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!

Our first visitors!

We've officially broken in the guest room. Our friends Scott, Kim, Madison and Savannah (otherwise known as our son's future wife) came out last week to visit while Scott attended a conference. Kim and I took Madison to the Houston Zoo on Thursday. The zoo itself was really enjoyable, but the heat and humidity found the two pregnant ladies wanting to hide out in the only air conditioning around - the bathroom. We spent the next couple of days laying low just trying to recover!

On Saturday evening, we all went down to the Kemah boardwalk to ride some rides and have dinner. They have live music on the weekends and this time it was something called Zydeco, which is like Cajun bluegrass. Right up our alley! Madison was sooo cute dancing to the music and I just couldn't resist joining in. It was really nice to have friends here as we are still very much in the process of making connections here.

A few hours after the Blands left, Mick's mom, Eileen, and her husband Roger arrived for a visit on their way across country. They brought along their dog Gidget who is due to deliver puppies any minute now. We've been watching her like a ticking time bomb. It's really funny because the whole thing weirds me out. We can see the puppies move in her belly and although I can watch my son do the same thing in my stomach, it totally freaks me out to see it on her. I know I'll have to go through this at the end of summer, but I just don't like to think about that part!



We went to the NASA Space Center on Monday and got to tour the NASA campus. We saw the old mission control room that they used when they landed on the moon, as well as the astronaut training facility. We even saw the new lunar rover that they will take up to the moon in 2020. It was really and interesting trip. It made me want to be an astronaut!

Today we headed down to Galveston Island to see the Titanic Exhibit at Moody Gardens. It was pretty neat to be able to see actual artifacts from the wreckage. We each received a boarding pass with the name and information of a real passenger from the ship at the beginning of the tour, and when you reach the end you get to find out whether or not you survived. Unfortunately, Eileen and Roger didn't make it, but my lady and her two sons did live. Whew!

Baby Clothes

Now that I can finally shop for gender-specific clothing, I had to start filling the closet with some boy-friendly duds. Here are a few shots of the outfits I got, as well as some that the Blands brought us when they came to visit this past week. Although I have to admit that boy clothes are not nearly as "awww"-inducing as girl outfits, it's so fun to imagine my little guy in them in just a few short months!

It's a Boy!!!!!

I can't believe it, but there's no mistaking it! We are having a son! I haven't been able to quit smiling all morning. I was pretty convinced that we were going to have a girl, so I guess the jokes on me. As far as names go, we were set on Emily, but seeing as that would totally get the boy beat up, I guess we'll have to come up with something else. That may take awhile.

The baby is very healthy, right-sized for his age and development. He was cracking Mick and I up by poking himself in the eye. You can see him do it in one of the ultrasound photos. We also got to see him yawn and drink the amniotic fluid. It was difficult to get good facial shots because he always had his hands up by his face and he was resting his head on the placenta. Mick asked the tech if she could tell whether or not the baby was cute, and she said yes. (Although, what else would she say?)

Anyway, I'll spare our son future embarrassment and not post the "proof" pic, but these are the latest shots.

Settling in - finally!

"As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

Whew! What a long and exciting weekend! We are officially in our new house so I guess that makes us real Texans. I can start to hear the drawl already.

We closed on our house on Wednesday and were anxious to get in and claim our domain, however due to the back log of work that the contractors still had to do on the house (touch-ups, etc), we were met with a group of strangers in our home and we were the ones who felt like we shouldn't be there. We stuck around waiting for a refridgerator to be delivered that didn't actually show up until Friday. Thus began the craziness of waiting windows and rescheduling appointments that dominated the next couple of days. Thankfully, most everything did eventually get done. I wouldn't really expect anything different for this type of a move anyway.

By Thursday night, Mick, Bella and I were sleeping in our new bed in our new house surrounded by boxes and happy as clams. There is just something so comforting about being reunited with our stuff. I'm sure that says something about me psychologically but whatever.

Anyway, Mick and I had to run to Best Buy to get a wall mount for the TV and there by the checkout stand were boxes of the illusive Nintendo Wii. We had toyed with the idea of getting one for the past couple months but they were always sold out. This seemed like striking gold! How could we not buy one? We had some extra Christmas money, and since mine will likely be spent on maternity clothes, Mick generously ponied up for the game. Reagan came over on Saturday and we all "played" tennis and bowling. (I use that term loosely, because I mostly just swung my arms with reckless abandon and hoped I did something successful.) My mom and Aunt Mary came by last night for dinner and Mick and Mary really battled it out in tennis. Good times were had by all.

Lastly, here's an updated picture of the baby bump. This week is 20 weeks! I can't believe that I'm five months pregnant and half way there already. The baby has been kicking daily which is fun for me but not quite interactive enough for anyone else to get to participate. Mick is the only other one whose felt it and that's probably because it's not awkward for him to have his hand on my belly for an extended period of time waiting for something to happen. The best part about being 20 weeks is that we get to find out what the baby is next week! We are beyond excited since we've waited an exceptionally long time to find out. Be sure to check back next Monday for the official word!