Half way home...

We're officially half way through the journey to the big day (actually, a little more than half way.)

Yesterday, we went out and did some registry stuff.  First stop was Toy House & Baby Too, here in Jackson.  This is where we shop for gifts for the other children in our lives, but it's really the first time we've gone through the store and really scrutinized what we would like for our child.  If every city in America had a Toy House, that other big toy chain would go out of business.  Of course, the Baby Too section of the store is less about toys and more about life, especially the sleeping and mobility portions.  The best part about Toy House is the staff, they are so nice and pleasant to work with.  At times it felt like we had our own personal shopping assistant, which was great since we really have no idea what we're doing at this point. :)

After registering for all the cool stuff at Toy House, we headed to Target (properly pronounced tahr-zhay), to look for the "day to day you're going to need this, and this, and this" stuff.  Bottles...check, pacifiers...check, onesies...check, etc...check.  The only problem we ran into was trying to register for clothing. Saying that the selection of gender neutral infant clothing is sparse is, shall we say, an understatement. Apparently if you've decided that knowing the gender of your baby in advance isn't something you want to do, retailers don't have much to offer.  Oh well, they always look good in white...

In other news, I think we're feeling our first movements.  For a while there, it was hard to tell if what Sara was feeling was baby or...well...you know...gas.  I think we've turned the corner though and it's definitely more often baby.  She had me check to see if I could feel anything last night, and I did!  Even knowing that I would eventually feel this little one squirming around in there didn't prepare me for that little flutter I felt.

Work is still super busy, and that doesn't look like it's going to change a whole lot before Christmas.  Fortunately I did get to take a week off recently, and it was wonderful spending all of that time with my beautiful wife and the Lil' Shrimp. We headed up north and did the color tour thing and spent a few days at home doing absolutely nothing. All in all, this experience is going by way too fast for me.  Of course, Sara's experiencing just the opposite.  It feels like she's been pregnant forever :)

We have another doctor's appointment coming up soon, and I think we're quickly heading to the time when they start coming up more often than once a month.  We'll keep you posted if anything changes.

Here's a picture of me, Sara, and the Lil' Shrimp enjoying the Tunnel of Trees in northwest Michigan.  It took us almost 2 hours to drive 30 miles from Harbor Springs to the "end of the road."

Today was the big ultrasound, and we're having a...

...baby!

We decided that finding out can wait, at least for now.  There's an element of surprise that is nice, and we feel like it takes some of the pressure off of picking a name...for now anyway.

No issues with the calendar today.  We arrived on time, and then waited for almost 15 minutes...which really didn't make me very happy knowing that when we were 15 minutes late, the appointment got canceled, but they can be accommodating when the delay is on their side.

Afer it was all said and done, the lady who did the ultrasound says it looks like the due date estimate of the last week of February is right on track, so they're not adjusting anything in regards to expected delivery time (I know Aaron has money on the 24th...)

So, without further adieu...watch our Lil' Shrimp swim around for a bit:



They gave us a few pictures, too.

Because reading a calendar is just so hard...

It's my fault...100%

This appointment has been on my calendar for four weeks.  It's on the right day.  It's even got the right time in the appointment notes.  Ultrasound @ 11:00AM.

The calendar appointment is set for 10:30AM.  I wanted to make sure no one at work scheduled me for a meeting that would run up to 11:00AM, forcing me to have to reschedule so I could make it to the appointment.

I've looked at this appointment on my calendar every day for the past four weeks in anticipation of today.  I looked at it multiple times through the morning and still managed to screw it up. :(

It feels like the worst day ever, even if it isn't...

Thirty is the new twenty...at least that's what I heard...

Whew, what a whirlwind.  I'd say it's nice to take a break, but that's not entirely the truth.  I'm actually taking a sick day, thus giving me time to compose some of the things I've been thinking about for some time (and yes, I'm actually sick, it's not like I took a day off work to blog.)

Way back when, in the time before any of you knew that we were going to have a baby, a friend casually mentioned to me, in an unrelated conversation about having children, that "thirty is the new twenty."  At the time, she had no idea she was saying this to a late 30's, just found out his wife is pregnant, and been keeping the big secret for almost two weeks now fella.  The impact of what she said really didn't hit home until recently.

When we first found out this was actually happening, numbers started running through my head.  I'm a numbers kind of guy.  Playing with numbers fascinates me for some reason.  I realize that puts me in a special group of people. :)  Now, these numbers don't necessarily mean anything, they're just things I think about.  They're not necessarily positive or negative, just numbers, numbers related to my life and the life of our child.

Here's one I've posted before:  I'll be 39 when our child is born.  Brett Favre (yes, that Brett Favre) is a little more than 2 years older than me and his grandson will be almost 1 year old when my child is born.  Now there's some numbers to think about.

I was 13 when my dad turned 39.  I remember what a big deal it was when he turned 40.  If 30 IS the new 20, maybe my kid will think the same thing about me turning 50 (eek!)

