Soon after Allen Jess was born... the question everybody wanted to know - started to be asked, and has been asked ever since. "So, when are you guys having another?" It was mostly friends & coworkers asking... but I'm sure family were asking the same question in their heads if not out loud. And our answers? "We have no idea!" Jei & I had never really sat down and discussed baby #2... even though it was always just assumed that there would definitely be a #2 at some point in the future. It really was a tough question to answer. Half the people we spoke to about it told us to have the second right away so that they'd be close in age as they grew older... and then the other half told us to wait and spread them apart so that the first is out of diapers. To be honest, I really didn't care all that much. I didn't want them back to back... yet I didn't want the first to be graduating from high school by the time the second got here! So if I was the one who really didn't care, then it was my better half that was doing all the caring for the both of us! After all, she was the one who so eloquently said, "That baby isn't poppin' out of your Who-Hah!," when I tried to put in my two sense worth!
Finally, after agreeing that 2013 would just be (feel) too soon, we both agreed that 2014 would be the year our little family grew. Now... any normal family would leave it at that, figure out the math, and hope for a baby to pop out sometime in 2014. Well, we are by no means a "normal" family (did you SEE the Harlem Shake post?!?!)... so that is not what we did believe it or not. No, Jei & I decided to be picky birthday snobs and actually try to plan our new baby's birthday month through the process of elimination! Sounds ridiculous, right? Don't worry, you're not alone!
So, out of twelve months... there were only a couple that made it through the vetting process and were considered for our new baby's birthday in 2014. Why wouldn't a particular month make it through the process you ask? The number one criteria... other family members' birthdays! April? Heck no, that month belongs to Jei & I! March? Hah, no way... half of Jei's family is born in March! July? Nope... half of my family is born in July. January... Hamp & Sam, September... Allen & Michele, June... the other half of Jei's family, August... Joanne, October... Oscar Sr., November... too close to Christmas, and finally, the one month that we both agreed we absolutely positively unequivocally did not want our baby to be born in... was the month of December! In our opinions, there would be nothing worse than celebrating our child's birthday in the same month, week, or even the same day as Christmas! Our poor child would totally be robbed of big birthday bashes, parties and gifts... cause Christmas would get in the way and no one would care! (I can see your eyes rolling!)
So, if you read carefully, you would've determined that only two months made our short list... February & May. We decided that between the two, May would've been just a tad bit too far down the road for our liking... and with absolutely zero birthdays in February, and after much discussion, the Valentine month was our winner! We quickly did the math, and then like idiots, planned pretty much the rest of the year out honestly thinking that we would get pregnant and have our baby exactly when we wanted to... and we would live happily ever after! And at that exact moment... God looked down, pointed right at us, and began to laugh uncontrollably!
It was mid-April... and all three of us were up in Allen's room playing on the bed one afternoon on an absolute gorgeous day. Allen was super happy, which of course was totally infectious... and with all three of us laughing, giggling, and smiling from ear to ear, it was just one of those perfect moments when you couldn't imagine being any happier or loving life any more. And as I dove in again to give another round of belly-kissings to an already giggling little boy, Jei called my name and I immediately looked over my shoulder. She had a weird mischievous grin on her face which I'd rarely seen before, so I knew either she had something important to say, or she had to fart! Fortunately for Allen & I, she had something important to say... and certainly didn't waste anytime saying it. "I'm pregnant!"
What an intensly strange moment... when I should've been jumping up & down in overwhelming joy, I was in complete and utter shock instead! The first thing I remember thinking about was the math... and all of a sudden my jaw hit the floor. Somehow, Jei knew exactly what I was thinking... a December baby... exactly what we didn't want the most! Our brilliant plan was ruined... and to be honest, Jei & I were disappointed. But we eventually got over it, became excited about the new addition to the family, and eventually saw a bright side (the one & only?) to our new baby's December birthday: at least he/she will be with (extended) family on his/her birthdays! Of course keeping such a big exciting secret all to ourselves just isn't any fun... so the most exciting part for us was coming up with a clever way to tell everyone the big news. Nothing too elaborate, crazy or creative... just a simple picture. And that's all it took to spread the word. (I swear I still hear the Big Guy Upstairs laughing at us!)
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