"I'm actually going to have a little brother" Emma said with excitement while sitting on Karen's lap at the kitchen table. "Yeah, you are" Karen replied and gave her a small squeeze. "So.... Do I get to eat these cookies ooorr...?" Emma asked. Jimi and Karen giggled. "Yeah, they're yours. You can do whatever you want with them." Jimi said and Emma grabbed one and took a bite. "I can't wait for him to be here" Emma said. "We can't either princess" Jimi sad and kissed the top of her head. "Do you want some lunch sweetie?" Karen asked. "Yeah, I'm getting kinda hungry" Emma said. "How about some Mac and Cheese?" Karen suggested. "Yes, please" Emma replied and climbed off Karen's lap.
"Tell me about your morning with Daddy" Karen said as she filled the pot up with water. Emma climbed up on a stool at the counter and began to tell her about her morning. "First we went and got all you can eat pancakes at that new restaurant on Broadway. Then we went to the really big splash pad with the slides at the castle park." Emma said. "I tried to get Daddy to go down the slide with me, but he was too chicken" Emma added and looked over at Jimi. "I was not too chicken. I just didn't want to get wet" Jimi said trying to defend himself. "Yeah, I'm sure that was it" Karen said sarcastically with a laugh. "Was it busy since it is so hot outside?" Karen asked. "It wasn't too bad" Jimi said. "And I met this boy who showed me the fastest way to go down the slides." Emma said, sounding a little excited. "Oh, there was a boy huh?" Karen said with a smirk on her face. Jimi's head shot up from his laptop screen. "What boy?!" Jimi asked really fast. Emma and Karen looked at him and Karen let out a small laugh. "His name was Adam. He he's the one with the brown hair and blue swim trunks I was hanging out with almost the entire time" Emma said trying to get him to remember, but Jimi was clueless. "Was he cute?" Karen asked. "Yeah, kinda" Emma replied shyly. "How old is this boy?" Jimi asked. "He's 12" Emma said. "He's too old for you" Jimi said in a seriously. "Jimi, she's 12" Karen said. "They're the same age" Karen finished and laughed. Jimi shot her a look that made Karen laugh even more. "Well, I don't like him" Jimi said. "Jimi you don't even know who he is" Karen said while still laughing. "I don't need to know him. I just know I don't like him" Jimi stated, matter-of-factly, and continued working on his laptop. Karen rolled her eyes and stirred the noodles. Karen found it hilarious how Jimi jumped in over protective father mode. "Babe, what are you gonna do when she starts dating?" Karen asked. His head shot up again. "She won't be dating until she's 30" Jimi stated. Karen and Emma just laughed. Karen stirred in the cheese, milk and butter then served it in a bowl for Emma to eat.
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Jimi was still sitting on his laptop, "Hey babe, when do you want to tell our parents, and everyone else about the baby?" Jimi asked. "I was thinking we could do it by showing everyone the video of Emma finding out. We could send it to our parents then call them to hear their reactions and we could show the band when we go back out on the road on Thursday." Karen said. "Do you want to tell our parent's now?" Jimi asked. "Let's do it" Karen said. Jimi attached the video to an email on his phone then sent it to Karen's parent's first while Karen called them up. "Hello" Karen's Mom answered. "Hey Mom" Karen said. "Oh hey sweetheart, how have you been?" Karen's mom replied. "Really good!" Karen said. "That's good to hear, how's my sweet Emma doing?" Her mom asked. "Emma's been good, she met a cute boy today at the splash pad" Karen said. Karen's mom laughed "Before you know it she's going to be 16 and driving off to be with the boys" Her mom said and Karen laughed. "It sent" Jimi whispered. "Mom, Jimi just sent you this super cute video of Emma to your email. You and Dad need to watch it" Karen said then she heard her mom call for her dad and he came over to the phone. He pulled up the email and started watching the video. Karen head her phone on speaker so everyone could hear. "Is this from Emma's birthday?" Her mom asked. "It's from this morning" Karen replied. They kept watching the video. "Don't say anything until the whole video is over" Karen said. Then she heard her mom gasp over the phone. Then a few seconds later she heard her screaming and jumping. "Baby, you're pregnant?!" Her mom screamed over the phone. "Yeah, Mama, I am. With a baby boy." Karen said with tears in her eye. "I am so happy for you!" Her mom said with a tearful voice. "Congratulations baby girl" Her Dad said. "How far along are you?" Her mom asked. "17 weeks" Karen stated. "And you waited this long to tell me?" Her mom said. "We wanted to wait until we found out the sex before we told anyone" Karen said. "We are so happy for you two" Her mom said. They talked for a little while longer before hanging up the phone.
