The Best Cake EVER!

Notice anything special about this cake? Isn't that checkerboard pattern great?

"Man, Jill went to a lot of work to make a checkerboard cake for Mother's Day," I thought as she sliced into the cake and served me and Eric's mom, Christy, back in May.

But, then again, Jill is the Checkerboard Cake Queen after years of making them for the Stafford County Fair's 4-H division.

But wait! What color is that cake? It's not Jill's customary purple and white.

Yes, YES, it's PINK and BLUE!

I hope you're not as slow as I was. Because YES, it is PINK and BLUE. And it means what you think it means: I'm going to be a GRANDMA! I mean, Jill and Eric are going to be parents!

The parents-to-be told us WAY BACK in May at their home in Omaha. With Eric's parents in Iowa and us in Kansas, it's not too often that everybody is in the same vicinity. So they took advantage of the fact that they could tell all the grandparents-to-be at the same time. (They have this "showing no favoritism" thing downpat, and they are just parents-in-training. That bodes well, I think!)

And then they tortured us. Yes, they TORTURED us. They didn't let us tell anyone until now.

I was like a little kid with a secret at Christmastime.

But now, I can tell. "Smalls" is 12 weeks old.

And isn't he/she gorgeous!? This "photo" was at 8 weeks. No, I haven't put it on my fridge ... because I couldn't TELL ... and I don't have a brag book yet. (Just give me time though.)

Jill tells me Smalls is about the size of a large plum right now. But come January 12 or so, I'll be introducing you to a new little Ladd (or Lady). Actually, either way, it will be a new little Ladd.

And I'll be a GRANDMA. Maybe you remember me mentioning that before ... It probably won't be the last time.