Halen Rae Carol

On Friday, December 13th your daddy and I took the day off of work. This was the next big milestone in our journey to meet you...20 weeks. This is the appointment where we could actually see you and find out your gender. We invited your Yaya and Aunt Dana to come along.

I dressed up warm on this rainy day, giddy for what would unfold. We arrived to the doctor's office and were directed downstairs with the sonogram specialist. She got me all set up on the table and squirted that cool gel on my belly. In no time your daddy and I could see you...your little feet, your nose, your legs, your arms! We were amazed. There you were. We smiled and just stared at you. Your Yaya got teary eyed, her second grandbaby was officially on the way. Aunt Dana took pictures of daddy and I wrapped up in this bubble of elation.

We told the specialist that we didn't want to know the gender at the appointment...oh no we had a plan. :) We had created two separate papers that would tell us if we were having a boy or a girl and put your name on each one. So when the time came to look at your parts the specialist told us to look away. Our hearts skipped a beat and we tried to divert our attention to the company in the room. After the appointment, we went upstairs to meet with our doctor, Doctor Swenson. She told us that everything looked beautiful and she was excited to see us in another month.

We left the appointment, excitedly hugged your Yaya and Aunt Dana then went about our way to enjoy our weekend. We went to a cozy breakfast at Kerby Lane then went to check in at the Driskill Hotel. The letter and picture telling us your gender was practically burning a hole in our pocket. We just kept catching silly glances at each other. Each secretly wondering what you would be. We hurriedly set our things down and made our way to our spot. As soon as we were on the balcony (the same place your daddy proposed) your daddy opened the envelope that would change our lives forever. As soon as I saw the pink border I squealed with excitement. Then the envelope unveiled: "It's a GIRL!" "Halen Rae Carol is on her way!" Your daddy and I were beside ourselves.

Sidenote: Now your daddy only cries at the best moments possible. He cried when he proposed, on our wedding day, when I told him we were having a baby and now he was getting his baby girl.

Your daddy wanted a baby girl more than anything. He was so excited that you were real and on your way into our lives. We immediately wanted to go shopping for you, so we went to Anthropologie and bought your first ornament, an 'H', that we'd use in our Christmas picture. Then went to South Congress to see what pink treasures we could get our hands on. After a decaf toasted marshmallow latte from Jo's Coffee we headed back to our hotel room to get ready for the night. We purposely made this a special evening, to toast to us as en ever evolving couple who's foundation was based on immense love and friendship and to toast to the start of our family.

We enjoyed the Driskill bar over a glass of homemade egg nog then had reservations at Austin Land & Cattle steakhouse, it was impeccable. We ordered the escargot as an appetizer, heirloom tomato, roasted onion, parmesan salad, and for our main courses: your daddy went bold and ordered himself a rare filet mignon, where I ordered the seared duck breast. We added the truffle macaroni and cheese and twice baked broccoli. The dinner was divine.


For dessert we went to the Four Seasons Hotel for crème brulee and to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Christmas season. We went back to our hotel to float on cloud nine in between Egyptian cotton sheets.

The next morning after the Driskill hotel generously purchased our brunch: homemade cinnamon roll, huevos rancheros, hangover burger, coffee and tea; we decided to continue our shopping spree for our little girl. We found some fun treasures and I never thought your daddy would love the color pink so much!

Our next plan was to keep this our secret until the next week so we could unveil your gender to all our closest friends and family members. But your Papa and Uncle Chase had a really difficult time with this. They constantly called me, texted me to ask about your gender. They were trying so hard to make me tell! But I knew it was just because they were so excited. 

On December 20th, we had everyone over for a housewarming party/gender reveal. I had made some sweet and savory bites for our guests to enjoy: Swedish meatballs (okay okay, Ikea made those ;) ), Bacon Wrapped Bleu Cheese Stuffed Dates, Scallion Cheese Ball, BBQ Sausages, Santa S'more Cookies, Peppermint Fudge and more. Our guests started to arrive and Evan and I were thrilled to finally share our news. The time came and we had prepared light pink ornaments which we wrote your name on in a darker pink glitter glue. We wrapped them up and stuck them in our Christmas tree. When the time came to tell, we passed the packages around and told everyone to open them at the same time. Everyone was SO excited to hear we were having a girl! Your Yaya was in tears, your Papa (who really wanted a little granddaughter) had a huge smile on his face.

So many people love you before they even know you! Your Aunt Dana can't wait to raise her lil Piper with my lil Halen...future BFFs! Nisey, Julie and Jenna are so excited to babysit you and hold you. Your Uncle Matt renamed his man cave to Man Halen. Your Uncle Chase is tickled pink.

That's how we introduced you to the world our little Halen. We cannot wait to meet you.

Keep on kickin' little lady! xoxox Mama & Daddy