It was Jimi's turn next. Jimi sent the video to his mom and gave her a call. "Hello" Jimi's Mom answered. "Hey Mama it's Jimi" He said. "Hey how are you doing?" We're all doing great over here Mom" Jimi said. "Well I'm glad to hear it" His Mom said. "I just sent you an email of a video of Emma from this morning. You gotta watch it" He said, trying not to sound too overly excited. "Alright, I'll watch it right now" She said. She pulled up the email and opened the video. She pushed play and Jimi put the phone on speaker. "You gotta watch it all the way through" He said. He heard his Mom gasp the way Karen's Mom did. The video was over and she was in tears. "Karen's pregnant?!" she asked with excitement. "With a boy?" She added. "Yep she sure is" Jimi said with the biggest smile on his face. "I'm so happy for you! I can't wait to see how everyone else will react." His mom said. "Is Karen there? Put her on the phone" His Mom said. "It's on speaker Mom she can hear you" Jimi said. "Oh. Karen how far along are you?" She asked. "17 weeks" She said. "I am soooo happy for you! I can't wait to meet that little bundle of joy" She said. "Is Emma there? I want to talk to her too" His Mom said. "She's here too, Mom" Jimi said. "Emma, sweetie are you excited?" She asked. "Yeah, I'm super excited! I've always wanted a little brother or sister" She said. They all talked on the phone for a while before hanging up. "That went really well" Jimi said as he set his phone down. "I figured it would" Karen said and smiled at him. "How do we want to tell the fans?" Jimi asked. "I'm not sure on that one yet. Maybe a post on Twitter or Facebook or something" Karen said. "But I think we should keep it to ourselves for a little while longer before we tell the fans." Karen said. "That's fine with me babe. Do you want to show the band the video on the bus?" Jimi asked. "Yeah, but I don't think I can wait any longer to tell Kim though" Karen said. "Do you want to go over there now?" Jimi asked. "If you don't mind" Karen said. "I'm fine with it" Jimi said. "I'll text her quick" Karen said. "Hey, is it alright if Jimi, Emma and I stop over for a minute?" Karen sent. "Yeah of course! Steve is out golfing right now so it's just me and Miss Daisy Pearl here" Kimberly replied. "Alright! We will be over in 15" Karen said. "See you then!" Kimberly replied.
"Kimberly said it was fine" Karen said. "Alright, let's go" Jimi said and the three of them got in the car and drove over to Kimberly's. They arrived and Jimi knocked on the door. They heard little footsteps running towards the door followed by bigger footsteps. "Uncle Jimi! Aunt Kiki! Emma!" Daisy shouted as Kimberly opened the door. "Hey peanut!" Karen said. "You don't have to knock on the door" Kimberly said. "I know, but it feels weird not to" Jimi said and Kimberly laughed. "Emma, come look at my new doll house!" Daisy said excitedly and grabbed her hand and took her to her play room.
