Day 1 (well, actually 58): Announcement Weekend

Oh, hello there. Stewart here. I'd like to be the first to welcome you to the official blog of the Wades. Since this is an invite-only blog, I'm gonna go ahead and assume you've met everyone. You know, people like Gillean, Stewart, and Lady. And on January 29, 2011 (give or take a few days), you'll get a chance to meet the newest addition, Wadesy Baby! So since this is Day 58, and a lot has already happened, let's take a stroll down memory lane, timeline-style.

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Monday, May 24th
Gillean is late. And by late, I mean one day late. Not exactly time to start popping the champagne. But of course she takes a test...and it's POSITIVE! Considering last month's events, we're cautiously optimistic at this point, but pretty excited at the same time. Could the Lord really bless us with a child two months in a row?!


Tuesday, June 1st
Gillean takes her second trip to Dr. Blank's office. And for the second straight time, Dr. Blank is nowhere to be found. So she sees yet another one of her partners, who takes an official test. But to be honest, this looks like, feels like, and acts exactly like a home pregnancy test. Just costs about 25 times more (thanks insurance!). And the results are in: we're PREGNANT!!

Wednesday, June 9th
For two weeks, Gill searched tirelessly for a Gynecologist. Turns out when you live 1,500 miles away from home, it's harder to find a doctor than you'd think. Lesley didn't exactly "love" hers, so we didn't have a recommendation to go off of. But Gill eventually found one who sounded great: Dr. Nishio. So there we are, sitting in the waiting room at 8:00 am, waiting and waiting and waiting. Gill gets called back first, presumably to determine if I'm really the father, and I get the call about five minutes later. When I get to the room, I find Gill lying on a bed with all kinds of medical paper draped over her. And by her bed: the sonogram machine. I can't believe we're about to see...


...our baby! Well, according to Dr. Nishio it's a baby. To me, and the rest of us, it's a small white discoloration within a larger black discoloration. But then she zooms in, and we see it: the heartbeat. And then we HEAR it. We're too awe-struck to even say anything. It has to be one of the Top 5 moments in my life.

In fact, here they are, in chronological order:
1. Sixth grade church lock-in (C'mon, receiving eternal grace has to be #1)
2. Sitting next to Gillean Pearson at "You've Got Mail" - Of course, I didn't exactly realize the importance of it at the time
3. Our wedding day
4. Our wedding night ... booya!
5. Hearing my first child's heartbeat

Monday, June 14th
We break the news to our small group. They've all been praying for us since we had an early miscarriage the month before, so it was pretty exciting to tell everyone.

Thursday, June 17th
Gillean and I fly home to Dallas for Allison and Blake's wedding. The plan: give both of our dads Grandfather's Day cards to break the news. My mom and dad picked us up from the airport, and considering we didn't want the car to crash, we patiently waited until we got home to tell them; however, we quickly realized that Allison was waiting for us when Emma greeted us at the back door. We weren't about to steal any of the bride's thunder, so we headed off to the Pearsons.

Pam, Gillean and I are sitting on the couch when Tommy gets home from work. Gill immediately busts out the Father's Day card, and he rips it open. "Hey, Grandpa? What, is this for Papa-O or something?" Tommy asks. Out of nowhere, we hear a scream come from Pam: "NOOOOOOOOO!" She physically leaps over me and hugs Gillean with the force only a first-time grandmother can exert. About 10 seconds later, after reading the full card, Tommy realizes what's happening. There is much rejoicing and "I knew it!!!"s from Pam.

After a delicious meal at Houston's later that night, Gillean and I head home to the Wade Family manor. I casually remember the Father's Day card, and run upstairs to get it. Paul is feigning excitement, although noticeably skeptical, likely expecting some kind of lame iTunes gift-card. He opens the card, takes one look at "Hi Granpa!" and...



I apparently have no concept of a reasonable announcement decibal level, as you can probably tell. But my dad was pretty proud of me, and told me so.



Suffice it to say, we were all pretty excited.

Friday, June 18th
Ever since we arrived, Allison has been doing some undercover, private sleuthing. She's been picking up on subtle (only drinking water at dinner) and not-so-subtle (sending Stewart downstairs to make a video menu of pantry items) hints that Gillean could potentially be pregnant. But early that afternoon, the last straw landed on the camel's back. Gill decided it would be a good idea to eat Rice-a-Roni ... at 4:30 pm. There was no stopping Big Al - she let it be known that Gillean was indeed pregnant. And so we caved. As my dad pointed out, Aunt Allison is a bulldog. She won't stop until you admit it, so you might as well give in early. She was of course excited, and no thunder was stolen.

Saturday, June 19th
At about 7:30 pm, Allison Wade officially became Allison Wade-Ezell. Ok ok, just Allison Ezell. It was a great wedding, and Gill actually felt pretty good most of the night. But of course, Aunt Judy and Uncle Jack had picked up the scent of pregnancy. Gillean? Not drinking?! Well, that is pretty common, but they knew something was up, so we couldn't wait until morning. We told them not to freak out, they reacted like someone just told them the weather, and we all toasted to Wadesy Baby.

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And that brings us to today. Day 58. So for the next 222 days (and far beyond) we'll try our best to keep you updated about the life and times of Gillean, Stewart, Lady, and our beloved Wadesy Baby.