Karen is about eight weeks pregnant now and they haven't told anyone yet. "What time is the ultrasound tomorrow?" Jimi asked as he climbed into bed. "10:30, so we have to be out the door by 9:45 since we have to drop Emma off at Kimberly's" Karen replied. "Alright" Jimi said. He rolled over on his side and propped his head up with his hand and smiled at Karen. "Have I told you how much I love you?" Jimi said. "A few times" Karen said with a smile. Jimi leaned down and gave Karen a kiss. Karen crawled over to Jimi's side of the bed and laid her head on his chest and they both drifted off.
It was 8:00 the next morning. Emma woke up and saw that her parent's bedroom door was still closed. She walked across the hall and slowly opened the door a little and saw that her parents were still asleep. She walked into the room and crawled between the two of them, and covered herself up with the blankets. About fifteen minutes later Karen woke up and saw Emma laying down next to her. Karen pushed Emma's hair behind her ears. "Good morning sweetie" she said. "Good morning Mama" Emma replied. "Are you ready for breakfast?" Karen said and Emma nodded her head. "Let me guess, you want chocolate chip pancakes" Karen said. "Yep" Emma said smiling. "Alright, let's get moving then" Karen said and they climbed out of bed and left Jimi there to sleep a little longer.
They went downstairs and Karen and Emma started making the pancakes. They finished up and Jimi was still sleeping. "Can you go upstairs and get Daddy down here for breakfast?" Karen said to Emma. "Sure" Emma said and ran upstairs. She walked into her parent's room and saw her Dad still asleep. He was sleeping on his stomach with his arms wrapped around his pillow. She walked over to his side and nudged him "Daddy" she said in a quiet voice. "Mama and I made breakfast" she added, but Jimi didn't move. Then she nudged him again and he shifted a little, but was still sleeping. "Daddy, wake up" she said a little louder. When he still didn't wake up she climbed up on the bed and jumped on his back. "Aaahh, I'm up, I'm up" Jimi groaned then he rolled over and Emma fell on the bed and started tickling her. Emma was squealing. "That's what you get for jumping on me" Jimi said while laughing. Jimi stopped and Emma caught her breath, then the two of them walked downstairs for breakfast.
They sat down and ate breakfast together. After breakfast Karen and Jimi cleaned up the kitchen while Emma went upstairs to take a shower and get ready for the day. As soon as she was done Karen hopped in the shower and Jimi got dressed and sat down on the bed and waited for Karen to get ready. Karen got out of the shower, got dressed and did her hair and makeup. Karen started to feel sick to her stomach. When she couldn't breathe her way out of it, she ran over to the toilet and threw up. Jimi heard what was going on in the bathroom. "Karen are you ok?" Jimi asked worriedly all he heard was her throwing up again. "Kare, I'm coming in" Jimi said and opened the door to see Karen on the floor hovering over the toilet. He went up behind her and held her hair and rubbed her back. When she was done she flushed the toilet and sat down on the floor for a minute. Jimi sat down next to her and rubbed her back and kissed her temple. "Are you ok?" Jimi asked calmly. "Yeah" Karen whispered. They sat there for a few minutes then got up and got ready for Karen's ultrasound. Emma was downstairs watching TV. Jimi and Karen walked downstairs. "Are you ready to go over to Kimberly's?" Jimi asked her. "Yeah, but why am I going there?" Emma asked. Jimi looked at Karen unsure of how to answer her. "I have a doctor's appointment and we figured that you wouldn't want to hang out in a doctor's office all morning" Karen said. "Ok" Emma said, satisfied with that answer. Then the three of them got in the car and headed to Kimberly's.
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Jimi and Karen dropped Emma off and headed over to the hospital. Karen checked herself in and sat down in a chair next to Jimi. "Do you want to find out the gender when it's time?" Jimi asked Karen. "You know I'm not one for surprises" Karen said and Jimi laughed. "Of course how could I forget" Jimi said. Karen laid her head on Jimi's shoulder. "What if the baby is not ok?" Karen asked softly. "You can't think like that" Jimi said calmly. "It's just really hard not to worry about things like that" Karen said. "I know, but everything is going to be ok" Jimi said. Then a nurse came out and called them back. Karen laid down on table and lifted her shirt up. The ultrasound technician put the gel on her stomach and started the ultrasound. Karen reached for Jimi's hand and he squeezed it. The technician started the ultrasound. She turned the monitor so they could see what was going on. "The heartbeat is strong" she said. Karen looked at Jimi and smiled. "There is the head, and there is an arm" the technician said. "And there is the other arm" she added. Karen couldn't wipe the smile off her face. The technician wiped the gel off of Karen's stomach and printed a picture of the ultrasound. "Here you go" she said as she handed her the picture. "Thanks" Karen said taking it. "I will see you in a four weeks" The technician said and Jimi and Karen nodded and they left the exam room. Karen made another appointment and then her and Jimi left the office.
