Surprise of the Year

People keep asking why Bill and I don't want to find out the sex of the baby. First, I have to clarify: Bill has agreed that we shouldn't find out because I am totally against it. If I said I wanted to know, he'd be all over that.

I have never once tried to find a gift hidden in my house. My mother always told us, "Don't look in my closet because your Christmas gifts are in there" or "Make sure you don't go in the basement because that's where your gifts are." And I never looked. It might just be because I always listened to my mother. But I never looked for my engagement ring either. I think certain things are meant to be presented at a certain time -- Christmas, the moment my boyfriend gets down on his knee, etc. -- and that's that.

Knowing whether this baby is a boy or a girl isn't going to change its sex. I can't say, "No, I want the other one so go ahead and switch it." And I have a bad habit of being disappointed when I have expectations for something and it doesn't turn out the way I had thought it would. I'm not going to set myself up to be disappointed in my child before it's even born. That's why you have the teenage years.

Bottom line is that Bill and I are more excited about this baby than we've been about anything ever. Dating? Eh. Getting engaged? It was cool, but the thrill wore off pretty quickly. Marriage? We live the same way now as we did when we started dating. But having a baby? Having a child will change everything about our lives. I can't even wait to see the little wonder that we have created.

And who isn't excited about that new baby smell?!? (That's totally the best thing ever.) :)