"So, what's up with you two?" Kimberly asked as they all sat on the couch. "Not too much. You?" Karen replied. "Same, I've been packing for this weekend" Kimberly said. "So, we want to show you something" Karen said and Jimi pulled out his phone and opened the video and pressed play and handed it to Kimberly. Kimberly watched the video. She didn't catch on at first until she saw the baby toys. She put her hand over her mouth and when she heard what Emma's T-Shirt said she freaked out a little "AAAAHHHHHHH YOU'RE HAVING A BABY!!!!" Kimberly screamed and gave Karen a huge hug. "I'm so happy for you!" She said through the tears. "Stop crying! You're gonna make me cry" Karen said and wiped the tears away. "I'm sorry. I'm just so happy for you!" Kimberly said. They hugged for a little while longer then let go of each other. "So, it's a boy I take it?" Kimberly said smiling. "Yes it is" Jimi said. "Well at least Jimi won't be the only boy in the house" Kimberly said and laughed. "So have you told anyone else?" Kimberly asked. "Just you and our families" Karen said. "We were going to tell the rest of the band on Thursday when we go back out on the road." Jimi said. "You have to show them this video! It is so adorable!" Kimberly said. "We were planning on it" Karen said. They stayed at Kimberly's for about an hour then decided to head out.
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"Babe, can we stop at the store? I'm really craving some pickles and I'm pretty sure we are out of them at home." Karen said as they got in the car. "Sure" Jimi replied and they stopped at Whole Foods since it wasn't too far from their house. They walked in the store and walked past the fresh fruit. "Oooo maybe some pineapple too" Karen said. "Pickles and pineapple, really babe?" Jimi asked. "What's wrong with that?" Karen asked and giggled. "Nothing" Jimi said and laughed. "And some peanut butter" Karen said. "We have peanut butter at home" Jimi said. "Not the chunky kind" Karen said and they walked over to the peanut butter. "And some Eggos" Karen added. "Those, we are actually out of I'm pretty sure" Jimi said. They grabbed everything Karen needed and proceeded to the check outs. They loaded their groceries in the car and headed home.
"What do you want to have for dinner?" Jimi asked. "I don't know about you, but I'm having my pickles, pineapple, chunky peanut butter and waffles for dinner." Karen said and Emma and Jimi laughed. "Yeah, as delicious as that sounds Mama, I think I'll pass" Emma said and Karen laughed. "How about I order the two of us a pizza?" Jimi asked. "Sounds good to me" Emma replied.
The three of them ate their dinner in the living room and played a board game together. It was around 9:00 and Karen was ready to fall asleep. "How about we clean up and put in a movie. I am exhausted." Karen said. "Ok" Jimi and Emma said. They finished cleaning up, then they all put on their pajamas and Jimi put in a movie. Jimi sat on the end of the couch by the arm rest, Karen cuddled up next to him and Emma laid her head on the other arm rest and put her feet in Karen's lap. Not even five minutes into the movie, Karen had fallen asleep. Jimi and Emma stayed awake through the entire movie. When it was over, Jimi turned off the TV and told Emma to head up to bed. Emma did as she was told and headed towards the stairs. "Good night Daddy" Emma said as she was walking up the stairs. "Good night princess, I love you" Jimi said. "I love you too" Emma replied. Jimi very carefully moved out from under Karen, then picked her up and carried her to bed. He carefully pulled the blankets down and laid her in bed and covered her up. Then he crawled in on his side and scooted closer to Karen and put his arm around her and kissed her temple. "I love you, and our little man" Jimi whispered not expecting a response. "We love you too" Karen whispered back. Jimi smiled and laid his head down on his pillow and drifted off.
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It was Thursday and the band was heading out for their last set of shows before they took a break and head back into the studio to finish writing and recording for their new album. It is September and Karen is four months pregnant. She is still able to hide her baby bump with baggier shirts and dresses. Jimi, Karen and Emma were all awake and ready to head out on the road. They met the rest of the band at the bus. Karen and Jimi were excited to see everyone because today they were all going to find out that Karen is pregnant.
