The day I found out I went for a run. It was the hottest part of the afternoon, the sun was beating down, and I did 12 miles as if to prove something to myself. I spent the run fighting a nervous feeling in my stomach, not because I didn’t want it to be true, but because I could hardly believe it was: we were going to have a baby.

It’s hard to grasp a life changing event when you can’t see the effects of it. I sat in the doctors office in disbelief, wondering if they knew what I knew, and since they started the conversation with “congratulations” I realized that they knew, and it was real. While everyone’s journey to having a baby is different, the triumphs and sadness, the joy and fear… I’m excited to share part of our story with you. I’ve always enjoy writing this blog and am encouraged when I hear stories of readers, clients, and friends following along with new work and staying up to date. Thanks for joining us on this chapter of our lives as well.

Today, a few months after that 12 mi run, Matt and I look forward more and more to the arrival of our baby this winter, and are thrilled to start our family at this time. With just over 5 months to go, the little baby should make an appearance sometime between the snowiest part of the year and an out-of-state indoor track meet… otherwise known as February 1st. We are going to wait until then to see if it’s a boy or a girl, and are having fun secretly working on names before then.

While I had often seen the animals of Walnut Animal Society, I couldn’t find a good enough reason to get one… until we found out about the baby! After fortuitously finding them on sale, Chester the Raccoon was one of the first things we brought home to celebrate the occasion and start building a space for the baby with.