Elizabeth will be thrilled. Every time the subject has come up, she has been quite firm that she wants me to “make it be a little sister.” One time recently, she was actually moved to tears by the suggestion that there was some possibility that it might be a boy.

The picture above is a family portrait, drawn by Elizabeth. She’ll need to do an updated one, though, somewhere around early July. That’s when the new baby will arrive.

If you’re just now hearing about this, well, the pregnancy has had its ups and downs so far. First, it was twins, but then one vanished. It was bittersweet to find that out at the OB appointment, while watching the remaining little one literally dancing around on the ultrasound. Then, we had some crazy scary screening test results, which ultimately led to me having an amniocentesis done. However, the baby is just over 17 weeks along now, and the amnio results came back saying that Elizabeth will soon have a normal, healthy little sibling (gender withheld here until all family members can be told).

So, after some scary stuff, we’re back to the eager anticipation part. I finally told my students this week. My favorite response, from a girl who always gives me trouble: “Oh, well, now we’ll be nice to you.” Say what?

Elizabeth can’t wait, although I don’t think she realizes yet what she’s in for.