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They headed over to Kimberly's and picked up Emma. They were at Kimberly's for about a half hour then left. They went out to lunch at a burger place then took Emma to the park. Karen was feeling tired so she decided to sit on a bench while Jimi ran around with Emma on the equipment. Then Emma went over to the swings and Jimi gave her a giant push then joined Karen on the bench. "How are you feeling" he asked her. "Exhausted" Karen said. "Well that's normal" Jimi said and he rubbed her back. Emma jumped off the swing. "Jeez Emma, don't do that. You're going to give me a heart attack" Karen said as Emma walked over to them. "Sorry" Emma said and smiled. "Ready to go?" Jimi asked. "Yeah" Emma said. Karen and Jimi stood up and walked back to the car and drove home.
They arrived back home and the three of them walked inside. "I'm really tired. I'm going to go lay down upstairs" Karen said. "Alright" Jimi said then Karen walked upstairs. Jimi walked over to the freezer and got out the ice cream. He grabbed two bowls and scooped some ice cream in the bowls. "Is Mama sick or something?" Emma asked. "No, no she's fine. She's just had a long day" Jimi said as he handed her a bowl. "Ok" Emma said unconvinced and took a bite. After they finished their ice cream, Emma and Jimi headed over the living room and put in a movie. Jimi ended up falling asleep on the couch. When the movie was over, Emma turned off the TV and walked upstairs. She was worried about her mom. She isn't normally this tired and she has been going to bed earlier than she normally does, and on top of that she was at the doctor's this morning. Emma couldn't help but think that something was wrong. When she got up to the top of the stairs she saw her parent's bedroom door was slightly open. She walked over to it and peeked inside and saw her mom asleep. She walked into their bedroom and crawled in the bed on Jimi's side and laid down next to her.
Karen wasn't fully asleep. She felt the bed move. She rolled over and saw Emma. "Hey sweetie" Karen said in a groggy voice. "I didn't mean to wake you" Emma said. "You didn't" Karen said. "What's wrong?" Karen asked when she saw a worried look on Emma's face. "Nothing" Emma said. "I don't buy it" Karen said and she sat up slightly. "Talk to me" Karen said softly. "Are you...Are you sick? Like with cancer or something?" Emma asked with tears forming in her eyes. "What would make you think that?" Karen asked. "Well, you've been really tired and stuff and you went to the doctor's this morning and I looked it up online and it said that people with cancer get really tired all of the sudden." Emma said. "Sweetie, I'm fine. I promise" Karen said and opened her arms and Emma crawled over to her and Karen wrapped her arms around her. "Are you sure?" Emma asked. "Yes, I'm sure" Karen said and let out a small laugh and kissed the top of her head. "I promise I would tell you if I was" Karen said. "I love you" Karen said giving her a light squeeze. "I love you too" Emma responded. It was about 4:30 in the afternoon and they both were asleep.
Jimi woke up from his nap on the couch and was concerned when the house was extremely quiet. He looked over at the kitchen and saw that it was empty. He got up and checked in the basement. That was empty as well. He started to panic a little bit. He walked up to Emma's room and saw that it was empty then he walked across the hall to his and Karen's room and opened the door a little more than it already was. He walked in and saw his wife and daughter asleep in their bed. He smiled at the sight in front of him. He started to picture what it was going to be like with two kids running around the house and both of them sleeping in their bed with them. He imagined what his life is going to be like when the baby is born. He smiled at the thought of it. He decided to let them sleep a little while longer.
He walked downstairs and decided to make dinner. He looked around in their kitchen and found some steaks in the freezer. He started up the grill and started cooking. He cut up some potatoes and wrapped them in tinfoil with some butter and seasoning salt. The grill was ready so he put the steaks on first and let them cook for a bit. He then put the potatoes on. When dinner was done he, set the table and brought the food in. It was about 6:00 and Jimi went upstairs to see if Karen and Emma were awake yet. He walked into their room and saw that they had the TV on. "Are you two gonna come downstairs anytime soon?" Jimi asked and let out a small laugh. "We were just too lazy to get up" Karen said and laughed. "Well, I made some steaks and potatoes for dinner" Jimi said. "That sounds amazing babe" Karen said. "Well, I'm starving" Emma said and Jimi and Karen laughed. The three of them walked downstairs and ate dinner.
