Baby stuff!

Right off the top, I'd like to thank Debbie's parents for hosting a double shower for her and her little sister Jaime (the due dates are only a week apart!) It's incredible how much patience they have, and they are gracious hosts. Also, Susanna did a fabulous job of getting the whole thing together. I am still finding random bits of glitter, however.

I've got to thank my own parents for their lovely gifts as well. Shel Silverstien will always be welcome in our home, and I remember loving The Giving Tree, and his other works as a young child. I look forward to reading these poems to Connor. Once I get a little Dr. Suess, I think we'll be in business.

Also, no, Uncle David, I don't have multiple wives. Debbie never did go for the whole harem thing. I tried, in vain, but I suppose that wouldn't have been right anyway. I even told her she could be head wife, to which she responded something to the effect of having my head cut off.

So, on to pictures!

As you can see, we got a bunch of stuff. It's astounding how much stuff a baby needs. Of course, many of you are just nodding in agreement, and thinking things like..."You have no idea, yet!" Even so, I am continually surprised by the quantity of stuff we apparently need. I also learned quite a bit about baby showers. Have you all heard of diaper cakes? This was a first for me. When I first heard the term, my tangental mind quickly thought of cow patties. It only made sense to me. I figured a diaper cake was something a baby left in the diaper for you. When I heard that we would have one at the shower, I thought it might be some cruel joke, where everyone got a diaper, and one poor sap had a messy one. As it turns out, a diaper cake is nothing so repulsive, and thank God!

It's actually kind of cute. I'm just glad I don't have to eat it. Most of Debbie's mom's confections are quite tasty, but I'm not so sure of this one.

In other news, we have a fully assembled crib, minus bedding anyway. So, how many southern white boys does it take to put together a crib? Well, 1/2 way through I'd have estimated more than a few, but as it turns out, just one will do. It wasn't that bad, I just have a hard time understanding why such things include allen wrenches and other tools that are just barely large enough to hold, but not at all easy to use. My thumbs are still bruised from trying to torque down screws with those mini tools. I'd have rather they weren't included, so that I might have an excuse to buy some. In anycase, we've got the nice convertable crib/bed that can be changed over time to three configurations other than an infants crib. It's quite nice. Apparently, Debbie's parents have a tradition of buying the cribs for their grandchildren (how will they ever retire, with such finacial demands? The family never stops growing!)

I am also very excited to post that my parents have managed to find a cool diaper bag. I won't have to carry pink, or Winnie the Pooh, or any of that weirdness. It almost looks like a book bag. I really cannot say how happy this makes me. I've been dreading carrying around a fru-fru bag of some sort.

Anyway, let me throw in a shot of the crib (it's nice cherry!), and I'll get back to you guys in a few days...

As for the progress of Connor himself, Debbie is currently 26 weeks along, so we have only a few months left. I hope he likes his new home and parents. It might not be as warm, but it's not as gooey and weird as the womb.

A note to Debbie...

I just wanted to slip this in here...

The first post I made, I didn't submit until Debbie had read it. I wanted to make sure she'd appreciate my writing style, and that I didn't step on any toes. Anyway, after the first one, I just tried to use my own discretion, and be real about the whole thing. Usually, she reads my updates, giggles a few times, and says "Nice, baby! That's good stuff." This time, she had a critique. She says, "My tummy wasn't all that flat before..." in answer to the previous post. Well, I'm just a touch confused by that. As I remeber it, she was dead sexy, and still has a good bit of it going on.

So, I say to you, Debbie:

Let them read of the delusions that my love for you inflicts upon my eyes and memories. You were already beautiful, and now you simply glow. I don't care what your reality tells you, mine says I'm the luckiest guy in the world. In my reality, I didn't exagerate in the least. If I'm crazy, its the best crazy I can think of.

Oh, and you're still dead sexy.

Deb's tum tum, strollers, car seats, diaper bags, and more...

First up, several of you have been wanting pictures of Debbie at profile so you can gawk at her belly growth. Without further ado, here we are:


Some of you may have wished that we had a good before shot, but we never thought about it, and I just don't have any profile pictures of Debbie other than this. Before she got pregnant, her tummy was pretty flat. Hell, I wish I had a before shot myself, but more for comparison of cup size, I mean dang, they're, well, you know what, never mind, I'll probably get in trouble...

Anyway, she's definitely getting the prego pooch, and it's cool, because Connor is moving around a lot now. I felt him kick just last night! That's a weird feeling the first time around. I think the little guy is going to be an athlete based on what Debbie says about his activity. According to her, he may be a boxer. I'm just glad to know he's got some spirit.

