Congrats are in order for Elle McDaniel!
The blonde beauty is expecting her first child with her husband, Matthew McDaniel. Elle exclusively confirmed the exciting news to her reporter pal in Los Angeles, telling Desiree Murphy on Wednesday, "It still feels surreal to say I'm pregnant, but I'm excited!"
Elle, a native of Camden, New York, and now a resident of South Carolina, says she found out she was pregnant just four weeks in, and had some fun breaking the news to her hubby.
"I always get Matt funny T-shirts, it's one of our things," the mom-to-be shared, adding that Baby McDaniel is due on May 22, 2019. "So I bought him a T-shirt that said, 'Be nice to me ... my wife's pregnant."
Though Elle's recollection of how she told Matt is epic, Matt says his initial reaction was actually quite "lame."
"When she gave me the shirt, I didn't get that she was saying she was pregnant -- I thought it was just a shirt for when we did eventually get pregnant," he explained. "Then the pregnancy test fell out and she was explaining to me that she was actually pregnant. So I had all these conflicting thoughts simultaneously.:
Matt says it went something like this:
Are we actually pregnant? This test doesn't look definitive... Why did she put the pee-stick in the shirt? Now I'm supposed to wear this shirt that's got pee on it? Great. But , wait, are we actually pregnant? She looks serious... holy crap, we're pregnant. And I'm still holding the pee-stick. Now she's mad because I'm questioning her interpretation of these faint lines on the magical decider of pregnancy device. Oh, wait, there's more.... more pee-sticks. Why are there more pee-sticks?! Geezus, how many of these did she pee on? She probably has pee on her hands. Also, we're probably pregnant. Holy crap.
Elle confessed, however, that it was actually her mother, Victoria Jones, who was the first to find out. "She evacuated to our house for a hurricane, and I knew I couldn’t keep it from her," Elle recalled. "Because I was exhausted and turning down wine!"
"I definitely have the most amazing mom ever, she’s so amazing," she continued. "The best things I have learned from her is to always let children express and be themselves, but also to make sure they fear and respect you. She does an amazing job at being a friend I can trust, but make no mistake, she’s still the mom and I know who's boss!"
Thanks to Mrs. Jones' spectacular example, Elle is confident she can follow in her footsteps to create an equally wonderful, magical life filled with love and adventures for her future baby. Plus, she's already got plenty of experience under her belt, helping Matthew care for his first child, 12-year-old Aiden.
"I've always wanted to be a mom," Elle gushed. "For a long time, I never felt like there was anything I was really good at in life, but I have always been happy taking care of friends and family, and feel like it would be nice to do that for a little one."
"I'm feeling pretty good about mommyhood because, being a stepmom, I have already tackled a lot of mom responsibilities," she continued. "It will be nice to be able to start from the very beginning. It's kind of like I have done it in reverse."
And Matt couldn't agree more. While he knows Elle will be "the greatest" during this pregnancy, he says for himself, being a dad for the second time feels "very different" than the first time, for lots of reasons.
"Mainly because this time I don't feel prepared," he shared. "With Aiden I just thought, 'I've got this. I'll just keep driving this forklift and keep taking these classes and keep this raggedy truck on the road and it'll all be OK.' I didn't know enough to be scared back then."
"Now, I'm infinitely better prepared, yet somehow also infinitely more terrified!" he joked. "The upside is I know where I came from and I know what I'm made of, how durable I am, and I know I'm not alone in this. [Because] for a long time, it was just Aiden and I ... none of us had any idea what we were missing until Elle came along."
Upon hearing the news of Elle's pregnancy, a few of the Syracuse University alum's family members and friends spoke to Desiree about their reactions to this exciting time in all their lives. See their sweet messages below:
"Elle asked me over for craft night and I had a strange feeling that she could possibly be pregnant. She was making chicken riggies (per my request), and when I looked over at her, she was chugging heavy cream! I flashed a really strange look in her direction, and at that point, she was pretty sure I knew, but didn't tell me this until after. After dinner, we started making crafts, and she kept her sign hidden. She finally said, 'OK, you can see mine now.' She then held it up and it said, 'Get ready to fall in love with 10 little fingers and 10 little toes.' I held back the tears for about 5 seconds and then my eyes turned into waterfalls! I could not be anymore excited!" - Cassidy Batiz
"Day one of Hurricane Florence, we were shopping at Walmart for essentials to get us through the impending storm. Who knew that a pregnancy test should be on the list of must-haves? You can't hide anything from me... I'm your Mama. ;) I loved being the first to know. My babe is having a baby! Such a strange feeling. The next chapter of you and me starts now. So excited to see the little one's beautiful face. Xo." - Victoria Jones
"Lauren was born to be a mom. She’s been taking care of her friends since middle school! Some people complain about constantly having to take care of other people, but she thrives on it. You will never see her happier than when she is cooking for a crowd or having a therapy session with one of her friends who needs support. When she got married, she instantly became a 'step-mom,' but if you ask her, there’s no 'step' about their relationship. Nurturing people is what Lauren loves to do, and I can’t wait to watch her blossom even more with the new baby!" - Mandy Fitzgerald
"As my 1-year- old says, 'See dis, see dis,' parenting is always changing. You'll find yourself up at 2 a.m.... not on Facebook, not out on the town, but trying to put them back to sleep and researching anything that can help! No two days are ever the same. Just when you think you have it down, they go and make you question everything you ever knew was going on! Having a kid who acts just like you can be one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, things. Just remember why you started this journey, and before you know it, your little one will grab your hand and tell you, 'see dis,' opening your eyes to a world of adventure. You're going to be such a wonderful mom, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!" - Danielle Cardello
Elle and Matt met on a fateful Halloween night in Five Points in Columbia, SC. Five years later, they began dating in the fall season, and eventually tied the knot in the fall as well. In addition to Aiden and the baby on the way, Elle and Matt are also parents to a household of animals, including two adorable dogs named Bojangles and MiMi, a cat named Penny and goats Prancer and Vixen.
"Aiden is excited about the baby, and I have no doubt he and Bojangles will be the best big brothers in the whole world," Matt gushed. "And MiMi is excited, because she's never had a baby before!"
As we patiently wait for Elle to debut her first baby bump pic -- and reveal whether baby McDaniel is a boy or girl! -- check out more exclusive pics from her latest photo shoot below, and don't forget to send her all the love on social media.
I LOVE YOU LAUR!!!!!!!!!!!! XOXOX, DEZ
