Father's Day

Here are some pictures from Father's Day. We had a pretty mellow day; we went swimming, fiddled around the house, and bar-b-qued in the evening. I think Mick really enjoyed being able to choose what we did without any complaining (or, as I call it, "discussion") from me. His favorite phrase for the day was, "I reserve the right to change my mind because it's Father's Day." Although it's been fun for both of us to celebrate these holidays, we're well aware that this is the freebee year. Next year, we will have truly earned the titles...and we can't wait!



Also, Mick has been busily "hurricane-proofing" our house. The builder provided us with hurricane shutters, but we are responsible for drilling the pins into the exterior of the home so that the shutters can be afixed to the windows. We had been quoted anywhere between $750 and $1000 for someone else to do the job, but capable as he is, my husband decided he would take on the task. Plus he got to buy new tools. What is better than that? Since we have somewhere around 31 windows/doors that need to be covered, with many of them requiring over 12 pins each, this is quite the project. He has pretty much finished the downstairs, which thankfully holds the majority of windows. Hopefully, the storms will hold off until it's all finished!

Uhhhhh.......just kidding

So I am forced to amend my last blog post. We had our second childbirth class last night. Remember the part I wrote about the childbirth video making me "more excited and less anxious" about the process? That was because 95% of that video was animated. They pulled out all the stops last night with not one, but three (!), real-life video births and, let me tell you, I was more than a little horrified. So much for that "knowledge replaces fear" idea.

Crib and Nursery

Busy with Baby Stuff

This week marked the 27th week of pregnancy and, according to one of my pregnancy books, the start of the third trimester. I can't believe how fast time is flying! We had our first childbirth class on Wednesday. It was pretty entertaining. The teacher had us go around the room, introducing ourselves and giving various information including how we told our spouses that we were pregnant. Some of the stories were funny and I was surprised to learn that not one, but two of the couples had found out by taking a pregnancy test in the local Wal-Mart bathroom. If that's not stereotypical Texas, I'm not sure what is!

We were also shown the birthing video. I thought that we'd be given a few weeks to work up to that, but instead found myself watching in anticipated horror at the television screen. Mick made a sarcastic comment about it being a good time to take a coffee break, which brought an awkward silence from the moms in the room and a bunch of snickers from the dads. I was in the corner feeling my ears turn red. I didn't appreciate the joke at the time but have giggled about it over the past few days. He is such a funny guy and just said what every other man in the room was thinking. I hope Cash gets his sense of humor. Long story short, the video wasn't so bad and I found it made me more excited and less anxious about the labor process.

A few weeks ago we bought the furniture for the nusery. It's so fun to walk into that room and see it beginning to take shape. I can just imagine my son in one of his cute little outfits being rocked to sleep or snoozing in his crib. We have yet to set up the crib, but as soon as we do, I'll post a picture. These are the letters I bought and painted to hang above his changing station. Mick wanted me to make sure that I let everyone know that he designed the "H." It's my favorite one.



We also registered at Babies-R-Us last week. I had really looked forward to that but didn't realize how overwhelming it would be. We found ourselves starring at the shelves in a mix of wonder and confusion. What is that? Do we really need this? Just how many burp cloths is appropriate? Which type of bottles/diapers/pacifiers should we use? We began to feel as if we would never make it out of there. We finally made it to the toy/activity section and began shooting the price gun with reckless abandon at anything that caught our weary eyes. We then gave up before we could tackle the clothes department. After I returned home and checked the registry on-line, I realized that we had scanned four baby gates, countless bibs, and more toys than we would know what to do with. Needless to say, I've had to edit a bit.

Lastly, here's a semi-updated photo of the baby bump. It was actually taken a few weeks ago but due to technical difficulties with our computer, I haven't been able to upload it until now. Cash is getting much bigger and his activities inside the womb are a lot more fun to watch. Sometimes my whole belly shakes rapidly from side to side as if he were rocking out in there! I haven't figured out what he's doing but it makes me smile.

He has a name!

The whole naming process is a lot more difficult than it seems. Mick and I had "picked out" names before we were pregnant, but when the reality hit of how significant this will be for our son, those names went out the window. It's not only about what we like, but what seems right for this particular child. I mean this is how he will be referred to for his whole life. It is often the first thing most people will know about him. The weight of it all seemed daunting...that and the fact that Mick and I couldn't agree on anything!

But, alas, I was relieved to discover that we would not have to wait to name him until after he was born as I had feared. When I came back from California we began to toss this name around and discovered it met one very important criteria...we both liked it. Finally, we were getting somewhere! Then we began fishing it out to various people as a possibility. The reviews were quite comical at times. We could tell who didn't particularly care for it by the way they immediately began throwing out other names for consideration.

Now for the other important criteria - does this seem right for this child? To the best of our knowledge in what we are learning about our son, yes. However, Mick wants to reserve the right to change his mind in the event that when we see him, we decide that we were mistaken. I don't think it'll happen but you never know.

I've kept you in suspense long enough. Our son's name is Cash Michael Crawford. Cash means "maker of chests." While the meaning of this name is not that profound, I believe it's what our son brings to the name that is significant. He should define his name, not be defined by it. And, if he hates it, he can go by his middle name.

So we feel we've covered our bases on the name issue as best as we can. Now we just can't wait for him to get here! One final thought, in case you are wondering. We promise to not name future children Check, Credit or Debit.

Happy Mother's Day

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day, and although I'm sure it'll mean something completely different next year, it was still fun for me to be able to celebrate. We went to a Mother's Day buffet with my mom, Reagan and Oscar, and met Reagan's in-laws there as well. Apparently I was a source of entertainment for some of the other diners as we waited in the line for omelets because I was already munching on a chocolate eclair. If that's not the picture of pregnancy, I don't know what is.

Mick was very sweet to make sure I had a nice day. He bought me a beautiful boquet of flowers, shopped for baby furniture and bedding with me and even gave me a foot rub. What a guy!

Here are some photos from the day.

Miscellaneous

With the absence of any real noteworthy news, here's a few odds and ends:

* By popular demand (or the fact that a couple people have mentioned it) I've changed the settings on the page so that anyone who so chooses can leave a comment. This means you no longer need a google ID to let us know your deep thoughts on the posts. If you post under anonymous, though, just remember to type your name in the message box.

* I got to spend last weekend in California visiting with friends and attending a baby shower for Kim. It was great to be back in the ol' stomping ground again. It is an interesting paradox to live in a place that does not yet fully feel like home and then to return "home" only to find that it no longer fits either. All part of the process I'm sure. I really enjoyed getting to see everyone and am looking forward to our return in July.

* The baby's movements are getting more and more profound. I pushed into my belly the other night and felt an actual body part moving underneath my fingers! It was both awesome and creepy at the same time. I tried to get Mick to feel but the baby wasn't cooperating and then Mick got a little worried he might "squish" him.

* Mick and I are both entering into what I've termed the "freakout" time of the pregnancy. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say I'm still averaging at about a four with periodic spikes of 8 or 9. For me, I am faced with the reality that I am going to have to somehow get this baby boy out of my belly. No option really sounds that appealing, which is why I've tried to avoid thinking about it until now. With only a few months left, I can no longer pretend that he will just magically appear without permanent damage to my body. For Mick, I think it is the realization that our lives as we know it are going to cease to exist and this child will take over. Although we are well aware that this is a wonderful blessing, we have NO IDEA what to expect except that everything will change.

*Lastly, we are this close to choosing a name. We'll keep you posted as soon as we decide for sure!