28 Weeks, 3 Days...Party Like It's 2009

Today we went to your cousin's birthday party. We got there after the cake and pinata, but still had fun. She turned 4 and had a princess party. We won't subject you to that kind of party unless you really want it. Creativity is in your genes and my specialty. Your mom and I can come up with something perfect and individualized just for you, just like any hipster dad would do. It was nice talking to family about you, all that we have been through so far, and what is still left to come. They even talked about having a shower in your honor. Cool. I'll pick out the music. And the theme. It will be hip.

28 Weeks, 2 Days...What Child Is This?

"Naming a child is a monumental task. You hold in your hands the power to determine middle school taunting, roll-call giggle fests and graduation pronunciation flops. A name must be able to carry your offspring through childhood, but still be dignified enough to work for your little future CEO. Or rock star. Or president. You have to consider various nicknames, derivatives, abbreviations and its rhyming potential with any parts or noises of the human body."

I found this quote from an article on babble.com. The author and I have the same philosophy of choosing a name to last a lifetime. Sounds like we hold "the power" now and the rest of your life is devoted to "payback." Your mom and I will mull over the list again this weekend, then wait for the moment when you first open your eyes as we hold you to bequeath unto you the name.

28 Weeks, 1 Day...Hair it is

This week's developmental update says you have eyelashes and eyebrows now. It also says that the hairs on your head are growing. People make a big deal about hair. They curl it, straighten it, grow it,cut it, dye it, wax it, and pluck it. They are never satisfied with it the way it naturally grows. People get mohawks, faux hawks, rat tails, rooster cuts, mullets and buzzcuts. There are more hair products than you can imagine. Just don't become a slave to your hair. It's not worth it. When humidity strikes it does what it wants anyway.

28 Weeks...It's the last trimester, celebrate

It's the last trimester, we should celebrate! Kicking things off we will start counting the kicks. You are supposed to kick at least 10 times in 2 hours. I think you pretty much nailed that one. This weekend we will likely do something. Maybe go to Sticky Fingers for ribs since you are crazy about being in mom's ribcage. We are also going shopping for the dogs. Lately it has been all about you, but we still do stuff for the dogs too.

27 Weeks, 6 Days...Sympathetic symptoms

I used to think that the daddy having sympathetic symptoms along with the mommy-to-be was a bunch of baloney. Not anymore. Your mom has gained a couple of pounds. So have I. Her back started hurting. Sciatic Nerve is what she said. My hip was killing me after lying on the floor putting together your furniture. She had to drink some sweet stuff for a glucose test and got sick. I had a gross sweet taste in my mouth and felt a little woozy myself after she threw up. I'm just waiting for that first kick in my ribcage!

27 Weeks, 5 Days...Memorial Day

No Lamaze for us 3 tonight, baby. It's Memorial Day. Your Grandpa Phipps was in the service. So was your Great-Papaw Barney. I don't forsee an end to wars anytime soon, or the need to slack off on matters of national defense. Regardless of politics, service to one's country is a noble thing to do. Too bad it turns into a political game. I thought of myself as a Peace Corps kinda guy as a young man.

27 Weeks, 4 Days...Hardware in Place

Finished putting the last piece of furniture together tonight, yeah! Your room has a crib, a dresser, a bookshelf, and a clever corner seat that turns into a twin sized daybed. There is also a huge palm branch to put over your crib. All the pieces are in place except for the most important one...YOU!

27 Weeks, 3 Days...Chilling Out

Tonight we were a fam, just sitting on the couch watching a movie together. I talked to you. So did your mom. Your mom and I talked to each other. The only silent one was you, but you did some movements for us to contribute to the conversation in your own way. The dog sulked from atop the couch. Sigh.

27 Weeks, 2 Days...All You Need Is Everything

You need stuff and we know how to pick it out just for you.
Stuff for daytime, stuff for nighttime, stuff for in-between-times too.
Stuff to powder and primp and smooth onto you.
Stuff to wipe you off with and change you into,
Stuff to shampoo and bubble and make you go coo.
Stuff for washing and drying and hooded bathrobes too.

A warmer to warm all of your wipers
And hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of diapers.
Stuff to wear and act cute or tough,
And even stuff for just being in the buff!

Fun stuff, boring stuff.
Cute stuff and ordinary stuff.
Playtime, naptime, breakfast time and on the go-time.
Leisure time, temperature taking time, and even toenail clipping time.

