The Day After Thanksgiving

The day after Thanksgiving was the first day I found out about Little M. Jeff had been on a two week work trip in Vienna and was coming home late that night. While he was away, the day before after work, I met some softball friends at a pub in Barnes for a 'traditional' Thanksgiving dinner. It was a nice evening, but for some reason, I had a feeling that I should buy a pregnancy test. There was no other prompt to do so besides this feeling. It was late when I got home that night, so the next day after work, I bought two tests. I've never been so nervous/excited. When the first test was positive, I just stared at it in disbelief. Having always desired to be a Mom, and imagining this moment, I figured I would be 'joyfully bawling' to put in mildly. My response was calm, yet as equally, if not more, joyful. That's when I took the second test, and again, another positive. My heart was soaring. Even now, I'm so thankful for the blessing Little M has been in our lives. Really, there are no words.

Now, I had a few hours to wait before Jeff arrived home. Once he walked in, it was even harder to act normal. I just wanted to burst! Since we didn't see each other on Thanksgiving Day, and there was much to celebrate, I surprised him with my feeble attempt of a home cooked, Thanksgiving dinner. It wasn't the best, but he was still complimentary. Once it was time for pecan pie, I brought out the evidence and told Jeff about the beyond wonderful news. His reaction was similar to mine - calm but very excited. Our conversation the rest of the night didn't stray far from our Little M.

Thanksgiving 2013 at The Red Lion in Barnes.

Montgomery 'day after Thanksgiving' dinner.

November 11, 2013 - an incredible day.

Now it was time for us to figure out when we'd share the news with our families and then friends. Originally, we wanted to wait until I was 12 weeks, but we figured this news would be a great Christmas gift for both our parents. Jeff and I picked out two Willow Tree Grandmother figurines and had each one shipped to our Moms. Due to Grandmother being displayed on the packing slip {even though each gift was marked on the website as a gift} the surprise came a bit shy of Christmas. It wasn't how we planned it {nice reminder of how we aren't in control} but it all worked out well. With Bec, Bud, Jacob {my cousin} and Kyle coming to London for 2 weeks at Christmas time, Jeff and I decided to wait and tell them on Christmas Day, even though they arrived a few days before. They were all shocked but so very excited {the news was in their Christmas crackers}. It was extremely special to share the news with them in person. With our families now knowing about Little M, they were all sworn to secrecy until the 7th of January, when I was 10 weeks along. We then announced it on Facebook and have been talking about Little M ever since!

I didn't start taking photos of 'the bump' until I was at 12 weeks. I didn't see much physical change before then. The first trimester did bring on an almost constant state of nausea and severe headaches, both which were completely worth going through. I'm glad though that all stayed behind me once week 13 rolled around. Other than minor back pain, I've been feeling great and am enjoying my regained energy. Here are some photos I've captured from the past weeks.

Little M's Announcement

A frumpy, 6 week Santa for the Santa Run 10k.

12 weeks

15 weeks

17 weeks

 

18 weeks

19 weeks

The exciting and yet somewhat confusing reveal - Little M is a boy!

20 weeks

Little M's shower at Frost Baptist Church.

21 weeks

22 weeks

24 weeks

Most recent photo - 25 weeks

Little M at 13 weeks

Little M at 19 weeks

With our family growing, Jeff and I were blessed to already have a signed lease for a larger home. We really enjoyed living near Wimbledon, but were looking for a change of scenery and more space. We found the perfect place in an area of Hampton, which is just on the outskirts of south-west London. It's a 2 bed and 1 bath house {half of a Victorian home}, complete with front and back gardens, and it's dog-friendly. The neighborhood is more serene, and while our commute is just over an hour one way, we prefer coming home to more space and quieter streets. We moved into our new home just over a week before Christmas, which was perfect with our families arriving.