Yes, the rumors are true, we are going to be a family of four.
We originally agreed to space out Kyla and her sibling by three years, but I've been growing impatient over the course of this year. Becky took a little longer to build up her enthusiasm since Kyla is still a handful and her first pregnancy started with some intense nausea, but she is just as excited as I am now.
The news came as somewhat of a surprise to us. We had stopped preventing it, but didn't expect it to happen so quickly. On August 19th, Becky was going to a Bachelorette party where there was going to be a lot of drinking, so she took a pregnancy test as a precaution. She came out of the bathroom holding the test with a dumbfounded expression on her face. As soon as I discerned the cause of her shock, I gave her a big hug and then proceeded to dance around.
We had tried to keep it a secret initially, but her friends at the party quickly deduced that all of her drinks were mixer-only. We broke the news to most of our friends and family by having Kyla tell them that "there's a baby in Mommy's tummy."
The due date has been a moving target, going from April 26th to May 2nd and back to the 26th again. My birthday is May 1st, so it is possible that this baby may be my birthday present. As fun as that sounds, it is probably better for me if it's born on a different day, otherwise I'm sure its birthday will always eclipse mine.
I've been asked several times if I'm hoping for a boy this time, and I'm not sure how to answer. On one hand, it would be nice to have the experience of raising a boy; on the other raising a girl is so wonderful that I don't mind doing it twice, though that feeling may change during the teenage years. Regardless of the sex, we have an interim name for the baby: Fetie.
I was so eager during Becky's pregnancy with Kyla that the wait felt like torture, especially the last week of it which was past the due date. This time I hope it goes by faster since being a parent to Kyla consumes so much time and I can enjoy her instead of dwelling on the excitement to come. Perhaps this new addition will be the first member of our family to have a laid-back personality.
Kyla continues to show her independence and desire to act like an adult. Some nights when we lie down together for our bedtime story, she insists on reading a book to me. At breakfast she now wants her own full size bowl and spoon, and insists that I give her fat-free milk instead of whole milk because that is what goes in mine.
For Halloween this year Kyla was a '50s teeny bopper, complete with pink satin scarf and poodle skirt. We went trick or treating along our block with our neighbors, the Neels. Kyla and Asher loved screaming "trick or treat" when their next victim would open the door and grabbing as much candy as they could.