In other news, it's pretty difficult for a soon to be Mr. Mom to find baby stuff that a man can be comfortable with. Fortunately, the industry must recognize that there are more stay at home dads, because not every thing is fru-fru, but the cool stuff is few and far between. I finally found a diaper bag that looks a little more like a man-purse than a clown's hip-sack. Eddie Bower to the rescue! Seriously, the baby stuff industry (that's a technical term) needs to step it up for us dads. I can't believe how much pink, Winnie the Pooh, princess crap, plain ugliness, and generally effimenant products there are. No wonder baby boys are often confused with girls, the poor little buggers have to ride around in pink strollers. Speaking of strollers, we've found one of those, too, and it actually looks cool!

See, there is such a thing as a cool stroller! It looks like something Timberland made, I love it. I'm still fighting with figuring out how to put the dang thing in my truck. There should be a place that does nothing more than tell people how to install this stuff. I can't seem to get the base to install properly, and not using the base leaves the car seat all floppy and stuff. My airbag turns off like it should, but it just doesn't seem secure. Even after following directions from the car seat, and my truck's owner's manual, it still doesn't seem right. I think Connor would be more secure in a tank bag on a motorcycle. Whatever, I'll figure it out.

Many people have been asking what our nursery theme will be. Why must there always be a theme? I don't know if Connor will like animals, cowboys, firetrucks, or even ballet. Why buy a bunch of stuff the kid won't recognize, only to have to get rid of it once he's old enough to tell us he hates it? The room is already baby blueish, and we're throwing a lot of browns around, and a little orange. That's our theme. I'd like to put up some shapes and such, as well, but the nursery has no traditional theme. Just blue, brown, and some orange, and a few geometrical figures. As a matter of fact, some good friends of ours down here in Gulfport recently graced us with a cute onesie (sp?) that reflects the so called theme rather well. Thanks, Sam and Lish:


So, we're more and more ready as the days pass, and I'm more and more excited! Maybe we'll at least have the junk we need, if not the experience. Either way, I'm sure Debbie will make up for my deficiencies, and I'll take up any slack of her's (as if she slacks, haha, not Deb's!).

Soon to come, speculation on Connor's good looks! Debbie and my baby pictures will be up next. From what I've seen, he'll be a dang cute baby, but he might be a bit gangly in middle school, and he'll probably be the whitest little boy the world has seen in some time...

You can comment now...

I didn't know that the settings only allowed certain accounts to post comments. That's fixed. Anyone can comment now. Sorry 'bout that.

Ultrasonic Cojones!

So, I sat down to get another update together, and You-Tube was down, and wouldn't let me access my videos. I thought I'd wait until it was up again, and then I got hit with a massive school project. Well, You-Tube is up again, and our latest ultrasound is ready for viewing. Last night, as I discovered this, I was happy that I could now make a new update, but I was up to my neck with this school project I mentioned. It really got me thinking. What exactly am I doing, while people are wanting me to talk about our Baby Boy to come? I'm playing with crayons, basically.

Yep, while I'm contemplating becoming a father, and wondering about all the things I'll get to teach my son, I'm actually playing with crayons. How ironic is that? What's better, I'm paying to do this.

Alrighty, well, enough about me and my deficiencies. We're going to have a boy!!! Yay! I wasn't holding my breath one way or the other, but I am very very happy. My name may live on. Also, Debbie thinks she'll be better at dealing with a boy. I'm not sure why, but I agree. Maybe it's because she can handle me so well. Well, on with it:

Look Ma! I has Balls!

Connor is very happy to meet you all, and fortunately he is not quite old enough to be embarrassed by all of you peeking at his parts. Yep, we're stuck on Connor, and that's pretty unlikely to change. It looks as though he will be Connor William, in fact. Debbie and I actually kicked around the idea of using Connor Wilhelm, but nobody seems to like it but us. Either people tend to think we intend to torture our son (it's a middle name for crying out loud, gimme a break!), or we are starting up the Fourth Reich. Ah, well, for the sake of our son's sanity, as well as our own, I suppose we'll be using the contemporary spelling.

Oh, and to those of you who continually harass my wife to take profile shots, so that you can see the progress of her tummy growth, rejoice! She has folded! I really don't understand why I have to be so careful about how I refer to her new body-type, but other people can blatantly ask to see a bulging belly without getting backhanded. In any case, I think I'll take the first picture tonight, and I may have it up in a couple of days. One day I hope to understand the intricacies of womanly insult. In the mean time, I just keep my mouth shut. That is unless I'm telling her how awesome she looks, and that she's the most beautiful woman ever, and the baby belly only makes her more appealing, and no, Jessica Alba ain't got nothin on you, and your dang right you still do it for me, and Of Course! I'll be happy to do the dishes, rub your feet, clean the house, mow the lawn, get a degree, and be Mr. Mom! Yay, you're awesome! ( I think I'm allowed to say all of that kind of stuff. I almost got by with calling her a cantaloupe smuggler the other day, but it was a close one.)

