Actually, three surprises.
The first happened on Erica's birthday. Audrey and Rachel secretly rescued an adorable young guinea pig from the Humane Society. Audrey plopped the pig into a shoebox, swathed the box in wrapping paper and then poked a few discreet holes for air. You might say Erica was unsuspecting.
This photo was not staged.
Hallie had been with us a little over two months, the gestation period for guineas. The only clue was that she had put on a little weight, but then she was barely adolescent when Erica got her, so that really wasn't much of a hint. And we don't have a male guinea pig.
I'm not saying it was immaculate conception; just that Hallie must have been only barely pregnant when she showed up on Erica's birthday.
The third surprise is that I can remember my blogger password to make a post about it.