After dinner, Jimi started a campfire out in the backyard because Emma wanted to roast marshmallows and make S'mores. Jimi and Karen were sitting on the couch outside while Emma was standing next to the fire with a marshmallow on the end of a stick. "Not so close to the fire sweetie" Karen said to Emma. "Sorry" Emma said and took a step back. Karen got the graham cracker and piece of chocolate ready for Emma when her marshmallow was done. Emma brought over her marshmallow that was falling off her stick. Emma set it on top of the graham cracker with the chocolate on it then Karen scraped the marshmallow off the stick with the other graham cracker. "Thanks Mama" Emma said and took a bite of her S'more. Emma had marshmallow and chocolate all over her face when she was done eating it. "Come here" Karen said to Emma with a laugh. Karen reached up and wiped Emma's face off with a napkin.
It was about 9:00 that night. "I think I'm gonna head up to bed" Karen said while yawning. "Alright babe, I'll be up in a little while" Jimi said and gave her a kiss. "Good night baby" Karen said to Emma and kissed the top of her head. "Good night Mama" Emma said and Karen went inside and headed upstairs. Jimi and Emma stayed out there until about 10:00.
Jimi put out the fire and him and Emma went up to bed. Jimi said good night to Emma and he went into his room and got ready for bed. He climbed into bed next to Karen. Karen rolled over to face Jimi. "I thought you were asleep" Jimi said. "I tried to fall asleep, but I couldn't. The bed was too empty" Karen said and smiled at him. Jimi leaned in and kissed her. "Guess what Emma asked me this afternoon" Karen said. "What?" Jimi replied. "She asked me if I had cancer" Karen said. "Emma asked me the same thing. Well actually she asked me if you were sick or something. I just said that you had a long day and that you were tired. What did you tell her?" Jimi responded. "I told her I was fine." Karen said. "What would make her think you had cancer?" Jimi asked. "I asked her and she said that she noticed that I have been really tired and that she looked it up online and she found that signs of cancer include being tired and that I went to the doctor this morning worried her." Karen said and let out a small laugh. "Oh jeez" Jimi said. "I feel bad because she is picking up on all of this, but we haven't told her about the baby yet." Karen said. "Do you want to tell her sooner than we planned?" Jimi asked. "No, I actually want to wait until we find out the sex of the baby" Karen said and giggled. "You feel bad about not telling her and now you want to wait even longer?" Jimi asked while laughing. "Yeah" Karen said and laughed " I think I know how we could tell her" Karen said. "How?" Jimi asked. "I already got her a T-Shirt that says "I'm the big sister" and then I want to have the bakery make some cookies or cupcakes and decorate them with boy stuff or girl stuff and then find some baby toys or something. That way she would find out that she is going to have either a baby brother or baby sister. We could wrap it and give it to her as a present" Karen said. "I think that is a perfect idea" Jimi said and kissed her again. "Let's get some sleep for you and the baby" Jimi said rubbing Karen's stomach. Karen smiled and laid her head on Jimi's chest and put his arm around her then they both fell asleep.
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Jimi and Karen were on their way to their 16 week ultrasound. "What do you want the baby to be?" Karen asked Jimi. "I am going to be happy with anything. You?" Jimi replied. "I don't really care as long as the baby is healthy" Karen replied. "Have you thought about any names?" Jimi asked. "Of course I have" Karen said and giggled. "I like Hadley or Isabelle for a girl and Liam or Elijah for a boy. What about you?" Karen said. "I really like the names you have in mind for a girl and for a boy I like Dylan or Elijah too for a boy" Jimi said. "Well at least we agree on some of the names" Karen said. "That is a good thing" Jimi said and smiled at her. They arrived at the office and checked in at the front desk. They sat there in the waiting room until someone came out and called them back. They walked hand in hand back to the exam room. Karen laid down on the table and lifted her shirt. It was getting a little harder to hide her baby bump. The technician put some gel on her stomach and started the ultrasound. "You have a healthy baby" She said and Karen smiled. "And you guys want to find out the sex, correct?" she asked. "Yes we do" Karen said. "Well, it looks like you are having a baby boy!" The technician said with a smile. "Jimi we're having a boy" Karen said softly with a huge smile on her face. "Yeah, we are" Jimi said and squeezed her hand. The technician printed the picture and the two of them left the exam room and made their next appointment. Then they walked out to the car with the biggest smiles on their faces and headed home.