For now, I need to get back to my crayons. Cheers, all!

Update tomorrow

We had an appointment today, big news.  I'll get a good update done tomorrow.

Finally, an Update!

Sorry guys, I've been very very busy lately. My beloved Aunt Leora died, and that wasn't easy for any of my family. During the last few weeks, I've been up to my neck with school work with the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division. I'm studying Digital Design, and I am just now getting settled into the classroom. It's exciting, but can be very daunting at times. Also, my best friend from High School showed up with his fiance, Hi Jared and Frankie! That was great, but the combination of everything has kept me out of the blog. I'll do better in the future.

Ok, so I'm supposed to be talking about baby stuff, right? Well, on that front, Debbie has finally started to show just a little bit. Her sisters did a really great job picking out some maternity clothes, and Debs is excited again, because she looks great in them. Thanks, Susanna and Jamie! Things are feeling a little more real now that we can see some changes.

We recently had another appointment, and at this one all we did was listen to the heartbeat. It's a steady 155 BPM, and apparently all is still quite well. It's weird hearing Debbie's tummy beat. That is definitely not a taco.

Something else you guys should know, as things are moving along: Don't touch the tummy unless invited. Apparently, there are lots of people who feel the need to rub my wife's tummy. It's not entirely forbidden, but you never know how Debs is feeling, and it might be taken as an invasion of space. She's one of the sweetest girls I know, but her fuse has gotten very short, and I have the distinct feeling that the tummy touching bit will light it. Just a friendly heads up.

I've heard that you have to have pictures and graphics for a blog to work well. Well, I don't have much that I can put up for now, so how about something else that's cute:

Vital Statistics

I'm sure everyone has a bazillion questions, but you don't get all the answers. I've got a meaty entry for you that should cover most of the obvious stuff. First off, jumping right into the excitement, we just had our first ultrasound!


Due date: January 24, 2009
Pregnancy: 11 weeks
Sex: Can't tell yet, and don't know if we will find out...
Approximate size: 2 1/2"
Names: We'll save that for another day...

If that isn't enough to satisfy you, how about a video?:

So, here goes...

My first blog entry...

Hi. I'm Stephen, and I'm married the coolest person in the world. Her name is Debbie. More than likely, you know us, or you wouldn't be here. I'll write as if we haven't met, for all the people who stumble across this. Sometime, not too long ago, we began talking about having a baby. Actually, it was more my wife talking about a baby, while I curled up in the fetal position, and shook in fear. I've always wanted to have kids,... one day. It was never 'today'.

She practically broke me. I knew I couldn't hold out forever, and clocks do tick (how are clocks relevant?). Besides, if we continued to wait for a better financial situation, or more free time, we'd be 80. I began to make myself stay out of the shaking fetal position, and pretend I shouldn't need diapers for myself. I tried to pretend it would be alright. I even got careless with birth control techniques, and I knew I was doing it. Suffice it to say, it worked.

I couldn't be happier. I can't wait! I can't believe that I'm excited, and not horridly crippled in fear. I surprised the crap out of myself, and I think my wife. I went mad calling friends when she told me. I wanted to tell everyone, and she had to restrain me. I'm not scared, much. Even the baby shows my wife asked me to watch are entertaining, now. It's a bit freaky, because I never expected myself to react this way.

Don't worry. I still want my beer (although it's much harder to get now). I still like motorcycles. I think that Darwin forgot to check the demographics and note the number of stupid people that actually survive. When a short pair of shorts walks buy, my neck does not seem to respond to my commands. Video games are cool, and so are power tools. My testosterone is intact.

That being said, I'll be honest. I wear the pants. Debbie picks them out, and tells me which ones to put on, but I do wear them. I'm not a pushover, I'm just not stupid enough to believe otherwise. Besides, it's probably for the better.

So anyway, we are getting things together, and preparing for what I am calling a loosely planned pregnancy. We have some books, the internet, family, friends, people who have decided that they are our friends, and flat out strangers, all to give us advice. In fact, I could make an entire entry about the advice we've been given, if Debbie will let me post it. There is no shortage of information, or resources. I'm pretty sure that we'll be just fine. As long as we can manage to endure the onslaught of attention, repetitive answering of questions, and "Things you need to know..." comments, we'll make it. Actually, that's part of what this blog is about. Hopefully, when an event occurs, I can make a nice entry, telling all about it, and tell the stories a few times less.

If you want to know what's going on, remember this url. Things are different; busier. Everything is great, and if we haven't called, or come over, it's not because we are avoiding people. We are simply trying to prepare, and relishing in the free time we manage to get.

Aha! Debbie has made it home. That means I can get the ultrasound pictures that she has been taking to work. We have a bit of video, too, but I need to edit it a bit. Lemme get started on the next entry.