There aren't any awards given out for the most adorable pregnancy reveal moments, but if there were, Charles Leno Jr.’s wife, Jennifer, would already have the trophy sitting in their house.
Leno, who was still playing for the Chicago Bears at the time, had just come home from work, and one of the first things he did, as all good fathers do, is go to see his daughter Carsynn, who was about five months old at the time. He noticed she was wearing a t-shirt with some writing on it, but he didn't think much of it as he leaned down to give her a kiss.
When he picked her up, he started to read the writing on the shirt said: "Surprise! I'm going to be a big sister!"
It took a while for Leno to make the connection in his head, but that's when it finally clicked.
"I realized 'Oh snap! We're having another one!" Leno said. "That's when I figured out I was going to be a Girl Dad of two."
Leno and his wife were prepared to add another member to the Leno household. They weren't too far removed from the birth of their first daughter, so they already had plenty of baby clothes. Other than that, getting ready for their second child didn't change that much from their first. "Once you have one," he said, "it's like riding a bike."
Nine months later, Leno was entering a big transition in his life. For the first time in his professional career, he was searching for a new team, and on top of that, he and his wife were told that the baby could come "at any time." It only took about two weeks for Leno to find a new home in Washington, but he had to wrap up his tour of Inova Sports Performance Center to rush back home, he told the Washington Post, since his wife was experiencing strong contractions.
Washington was impressed with Leno enough to offer him a one-year deal, and then a day later, Leno's second daughter, Oaklynn, was born.
"About to soak up these next couple of weeks with my two little Washington fans [and] then it's off to our new team," Leno said in an Instagram post, which included a shot of him and his two daughters wearing custom Washington t-shirts. "Can't wait to get to work."
Leno and his wife had a system for taking care of their kids during OTAs and minicamp, and he was grateful that his wife took the "night shift" so he could get some sleep and practice during the day. But as soon as he comes home, he's on baby duty. But judging by how his social media pages are littered with pictures of his kids and how he proudly has the "Girl Dad" title in his Instagram bio, he doesn't seem to mind that.
Father's Day was already a special moment for Leno. In an Instagram post from May 1, he wrote that "nothing compares to everyday with this girl. Every new accomplishment, milestone [and] word she babbles easily becomes the new best day of my life." Now he has even more to be happy about with another member of the Leno family.
"That's...the best thing about the whole offseason," Leno said.
