Headphones & Snowcones

I have finally figured out who she looks like. I had originally thought it was Tim Conway or Alfred Hitchcock, but Churchill has taken the lead. Now I just need to figure out how someone who has been dead for 42 years impregnated my wife.

Baby's Got Sauce

One month has officially come and gone. It seems like we brought her home just yesterday, however, more than three hours of sleep at a time also seems like and extravagance at this point. She has been changing daily and her little cheeks and folds of skin are starting to fill up to their chubby potential. She has only been out on a handful of excursions in the area, but there are many adventures planned in my head including little things like Banes and Noble to the big deals like a trip to see the Jersey side of the family and Uncle Steve in Connecticut.

The trip to the East Coast will be happening in January, and I am not too excited about the flight, but it will surely be worth it to have her see where in the world her mother came from, and who taught her to say wouter instead of waater and mira instead of mirror.

Lillie is currently sleeping next to me in her mother's arms dressed in a fleece bunting covered with little candy corn print. Good Night.

Absolutely Sweet Marie

Today is officially two weeks since Lillie was born and took up the space in our lives that we had used for sleeping and filled it full of baby things. She is really the cutest thing on the Earth, really. We are having a hard time deciphering who she looks like - she has obviously gotten the dreaded Volkmann nose, but other than that the jury is still out on her other features.
I have to go back to work for good on Friday of this week. Sally will be home until at least December, so although I can't be home all day, Sally can keep me updated on Lillie's daily hiccups, new facial expressions, and Judge Judy episodes.
Last night Lillie fell asleep on my chest and slept there for about an hour. Coolest thing ever.

Youth Oriented

It has been over a week now and we have decided to keep her. I have taken thousands of pictures, and have only left the house twice, each time rushing home as fast as I could. I have also decided to keep the beard forever as I am afraid she wont recognize me if I shave.
Yesterday we had a one week check up at the hospital, and she has already gained back half of the weight she lost after birth. She takes in over an ounce of milk at each feeding and is on schedule to be 5'8'' by 2021.
Look for more soon.

Everything In Its Right Place

We are home now and are slowly getting used to the transition from being D.I.N.K.s to being
those annoying people who carry pictures of their child everywhere they go, even when the kid is with them, believing wholeheartedly that they are the first couple in the world to ever give birth.
Sally looks great and has taken charge as if she has been doing this for years. Lillian is sleeping for about two hours at a time and feeding in between filling her diapers with the most fowl substance (next to Lutefisk) on the Earth. We are excited for all of you to meet her.
The whole hospital experience was a positive one. Sally woke up Mon night/Tues morn at 1am with contractions, and we timed them until 3:45am when we loaded up and dashed to the Hospital. On arrival we were greeted by an condescending, evil troll of a nurse who downplayed Sally's pain and until about 6am when the epidural was ordered. That nurse was replaced by a crew of nurses that immediately made up for the bad apple by being very calming and positive. Our Doc, who had not been selected to stay on for Jury Duty, arrived at 8:15 am and told Sal to start pushing. So, after 1 hour and 46 minutes of pushing, Lillian made a grand entrance and life has not been the same since.
Thanks for the calls, emails, visits, flowers and positive thoughts, they all helped all three of us through what was the best birthday I have ever witnessed.

Our Newest Aquisition

Introducing Lillian. 7 Lbs 7 Oz. Born 10:01 A.M.

Dark side of the Moon

Although today is the day that we have been waiting for, nothing has happened yet. We had a Dr. appointment this afternoon and not much has changed. The doc estimates that the baby is between 7 and 8 pounds and is situated head down and low. We made an appointment for next Thursday and another for the inducing on the following Monday just in case, even though the doc said it was very unlikely that labor would hold off that long.
Sally is still felling well - the picture above is a shot that I took of Sal's belly last Sunday night. For anyone who cares it is a double exposure taken with a Holga and digitally scanned with no manipulation other than a bit of cropping.

Names for today = Hugo and Anxietesha

W4 still 2

I hate to keep you all in suspense, but there have been no stork sightings over northern Minnesota. We went for a nice walk last night in the neighborhood, ate some more eggplant, drove down a bumpy road, and directly asked the baby to emerge. Sally even had "send off" from the knocked-up hippies yoga group on Monday.

Friends have been very kind lately with phone calls, gifts of food, and Tiffany even came over and mopped the floors on Tuesday. I had mentioned the Dr. appointment that we have for Friday - looks like we may make it after all. My co-workers have also been very nice putting up with me. I have gone from being described as "anxious" and "excited" to "ready" and "punchy".

Thanks for the comments on the blog so far - it has been fun. Hopefully Sally will create a post soon, and there are more pictures on the way.

Keep the Car Running - AF

Nothing yet. The official due date is ONE WEEK from today. Dr.'s appointment yesterday - Sally is carrying 2 inches lower but no other news. We made an appointment for next Thursday but hopefully we wont be able to keep it. I suggested a small shot of Pitosin (labor inducing drug) but no one laughed but me. Sally looks great but is exhausted carrying around the next President/L.A. Kings Center/McNair Scholar/Land Speed Record Holder/Bass Virtuoso for so long. It has been much easier for me, I just have to put things together and keep my junk off of the dining room table. Our Doc is on Jury Duty as of the 8th of October so I am hoping for contractions soon and very little reasonable doubt if it is later.

Look for more embarassing photos soon. The baby has picked my old "photo studio" as his/her nursery so it takes a bit more effort to scan and upload authentic pictures from the murky basement. It is getting colder here and the forcast is calling for rain all week, possibly snow way up north. New names this week include Viggo, Ian, and Nanuk.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part (for me)

So I was wrong about Sunday. I was sure that the baby would be born on the first day of fall and be named "Leaf", "Autumn", or "Dreary". Sally went through the day without one contraction. I had the day planned, but the baby wasn't going to comply. Since then there has been alot of movement in the belly, especially around bedtime. So during this period of anxiety I will share pictures from the last ultrasound we had in which the Nurse counted fingers, toes, heart chambers, and measured body parts. I think this was around 20 weeks but not sure.

Quade!!!!!!!

Here is a photo of the actual prego - obviously she is not a badger, well.......... This photo was taken about 30 weeks when were were scampering for photos to send to mom in New Jersey. At this point nothing had been set up in the baby's room, and Sally had few physical complaints with the exception of a bad taste in her mouth 24/7.

The Heat is on - Glen Frye

The time is near. The crib has been assembled. Tiny articles of clothing have been washed and separated into drawers according to size code and functionality. We have two weeks as of today until the official due date, but something is telling me that the fireworks will start on this Sunday. Maybe because I am ready, or because it is the first official day of Fall... I don't know, mainly because I am ready. I know Sally is ready too, she wants her body back and the ability to once again sleep on her back and drink Brewhouse beer. So, I will attempt to update as frequently as possible, with pictures. And I will also attempt to refrain from swearing and being inappropriate, just in case Grandma reads this.