When my mom turned 39, I was a junior in high school, 17 years old, little more than a year from heading to college.  This kid won't head off to college until I'm about 57...so much for retiring when I'm 60 :)

My my mom's dad turned 45...3 months after I was born.  I'll be 44 when kindergarten rolls around.  At first, this number terrified me, especially considering the sentence at the start of this paragraph.  I couldn't help but think what it would be like to be at kindergarten roundup with the rest of the parents who will technically be young enough to BE my children.  However, the more I started thinking about it, and pondered what my friend had said, the more I realized that I may not be the only "old man" in the room.  I actually know a lot of people in their 30's, and not just their early 30's, who are having children...maybe 30 really is the new 20, after all! There will be plenty of other people using canes and walkers at high school graduation in 2029!

We're 17 weeks in at this point.  We've got the big ultrasound coming up next Wednesday.  At this point, I think we're leaning strongly toward telling the technician to keep any information about gender to themselves.  It might just be a game day decision though :)

In the interest of keeping things visually "interesting" below is an image of what Pamper's tells me the lil' shrimp looks like right about now.  Weighing in at about 7 to 8 ounces and 5 to 6 inches from head to rump.  Fingerprints are actually starting to form right about now.  Bones are hardening and the baby will starting hearing us soon, if he/she hasn't already.

Give me a beat boys...

We'll, we had out second official doctor's visit today.  It was short and sweet to say the least.  30+ minutes of waiting in the lobby for a 10 minute visit.  The payoff was worth it though...we got to hear the heartbeat of our child again :)

We also set the date for the ultrasound, 4 weeks from today, on September 29.  The big question is: do we want to know or not (the gender of course)?  I have a feeling we might not make up our minds until just prior to going to the appointment.

A stitch in time...

Those of you who know my wife, know that sewing is something she enjoys. Based on some of her projects from the past, I think our baby will be the cutest one on the block.

Below is a picture of some of the quilt blocks she's putting together for a baby quilt.  It should be ready for some work come Thanksgiving, so get your quilting supplies ready great grandma Ware :)

Operation feline release is complete...

Well, if you're reading this, you're definitely in the know!  Our little secret ain't so secret any more :)

The congratulations and positive feedback has been overwhelming!

I'll do my best to keep this blog up-to-date, so feel free to check back now and again to see the latest on our lil' shrimp.

Did I let the cat out of the bag?

First, who keeps their cats in a bag?

Today is the day!  In a mere 2 hours, this little secret won't be a secret any more.

We actually told my parents yesterday.  Sara's parent will find out at around noon today, and the rest of you will find out soon after.

Guess I'll have to change the subtitle of the blog, eh?

Just like Christmas morning...

It's quite possible that you'll all find out about this in just a couple of days. :)

September 12 really is just too far away.  When Sara got home from work the other night, she commented that it's been getting harder and harder to "suck it in" so the folks she works with don't notice that she's starting to show (not a whole lot mind you, but just enough that it's unrealistic to think we'll make it another 4 weeks without having to come clean.)

With that in mind, this may just be the weekend.  I talked to her today and I think she's in agreement that now that we're more than 13 weeks in, we might as well just get this one little detail out of the way.  And it will actually be a relief.  I've never been great at keeping secrets, especially good ones.  I'm lucky that we typically don't buy each other extravagant Christmas and birthday gifts (if we buy any at all.)  If I buy a gift for her more than a few days in advance, I have a horrible time not just giving it too her.  The fact that I've made it to mid-August is actually quite a feat.

Waiting until September 12th and announcing it to our parents on Grandparent's day would have been neat, but it also would have been almost half way through the pregnancy.  I think any of you who have had a baby can probably attest to the fact that hiding something like this at 17 weeks would be more than just a little difficult.

Maybe she'll talk me out of it, maybe not.  If she doesn't you'll all have the scoop by Monday morning!

Time is slipping away...

I was just reading through all my posts, it seems like I just posted a couple of days ago but it's been almost 2 weeks!  Like I said earlier, as we approach the start of the school year, time just gets a away from me at work.  I haven't had a day off since we got home from Boston, but I'm planning on taking this next weekend off, no matter how big the fires at work have gotten.  A man's gotta rest at some point.

The shrimp is getting to the point of needing to add a "jumbo" in front (have people always compared the size of their developing baby to food, i.e. peanut, pea-pod, peach pit. apple, etc.?)  With almost 4 weeks to go until we plan on telling everyone, Sara is at the point of hoping people just think she's getting fat.  In my heart of hearts, I'm pretty sure I've never met a woman who actually hoped people thought she was gaining weight. :)

We're 13 weeks in now.  Clothes are starting to become a problem.  Old clothes don't fit, actual maternity clothes are too big.  Shopping for maternity clothes can be surprisingly difficult, when you're trying to keep something like this a secret.  It might be awkward to explain why you're in the maternity section holding clothes up to see how they might look/fit if someone you know walks by, and Murphy's law pretty much assures that they will.  However, Sara has been able avoid it somewhat by shopping during the day, when most people we know are working.  She doesn't work on Tuesday and Wednesday and most of the people shopping in the early afternoon don't know her from Eve (that's probably the nicest way of saying the average shopper on a Tuesday afternoon is a little older than our friends and my parents friends...in fact, they're pretty darn old.)

Of course, as the time seems to go by quickly for me, it's kind of dragging for her.  She's looking forward to that 2nd trimester when most women get a little of their energy back.  Maybe then I can talk her into mowing the lawn on those days of work... :)