From Bibs and Cribs, High Chairs and Washcloths,
To Beanies and Onesies, Booties and Burpcloths.
Good thing we are having a babyshower or two
With lots of family and friends who are excited about you!
And after this rhyme if they still haven't a clue,
a nice giftcard will always perfectly do!

27 Weeks, 1 Day...Natural Habitat

Just about got your natural habitat (nursery, not jungle) finished. Got the crib and the bookshelf shelf put together. Had a little help with the dresser and almost got it finished too. Just have the day-bed left to put together. Soon we will be done with your natural habitat. Now people just gotta start buying all the stuff to fill it up with! Your mom and I have done the hard part-picking out all of it.

27 Weeks...Doing the Wave

Your mom said she looked down at her tummy today and saw what looked like 3 ripples or waves go across it! She said it was so cool, like you were doing the wave. The wave usually takes more than 1 person to do effectively, but it sounds like you knew exactly what you were doing. Whenever you want to do the wave, just let me know. You can start it and I'll do it too. We can get a whole bunch of people to do it. Imagine that.

26 Weeks, 6 Days...Toe Tappin'

Tonight I got the honor of painting your mom's toenails. She thought she could reach them and paint them herself by sitting cross-legged but you were in the way inside of her belly. Even though I did it in the dark, I think it was a pretty good job for an amateur. Too bad it wasn't going to be warm enough for her to wear open-toe shoes tomorrow and show them off! The real trust issue comes when I have to shave her legs.

26 Weeks, 5 Days...Psychologically Speaking

From Lamaze last night: The burst of energy and desire to get everything ready right before the baby comes is called "nesting." This is also a coping mechanism- looking forward to the prize, the pot of gold at the end of this pregnant rainbow, instead of the reality of the present circumstance; you have been carrying a child for the past 9 months that is almost ready to come out and you don't have a clue how to handle it. Seeing beyond the current circumstance into something better by keeping yourself busy. I guess I have been doing a little "nesting" of my own. Got the crib put together at least.

26 Weeks, 4 Days...Friendships for Life

Baby, friends are important. You can't learn and relearn this lesson enough. A good friend will see you through milestones in life, good and bad. They will rejoice with you when you have reason, and weep with you too. They will pick you up when you are lower than dirt and keep you grounded when you start to break through the clouds as your spirit soars. The lesson is this-spread your joy with a friend because it grows when you share it, that same person will be the one to help lighten your burdens when they become too heavy to carry by yourself.

26 Weeks, 3 Days...Shoot

Today we took one of the dogs for a check-up. He is 8 lbs., and we imagine you to be about that same size after you are born. I had to hold him while the nurse drew some blood. He did not like it. Afterwards your mom told me I was going to have to hold you when it's time for you to go to the doctor and have your shots because it would just break her heart. If that's not love, I don't know what is. Shoot!

26 Weeks, 2 Days...Hanging Around

So, I hear your current favorite past-time is this: hanging by your toes from your mom's left rib. How charming. I can just imagine you swinging around in there. You must have quite a grip with those toes to hear her talk! The problem is this- you are neither a monkey, nor is she a banana tree. Do her a favor and relax. Please.

26 Weeks, 1 Day...Young Lions

More about your birthday. You are going to be a Leo. Your mother and I are both Libras. You are a fire sign. We are both air signs. I don't really read horoscopes, but I looked at yours today for a laugh. This is part of what it said. "Leo children are rays of light - playful, willing to be the center of attention, always ready to put on a show. This child is highly entertaining and able to assess the presence of an audience with surprising sophistication. In infants you may notice his showmanship just by their alert and pleasant nature, like stars ready to go onstage." http://astrocenter.astrology.msn.com/msn/GoChildProfile.aspx?Af=-1000
Sounds like a rock star to me.

26 Weeks...About A Birthday

Just been thinking about a chestnut from the Lamaze Class. The instructor said "Your baby will only have 1 birth day." We're not gonna listen to the horror stories about labor pains or stories about them taking the baby. She said those stories about incredibly difficult labor are always about the mother wanting to be the center of attention again. If the doctor "takes" the baby it sounds like they are abducting it or something. We are gonna be sure and not get all stressed out on the day you are to be born. I can keep the whole lot of us as cool as cucumbers.

25 Weeks, 6 Days...the Better To See You With

Your eyes are now beginning to open. This is so very exciting. I read that all babies, including you, have blue eyes in the womb. The colors change and settle a few months after birth. Your mom has blue eyes and I have brown. I think you will probably have brown eyes like me. Someone told me one time that your eyes remain same size from birth until you get old. Maybe that's why babies always look like they have big eyes.

