Punxsutawney Phil's babies are named Shadow and Sunny

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pennsylvania -- There was big news out of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on Mother's Day this year!

The famous weather-forecasting groundhog Phil and his wife Phyllis announced the names of their two new babies.

The new baby groundhog names just might help their dad predict when spring will begin.

The girl is named Sunny and the boy is named Shadow.

The names were announced after the public was encouraged to weigh in.

The president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club says they reviewed the entries then consulted with Phil in "groundhog-ese."

"Today the first family of groundhogs has grown, Punxsutawney Phil and wife Phyllis have two kits of their own," McGinley read from a scroll announcing the names of the pups "born to royalty" in a video posted on social media on Sunday.

Each spring, Phil makes a prediction about the length of the remaining winter. According to tradition, if he sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of cold. This year, Phil did not see his shadow and therefore predicted an early spring.

ALSO SEE: PETA offers giant gold coin to replace Punxsutawney Phil

"These kits of his are not replacements, they're not the heir apparent," Dan McGinley, vice president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle, said in a phone interview Monday. "Sunny and Shadow will not be part of the ceremony - it's still Phil's job. There's still only one Punxsutawney Phil."

The baby woodchucks came as a total surprise since the club insists this is the first time Phil has fathered children in 138 years.

The additions to the family were discovered in March by a club member who was feeding fruit and vegetables to Phil and Phyllis. The groundhog family was living in a climate-controlled burrow at the local library but have since moved to a new home at Gobblers Knob.

The Associated Press contributed to this post.