They arrived at the bus and loaded it up. When everyone's things were packed up, they boarded the bus and went on their way. They were about an hour into the drive. Daisy and Penelopi were on the floor playing with their dolls in the front of the bus and Emma was laying on the floor watching cartoons. The adults were sitting around the table. Karen looked at Jimi and smiled. "Jimi and I have a video we want to show you guys" Karen said and Jimi got out his laptop so everyone could see it better than everyone hovering around his phone. He opened up the video and pressed play. Everyone watched. Rebecca was the first one to figure it out she put her hands on her mouth and smiled at Karen. "You're having a baby!" She said and got up and hugged Karen. "Wait, what? You're having a baby?!" Phillip said. "Just watch the rest of the video" Jimi said. "It's a boy!" Rebecca said excitedly and hugged Karen again. "You figured that out fast" Schlap said to Rebecca. "Well, I am a woman" Rebecca said and everyone laughed. "Kimberly, did you already know about this?" Schlap asked her. "Of course I did!" Kimberly said. "And you didn't tell me?" Schlap asked. "It was supposed to be a surprise" Kimberly said and giggled. "Aunt Kiki's having a baby?" Penelopi asked. "Yeah she is pumpkin" Phillip said. "Well, where is it?" Daisy asked. "It's in my tummy" Karen replied. "How'd it get in there?" Daisy asked. "Did you eat it?!" Penelopi asked worriedly. "No I didn't eat the baby" Karen said and everyone laughed. "Well then how come it's in your tummy?" Penelopi asked again. "That's a question for your mom and dad to answer" Karen replied and looked over at Phillip and Rebecca and smiled. "Mommy how did the baby get inside Aunt Kiki's tummy?" Penelopi asked Rebecca. "Ummm...... Well.....Jesus put the baby in Aunt Kiki's tummy so it can grow" Rebecca answered. "Oh, Ok" Penelopi and Daisy said at the same time. Everyone was glad that they bought that answer. "How far along are you?" Phillip asked. "17 weeks" Karen answered. "When are you due?" Rebecca asked. "March 11th" Karen replied. "Do you have any names picked out?" Kimberly asked. "We have a few, but we're not telling you" Karen replied. "Excuse me? I am your best friend" Kimberly said. "It's going to be a surprise" Karen said. "Come on, not even a little hint?" Kimberly asked. "Nope" Karen said. "One of these days I'm gonna get it out of you" Kimberly said and everyone laughed. They were on the bus for the next eight hours before they reached their destination and put on an awesome show that night.
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It is now the beginning of November, the weekend before the CMA Awards. The band is getting fitted for their outfits for the night. Every dress that Karen tried on, her baby bump showed. She hasn't really had to worry about it much because the band isn't out on the road so she doesn't have to hide it, but it was extremely difficult for her to hide it now. "Jimi, I think we are going to have to tell the fans because no matter what I wear, you can tell I'm pregnant" Karen said while looking at herself in the mirror. "That's fine with me, babe" Jimi said. "When do you want to do it?" He asked. "How about right now?" Karen said and she pulled out her phone. "Alright" Jimi said. Karen opened her Twitter app. "What should I say?" She asked him. "I don't know. Maybe something like 'We are having a little one.' But you can say whatever you want to" Jimi said then Karen started typing. She wrote "Yep, it's true....excited to finally tell the news...Jimi and I are having a little one." Then she pushed tweet and it sent out for everyone to see. Karen smiled at Jimi. They were getting a ton of positive responses. "Wait until all of the questions we're going to get during interviews this week" Jimi said and chuckled. Karen just smiled at him and gave him a hug. Everyone finally decided on what they were going to wear. Since this week is CMA week they do a series of interviews Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before the show Wednesday night.
It was Sunday night and Karen and Jimi were lying in bed. Karen was on her side with her back to Jimi's chest and Jimi, of course, had his arm around her. Karen felt a flutter in her stomach. She brushed it off and didn't think anything of it. Then it happened again, and again. She jolted up and put he hands on her stomach. Jimi had a worried look on his face "Karen, what's wrong?" He asked, with his voice a little shaky. Karen realized what it was and smiled. "He's kicking" She said quietly while looking at her stomach. Jimi sat up. "Really?" He asked excitedly. She grabbed his hand and put it on her stomach. She just sat there and smiled. "This is amazing" Jimi said. Karen was at a loss for words, but she couldn't contain her smile. Jimi bent over and got close to her stomach. "Hey there little guy. It's your Daddy. I cannot wait to meet you and neither can your Mama or your big sister Emma. We all love you very much" He said and kissed her stomach. Karen smiled at him. "He has the best Daddy in the world" she said and gave him a kiss. "And he has the best Mommy in the world" He said. Karen curled up next to him and he covered them up and they went to sleep.
