Magical

It's been quite awhile since I have posted a blog. I apologize, but school has been keeping me busy. Becky probably won't agree, but this isn't her post! One of my classes is working on a project where we will create new pieces of art by "breeding" two other pieces. The pieces are selected by how popular they are, so we are trying to do a little bit of natural selection to see if we can come up with something that is universally attractive. It is pretty interesting, once we get something working I will post a link to it so anyone can check it out.

So it seems like the baby is getting more and more active. Almost any time I try and feel him, we don't know yet about the sex, but I always say him for some reason, I can. I ask Becky all the time how my baby is doing and more often now she tells me that he is kicking.

We went to the doctor on Monday. It was pretty much the same as usual. They did want to get Becky to take a flu shoot. She isn't too excited about it because she has never had one. We did hear the heart beat again, it too seems much stronger. You can have a listen if you want. You can also listen to the first recording of the heartbeat for comparison. We are looking forward to the next visit on Nov. 14th. We are doing our second ultrasound to see if the placenta has moved and if the kidneys have cleared up. We also hope we will be able to see the gender then. I'm afraid of all the clothes we will buy if we know the gender!

While I'm looking forward to the second ultrasound, that will mean we are entering the third trimester. That means more visits to the doctor and that this process will be over soon, and then the real adventure begins. I sure am looking forward to getting started. I kind of feel like the final strip of Calvin and Hobbes. It was sad that the strip was ending, but the strip itself indicated that the future was wide open.

(Click on it for a bigger version)

Balloon Fiesta

Nothing too exciting has happened since the last blog. We had a pretty busy weekend with going to the balloon fiesta and doing Saturday chores. We went to the balloon glow on Friday night. They always have a great firework show after the glow. Scott & gazed up into the sky looking at the fireworks for a while. I mentioned to him about walking and watching towards the end of the show so we could beat the mass crowd. He told me I�m not sure you are capable of doing that. I thought about it for a second and told him he was probably right. I had already almost taken one spill walking around in the dark that night and I wasn�t looking up in the sky. (We will be posting pictures from this event & the state fair tonight if I have anything to do with it.)

Everything else is going fine. We have our next doctor appointment on the 23^rd. I assume it will be a routine visit. I am starting to count the months until I am able to retire. I am excited about the fact of being able to stay home with the baby, but a little apprehensive since work is all I know. I am sure there will be a period of adjustment.

Scott's Hidden Obsession

I'm not sure who is going to be worse about buying stuff for the baby it doesn't really need. The other night we were at Kohl's looking around. Of course we had to check out the maternity and baby section. Kohl's is pretty smart they put them right next to one another.

They already have little Christmas outfits for sale. Scott was discussing the idea of how cute it would be if they had a Santa outfit for him and a little elf outfit for the baby. I advised him that our baby won't even be born yet at Christmas time.

Then, last night we were doing our midnight grocery shopping at Walmart and as we are walking through the baby section Scott says really loudly that we will need to get a 49er's baby bag. Not that they have them there, but to get a reaction from some ladies standing down the isle. They giggled.

Maybe it is good that we don't know what sex our baby is or our house would be filled up to the rim by the time the baby is born.

Reality Setting In

I know that I won't fully understand the impact that our new addition will have on our lives until he is here, but I think that some reality is starting to set in. Up to this point it has been looking for names, new clothes, painting, and in general having fun trying to anticipate the changes we will need to make. I guess today a little bit of reality has begun to set in. Don't get me wrong, I am still very excited about what this new baby will add to our lives, but it is a little bit frightening thinking about the lifestyle we will be giving up. We can pretty much come and go as we please, just have to make sure the animals have food and water. We can eat on the couch without worrying about what kind of example we are setting for one another. I can watch football do homework until all hours of the night and only have to worry about how tired I will be the next day.



My boss recommended that sometime in February Becky and I have a final night out on the town, because it will be the last one we have in awhile. I was listening to a comedian talk about how he would rather shovel manure all day than take care of three kids. He said that, "the manure will at least work with you." I began to think, now that's a bit ridiculous, it can't be that hard. Then I realized that was thinking exactly the thing that people with kids laugh about thinking before they have kids. Can it really be that hard?



However, as I think about all that I will be giving up, I also thought about all that will be gaining. I think of seeing Tristen, my nephew, and the joy he brings to his parents, and everyone around him. I think of how much my friends smile and laugh when they talk about their kids. I'm sure that it will be frustrating and make for some long nights, but the rewards will be worth it (they'd better be or I'm holding all of you responsible for telling me so). I guess it's just part of growing up.