3..2..1 - All Systems Go!

this blog is now officially open to the world, and the state secret of Chicklet's existence has been leaked to the press. Cindy and I flew up to NY this weekend, had a wonderful time, and got to tell my parents and sister the great news. here's a brief rundown:

Friday: fly to NY, sit through inevitable 2 hr delay b/c JFK blows. i keep saying it'll be great when they finish that multi-billion$ multi-year renovation, but until then... get to NY, hang out a little, and go to bed.

Saturday: today's the big day! everyone is running around doing their own thing for a while. i've made sure that everyone can sit down to our traditional Passover lunch. have a talk w/ my Dad about finances and future planning (b/c we usually have that talk whenever i'm up in NY). i had to bite my cheeks to stop the grin from busting out when he started talking about 'when you start having kids'.

ultimately everyone sits down to lunch, and we're all being silly and having a great time. somehow my Mom comes out w/ this claim that she can tell what's going to happen before it happens, that she can tell when something big is on the horizon. man, what a setup! we have fun joking w/ that for a while, and then i say to her: 'well, did you know that we got you guys a present?'

we then make my parents sit next to each other so that they can open the box together (same as how we told cindy's parents - baby clothes in a tiffany's box), and tell them that it's a thank you for all the hard work they put into the wedding, and not to be fooled by the box b/c it's not actually tiffany's. so they open it, and my mom picks up the layette and starts laughing - but not in a 'oh my god you're pregnant' kind of laugh, rather a 'this is weird and cute and i obviously don't get it' kind of laugh. but cindy and i just stand there together smiling, and so she looks down into the box again. it wasn't a slow realization. it wasn't a slow look up w/ a stunned deer in headlights look and i'm so flabbergasted and excited that i can barely talk (like cindy's mom wonderful reaction) kind of look. it was an all at once bursting moment of realization. her eyes literally jumped out of her head and her jaw dropped. cindy and i were grinning ear to ear. and then it came - 'oh my god! i'm gonna be a grandma?!' and then the whoopings and excitement by everyone commenced. my dad was stunned - i can't remember any reaction from him until the hugs started. i think he's still stunned and having a hard time believing it. he's obviously thrilled, and he said he expected us to start soon, but i don't think he expected it to be SO soon. lauren knew that we were having a baby b/c an IM conversation we had about buying a house w/in 9 months and schools and hospitals near the house had gotten her suspicious. i convinced her that schools and hospitals were generally important things to look at when buying a house, and that they're good for resale value. she didn't buy into that (truthful) argument, but kept quiet about her suspicions. Chicklet drew her a card (to Aunt Lauren) that talked about how much fun they'll have together and how Lauren won't have to ask the 4 questions at Passover Seder anymore. Chicklet also drew a cute picture of the 2 of them standing together (it looked suspiciously like a drawing i made when i was in kindergarten).

the rest of the weekend involved us going to see 'Blades of Glory', which is definitely worth waiting for the rental. i would have rather seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but hey, we compromised. we also went down into the basement to check out my old baby crib and toys - i found my old Voltron (the one that actually disassembled into individual lions)! it's so kick-ass. my dad's bringing it down to austin when he comes down for graduation. it was a short, but very sweet weekend. can't wait to see everyone again when cindy's belly is a bit more prominent... :)