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It was Monday, the start of CMA week. It was 8:00 and Karen's alarm went off. She rolled over and turned it off. She was still extremely tired and didn't want to get up, so she scooted over by Jimi, who was still asleep, and put her head on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and saw Karen and he wrapped his arms around her. "What time is it?" He asked her. "8:00" she replied. "We should probably get up" Jimi said. "I know, but I don't want to" Karen said in a whinny voice. "Why don't I go get Emma up and ready for when Maggie gets here and you can sleep a little longer" Jimi said. "Jimi, you don't have to do that" Karen said and yawned. "I want to, and you need some extra sleep since this is going to be a busy week" Jimi said and gave her a kiss and climbed out of bed. "Thank you" Karen said. Jimi smiled and gave her another kiss "Get some sleep" Jimi said and left the room. Karen fell back asleep almost instantly.
He walked over to Emma's room and quietly opened the door. "Good morning princess" Jimi said and sat down next to her on her bed. "Good morning Daddy" Emma said while yawning. "We have to be extra quiet for Mama this morning because she is still sleeping." Jimi said. "Ok" Emma said and climbed out of bed and walked into her bathroom and took a shower.
Jimi went downstairs and started a pot of coffee for himself and a pot of tea for Karen for when she wakes up. Emma finished getting ready and went downstairs by her dad. "What do you want for breakfast?" Jimi asked. "I'll have a bowl of Lucky Charms" Emma said. "Alright" Jimi said and poured her a bowl and Emma ate it.
It was 9:00 and Karen decided to get out of bed and get ready for the day. She climbed out of bed and walked into her bathroom and took a shower. When she was done she got out and dried off. She wrapped the towel around her and walked over to her closet. She stood in her closet and settled on a pair of jeans and a cute sweater. She put on her sweater. When she put on her jeans, she could not get them buttoned if her life depended on it. She started getting really frustrated. She was laying on the bed trying to button them.
Maggie had arrived and she and Emma got right to work. Jimi went upstairs to get ready for the day as well. When he walked into his and Karen's room, he saw Karen struggling to button her jeans while lying on the bed. "Babe, what are you doing?" Jimi asked. "I can't get my jeans buttoned!" Karen shouted. "I don't fit in any of my jeans I'm too fat" Karen said, starting to get teary eyed. Karen hasn't worn any of her jeans in a while since they hadn't been on tour. When they were on tour last, her jeans still fit her. She has been wearing yoga pant or leggings around the house and to the studio. "Kare that means the baby is growing" Jimi said calmly and walked over and sat down next to her. "I know! I knew this was going to happen and I don't know why I'm freaking out over this" Karen said in a tearful voice and sat up. Jimi let out a small laugh and put his arm around her and kissed her cheek. They sat there for a little bit then Karen broke the silence. "I'm going to find something else to wear" Karen said and got back up and walked over to her closet. She picked out a pair of leggings that still went with the sweater she had on. Jimi got himself ready and then it was time for them to go. They said bye to Emma and headed out the door.
They met Kimberly and Phillip where the interviews were taking place. They started their first interview and of course the first question that came up was about Karen being pregnant. Then they answered a few more questions and moved on to the next interview. They all went about the same. There were some question about the baby then about the band and their new album that they are working on.
The Interviews went on for the next few days up until the award show. They all went as planned. Emma got to tag along at the show and sat with Jimi and Karen. Karen's dress for the show showed off her baby bump a little. Everything went as planned and their performance was flawless. Karen felt better that everything was out in the open now.