraying the silly string at each other. However since then they have taken great pleasure in telling everyone that it's a boy. Leona has a loop where about every 20 minutes she will announce apropos of nothing, "Mommy has a boy baby in her belly." to anyone who happens to be around. It does not matter how many times she may have already told that person either.
Eliza told her teacher and then her teacher had her announce it to the class first thing the following Monday. Clara on the other hand originally waited more than two weeks before telling her teacher, although she did tell Amelia right away, and waited a few days to tell her teacher about her new brother. Leona began the aforementioned PR campaign immediately. Actually Leona was the one who announced it to the ward back in April. In the middle of singing time Sister Tui asked a question and was so impressed when there was a sunbeam eager to answer. Apparently when called on Leona yelled out, "Mommy has a baby in her belly!" People were a little hesitant to ask me about it at first, thinking that Leona had revealed what was supposed to be a family secret, but at that point I was already showing quite a bit so it was pretty obvious anyway.
There are several things that really concern Leona about the new baby. All of them need to be discussed loudly and in public, of course. She has repeatedly asked what happens if the baby "has brown skin." She is concerned that if this happens we will have to "give the baby away." I have assured her that A) We will be keeping the baby no matter what he looks like and that B) If both the mom and dad have peach skin the baby will too because that is how it works. I am not sure why she is so obsessed with this idea but it is persistent. The second item of business that she is concerned about is the manner in which the baby will be born. According to Leona it is "not appropriate" for the baby to be born normally as that would involve the baby touching the mom's privates. After discussing how that is just how it is and how it's supposed to work she seems to have made peace with that fact, at least for now.
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