25 Weeks, 5 Days...3 Pillows and a Yoga Mat

We walked the walk and talked the talk tonight. From the hospital parking deck-to the third floor of the hospital itself, we took 3 pillows and a yoga mat to our first Lamaze class. To the naked eye it must have looked like we were moving in or something the way we were carrying all that baggage across the road. I told your mom we could burst through the emergency room entrance and yell out "she's having a baby...where's the Lamaze class."
It was a really informative class. We learned that you will move in 7 different postitions to get out once it is time. We also learned that your body is designed to have a baby, not to have it cut out of you. She took a skeleton and a babydoll and demonstrated. I'm glad we took this class. I can't believe anyone having a baby wouldn't want to know what to is going on with the whole birth process and what to expect. At the end of class we lay on the floor and learned how to relax. Your mom propped herself up on 3 pillows. I told her she looked like Cleopatra gliding down the Nile.

25 Weeks, 4 Days...Mother's Day 2009

Your mom was surprised by the matching shirts I designed for the 2 of you. Then at church she was surprised again by the slide show of the mothers. I gave a picture of her and your ultrasound picture to be included in the presentation. It was priceless. We also began registering for stuff. Now our friends and family will know what we want and need for you.

25 Weeks, 3 Days...Cherub

Here is the t-shirt I designed for you. I designed one just like it for your mom for mother's day too. I also designed one for the dog. The three of you can wear them together. I based it on Psalm 91:11 "for he will order his angels to care for you and guard you wherever you go." the Complete Jewish Bible

25 Weeks, 2 Days...Barking dogs, Purring cats

Baby, if barking dogs make you go up in your mom's ribcage, will purring cats coax you back down to a more comfy spot? She said she can sometimes feel you way up in her ribcage and then all of a sudden you move around down a little bit lower. One of her co-workers asked if she was sure you aren't twins. I think you are just all stretched out like you own the whole world.

25 Weeks, 1 Day...Cool as a cucumber

Baby, isn't that a baby polar bear and baby penguin on your wall? Yes, it is. They're keeping you cool as a cucumber. How did they get there? Your daddy painted them there. Just for you.

25 Weeks...Power Lunch

Today your mom and I had lunch with aunt D. We had a great time talking to her about your state of being, speculated the whole 'boy or girl' thing, and talked about my childhood. She told a story about how I bit through my lip one time and went to the emergency room when the two of us were playing a bit rough. She also told us some stories about her own pregnancy, how my mom talked her into going to an amusement park with several of us kids. To put it mildly, we got on her nerves during that trip! Maybe her condition had something to do with it. She also told the story about how her little girl got named. She is looking forward to your arrival, wants to plan a party for you, and has already bought you a wagon to play in.

24 Weeks, 6 Days...Rock the baby

I was playing with Fasb tonight just the way he likes to be played with. I get down on the floor with him, rough-house, then pick him up and rock him a little. Then we play with a toy. Mom said it looked like I was practicing for playing with you. I don't think you will start out in life as squirmy as he is though.

24 Weeks, 5 Days...Peek-a-boo

Tonight was the last dog obedience class for a while. Starting next monday night that time will be all about you with Lamaze. Both mom and Nexus did well in class tonight. During the course Nexus had to sit close directly in front of your mom. There was a slight problem-Nexus was sitting so close that she couldn't see your mom's face because of you! Problem solver that she is, Nexus peeked around her belly to see your mom's face. We all laughed because it looked so cute.

24 Weeks, 4 Days...Holy Rolling

Today at church while Pastor T. was getting us ready for communion you gave the biggest kick ever! It caught your mom off guard and she even jumped. Of course my attention to Pastor T. was completely blown and I could only stare at her belly for the rest of the time. Waiting. We told Pastor T.'s wife about it at the end of the service and she said it was the Word Of God you were responding to. I told one of my employees about it and he said you "caught the Holy Ghost."

24 Weeks, 3 Days...more lists

I am making a new list of things to do before you are born. Things such as...a plan for the dogs, plotting the quickest route to the hospital, lists of people to call, packing the hospital bag. I dont want to put the horse before the cart, but I dont want to be caught unprepared and off-guard either. Your mom is afraid everything will happen at 3 a.m.

24 Weeks, 2 Days...Comfortable, at last

Went to that place(babies R us) again to look at stuff. Got your mom a neat looking total body pillow. It looked like a big candy cane or a small anaconda. She was more comfortable sleeping last night, at least until I stole all the covers! Guess you cant have it all.