"So when do you want to tell Emma?" Jimi asked. "In a few days. Once I get all of the stuff. I already have the T-Shirt so that part is all set. Now that we know we are having a boy I can have the bakery make some cookies and get some baby toys." Karen said while looking at her stomach. She looked up at Jimi with her hands on her stomach "Jimi we're having a baby boy" Karen said softly with a smile on her face. Jimi reached over and put his hand on top of hers "Yeah we are" Jimi said.
They arrived back home and were greeted at the door by Emma. "Can I have ice cream?" Emma said right away. "Well hello to you too" Karen said and gave her a hug. "I said she had to wait until you got home before she had any ice cream" Maggie said. "Ok. Jimi why don't you go get the girl her ice cream" Karen said laughing. "You got it boss" Jimi said and followed Emma into the kitchen. "Thanks again for watching her. I felt bad sending her over to Kimberly's or Rebecca's again." Karen said to Maggie. "It's not a problem. I love hanging out with her" Maggie said. Karen pulled out her wallet and paid Maggie. "Em, come say bye to Maggie!" Karen called. Emma came running into the living room. "Bye Maggie" Emma said and gave her a hug goodbye and Maggie left.
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Karen called the bakery the day before and ordered some cookies. She went to the store and bought some baby stuff and wrapped it. All she had to do was stop by the bakery and pick up the cookies because today was the day that Emma was going to find out about her new baby brother.
Jimi took Emma out for the morning. They went out to breakfast and then Jimi took her to the splash pad at the park while Karen took care of everything. Karen finally texted Jimi to come home. "Hey Em, it's time to go!" Jimi called. Emma came running over and Jimi wrapped her in her towel. Emma grabbed her bag and went to the changing rooms and put on her dry clothes. She came out and her and Jimi got in the car and went home.
Karen was sitting on the couch waiting for them to come home. They finally walked in the door. "Hey guys. How was your morning?" Karen asked. "It was good. I wish you could have come though" Emma said. "Next time I will" Karen said. "I got you something. Will that make you feel better?" Karen said. "You betcha" Emma said and Karen and Jimi laughed. "Go in the kitchen and check it out" Karen said. Jimi pulled out his phone and started videotaping. Emma sat down at the table. "Open this one first." Karen said and handed her the cookies with the baby designs on them. "You got me cookies?" Emma said. "Now open this one" Karen said and handed her the baby toys. Emma opened them. "Baby toys." Emma said trying to sound happy about her Mom's gift. "There's one more" Karen said and handed her the T-Shirt. Emma opened the box and pulled out the shirt. She held it up and read it out loud. "I'm the big sister" she said. It took her a minute to piece it all together. Once she figured it out her head shot up. "You're having a baby?!" Emma asked excitedly. "Yeah" Karen said with a smile. "And it's a boy?!" Emma asked again. "Yeah" Karen said. Emma got out of her chair and ran over to Karen and gave her a huge hug. "Are you excited?" Jimi asked. "Yeah, I am" Emma said with tears in her eyes. Jimi stopped recording and put his phone down and joined in the hug. "You're gonna be a big sister" Jimi said and Emma hugged them tighter. "Is this why you have been so tired and going to the doctor's all the time?" Emma asked Karen. "Yeah" Karen replied. "Thank God! I thought it was cancer" Emma said and Jimi and Karen laughed. "I am actually going to have a little brother" Emma said. "Yeah, you are" Karen said and tucked Emma's hair behind her ears. "I'm glad you are happy about this" Karen said and smiled at her. "How could I not be? I have always wanted a little brother or sister" Emma said and Karen smiled at her and gave her another hug. "When is the baby going to be born?" Emma asked. "My due date is March 11th" Karen said. "So on March 11th you are going to have the baby?" Emma asked, not quite sure how the whole baby thing happens. "He could be born before or after March 11th. Babies aren't always born on their due dates" Karen replied. "Oh ok" Emma said. There was a minute of silence. "Thank you for giving me this amazing life. I never would have imagined I would get to live in a house like this, have the nice things that I have, get to go to these incredible places, have a mom and dad or even a brother or sister" Emma said. Karen got a little emotional and wiped away the tear that fell. Karen and Jimi pulled Emma in for a hug. "We never would have imagined we would get to have an incredible daughter like you" Karen said and kissed the top of her head.