A bumpy day

Jowler & Kat (8 months) and Dom & Anna (5 months) came over for a barbecue yesterday...

... which led to the inevitable bump-comparision:

Needless to say Jowler snuck in on the end of the line-up (far-left) to show off his own impressive girth.

Crazy outfits

We both agreed a while back that we don't want to find out the sex of the baby before it's born.

But this has provoked a rather disturbing side-effect: Kate's obsession with bonkers unisex outfits like this all-in-one bear suit.

Names: if at first you don't succeed

Deciding on a name is still a long way off for us, but it's one of those things you can't help but think about from a very early stage.

So it was interesting to read this article over the weekend about a mother who changed her baby's name 6 months after he was born, with very mixed reactions from other mums, friends and her family.

Kate and I currently seem to heading in the same direction name-wise. And I mooted the idea yesterday of waiting until after the baby's born to see what name best suits (which I thought was a rather sensitive suggestion from a dad-to-be) but the all-knowing mother of my child seemed to think otherwise.

12 week scan

We're hoping it's an errant limb that got in the way as the scan was being taken, rather than a nose like Pinocchio:

That pout

Practising the yummy mummy pose, albeit with someone else's baby:

The belly emerges

As of yesterday, Kate says she can no longer hold in her stomach so that it's flat (something she's been doing every day for the last 15 years, she openly admits).

There is now a permanent, firm, bump-like presence (but not one that would be officially deemed a 'bump' just yet):

Please note the artful use of black and white (chosen after negative comments about the previous photo's glorious technicolour).

A dead giveaway

Apparently Kate had the look of a 'dazed cow' when we had lunch with Aunt Jane & Uncle Dave on Monday.

And so when I told them that Kate was pregnant today, they weren't surprised at all. They had us sussed.

Darn it.

A return to normality?

This being week 12, we're both really looking forward to being able to tell people. Finally.

We've got to wait until this Friday - the official end of the first trimester - and then we can go nuts: friends, colleagues and of course HR departments.

Although Mum & Dad have asked that we put in calls to Grannie and Granama (the family matriarchs should be the first to know). And then we plan on letting the news filter organically through to our numerous aunts and uncles.

Truth be told, if the Grannies-to-be have anything to do with it (and let's be honest...) then most of Lancashire and Yorkshire will have found out by teatime on Friday.

I'm sure there's some official announcement in the offing too. But we might get away with just the one broadsheet this time around, rather than The Times and The Telegraph, which our engagement ended up in.

"I'll always remember this moment"

We told our brothers (Olly and Richie) over the weekend.

(I managed to fluff my planned 'Hello, is that Uncle Olly?' line).

His excitable reaction was hilarious and very sweet:

"It's like people always who remember where they were when JFK was shot - I'll always remember this moment".

Really surprising, given he's never been one for over-exaggeration.