Recently we shared the most impactful news of our lives together:

We’re having a baby!

Whaaaat??? Even typing that still feels crazy!

First off, we wanted to share a sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone checking in on us in the days since we’ve announced our exciting news. It means so much to feel your love and support, and we would appreciate the well wishes and prayers for the health of our baby (and Stefanie!) through this exciting time!

The last five years have been in straight “start-up” mode as we’ve built our real estate business from the ground up. During that time, we were boyfriend/girlfriend, then engaged, then married, and now you’re with us as we start a family! It’s crazy to think that so much has happened in such a short time!

Many of you were completely thrown off by our news. (Gotta love the shock factor! Ha!)

While we’ve longed to start a family for some time, it’s such a hard decision to make when building our business takes so much time and effort. But at the start of this year, we decided to just go for it!

Well…not exactly. I mean, yes, we began trying but pretty quickly found that it wouldn’t be as easy as we’d hoped. I’d been struggling with hormonal imbalances that caused roadblocks for us this whole year, and since the first of January I’ve been in straight up “detox” mode to get to my healthiest, most balanced state to ensure a healthy and smooth pregnancy.

Months passed and though we started to feel a little antsy, we trusted in each other and the process, and finally — thankfully — mid-August brought on a few new “twinges” that I hadn’t experienced before, and I thought that this had to be it!

On the morning of Bryce’s birthday, my suspicions were confirmed by two home tests. While I wanted to burst out and tell Bryce the news right away, I really wanted to make it special for his big day. He’d been anxiously waiting for this day for so long and I wanted the big reveal to be perfect.

So, we went to the gym that morning, grabbed a birthday breakfast for B, and headed home to shower and prepare for the day’s work appointments before his birthday party at the house. I wish I could stay that I was freaking out during this whole time with my new secret, but honestly, I was so focused and in the zone on not wanting to spoil my surprise that Bryce had NO idea!

When we got home, I showered first and dolled myself up (as much as I could with hands shaking with anticipation and excitement!). Seriously, how are you supposed to pick an outfit that you’re going to wear to tell your husband he’s a dad?? Ha!

Then, while Bryce was getting ready, I put together his birthday gift. It was a shirt from one of our favorite local breweries, but at the bottom of the bag, I tucked away a cute organic onesie and a plush baby soother I got at Target early in the week (I had a good feeling about it!). Then, I placed in the positive tests, put it all together, and led Bryce out to the kitchen to open his “birthday gift”.

He was so surprised and in shock, and absolutely delighted. Sharing that moment together of us shaking and laughing while we held each other in the kitchen will be one of the memories I cherish for a lifetime!

A quick first trimester recap

The most-asked question I’ve gotten is, “How are you feeling?? How was the first trimester?” so here are some highlights.

• We had 3 ultrasounds in the first trimester: two dating scans (turns out the first one was dating me a bit too early to get a good measurement so I had to return) and an NT scan. By our 12 week NT scan, we had an actual, proportional BABY in there! It was amazing seeing it dance on the screen, and Bryce snagged baby’s first selfie. :)

• I really felt…pretty good during the first trimester. I sometimes feel guilty saying that out loud because I know many women don’t experience that! But I was so relieved to feel mostly like myself because I had been so worried that I wouldn’t be able to work due to terrible morning sickness. Instead, I felt at about 80% of my usual energy (I needed naps!) and stuck to my usual routine of working out 5-6 days a week and eating my healthy meals.

• People will say it’s luck and genetics but really, I attribute at least SOME of the ease of my first trimester to the hard work I did for my body this year. Moving to all natural body care, taking the right vitamins, a regular meditation practice (proven to help balance hormones) and eating massively nutritious foods really have made a difference in my overall health and I think to this pregnancy, too.

• We told NO ONE in the first trimester. Partly because we didn’t know quite what to expect, and partly because we literally kept missing our families the whole time!!

• When we told my mom, she literally wept with happiness…for 20 minutes. (We win with the first grandbaby!)

• Bryce has been super involved (including taking me on a date to Strolleria in week six…ha!), and gave me carte blanche to order any supplements and eat as many whole, free-range eggs as I deem necessary for our baby.

• I have not gained any weight yet and I don’t think I’m showing, but pants are definitely beginning to feel snug! I have a feeling one morning I’m going to wake up and it’s going to be baby-bump central!

• We WILL be finding out the gender. In fact, the doctor’s office has had the results for weeks, since they got it from our 11 week blood testing! They put it in an envelope and we will be learning it along with everyone else at a gender reveal party, SOON!!

Again, great big thanks and hugs to those who have reached out to offer support, love, and blessings. We feel so incredibly grateful and excited for this gift!