More baby photos

Lo and behold, there is internet access at the hospital. Haven't had much time to make any calls yet, but I wanted to get a few more photos up.

An efficient eater so far, Gabriel/Gabe (we plan on using both) has been happily napping the day away. Today is the first day there's been lots of milk for him, and he's been enjoying having a full belly.


Zach was really cute when he first met Gabe. We brought a gift we'd been saving: little stuffed characters from his favorite CBeebies show. It was absolutely precious how he was smiling and naming each one as he pulled them out of the bag.

A great photo of Dad and baby:

Do I even have to tell you to expect lots more photos in the coming days?

Finally, some real news!

Just so everyone knows...

After what seems like the full nine months of waiting, Beth and I have finally welcomed a new arrival into our family. Zach is now officially a big brother to:

Name: Gabriel Justin
Birthdate: 12 Oct 2009
Weight: 8.135 lbs (they measured 3690 grams)
Length: 20.4 in (they measured 52 cm)



Mother and baby are doing well. They will be spending the next few days at the hospital getting to know each other. Zach and I plan on doing a lot of visiting...

- Frank

Just posting to report that I have nothing to report

Nothing new from my doctor's appointment, nothing new as far as signs of labor. I'm past 38 weeks and still waiting, getting anxious to meet this new little cutie, wondering if he'll be at all like Zach or completely different. And feeling lucky that I'll have another little boy to love.

Ready, set...Please let me go into labor soon

Granted, I am only 36 weeks and 4 days along, but I've had enough. Everything is stiff or swollen or sore, and dealing with Zach-man is a whole other story. At my doctor's appointment a week ago I was two centimeters dilated, which really doesn't mean a lot, but it gives me hope that I won't go to 40 or 41 weeks. We'll see what my progress is next Monday.


We are quite ready for this baby in all sorts of ways other than my discomfort:

We've been completely packed for at least a couple weeks now. Even stuff for Zach in case he has to go to the sitter's house. Depending on the situation, a coworker of Frank's may come to our house or Zach may end up going to his. We did a trial run of him staying with this family for a long day and all went smoothly.


Over the last few weeks we have stocked the pantry, fridge and freezer to completely full. If baby doesn't come before this weekend we'll be hitting the commissary again. I don't know if frozen pizzas and taquitos are what others have in mind when they advise expecting moms to make meals ahead to freeze, but they're staples around here.

We've set up downstairs accommodations for napping and diaper changing. Baby will be sleeping in our room in our other pack-n-play, and our plans (for now, at least) are to move Zach out of the crib in a few months.

Clothes are washed and sorted by size.

I've even worked on the quilt a bit more. It's coming along, but at this point I don't know if I feel up to getting it back out.

I don't know if this exactly qualifies as baby preparations, but Frank's decided on a new car and we finally did a test drive. It's the Volvo XC60, and all that's left to do is for him to decide on options and place the order. It'll take a few months to come in, but I'm glad we are getting all the details settled before baby comes.

A gift for the big brother-to-be

We'd been thinking about making this purchase for a while...

He loves all the little tikes cars/tractors/bikes at playgroup, so we decided to get him one of his own. He can reach the pedals but can't quite work them yet, so the push handle is still a must.

It has been in the upper 60's/low 70's lately, and hopefully it stays there...it is good biking and walking weather. Check out Zach in action!

At 21 months

Zachary has got quite a personality! Some of the stuff he's doing now:

The answer to every question is "no," even if he means "yes." We are trying to teach him to say "yes," but it's hard not to laugh every time because his "noooooo..." is high-pitched and really cute. We'll have to try to get that one on video.

He loves getting dressed, especially putting on shoes. If we leave any dirty clothes downstairs he finds them as soon as we come down in the morning and wants to put them on immediately. I guess we've let him run around the house in just a shirt and diaper too much, because now he thinks that if he gets dressed it means we are going outside or in the car, which he is very excited to do.

He enjoys walking around in our shoes, and goes for them whenever we take them off. Maybe I'll post that video next...

He says "hi" and "bye" and waves all the time now. I know it's a highlight for Frank when Zach runs to the window and waves "hi" to him as he pulls into the driveway after work. Also cute is when he says "bye" to the TV when one of his favorite shows ends, or when I leave the room and he tells me "hi" when I come back :)

When I am making him food, he wants to be the one to get the fork or "poon" out of the drawer. He can feed himself some things, some of the time.

He is just starting to say ABCs and count with us. Another thing we need to record. Actual letters and numbers are hard to understand, but he's got the rhythm more than anything, including "en-ne-nen-oh-pee." Oh, and I'm not sure if he's still doing it, but for a few days there he was saying "double-u" almost perfectly. It was weird.

He likes to "play" the video game and on the computer with Frank, though most of the time he sneaks in the office when I'm not looking to climb into Frank's chair and mess with the mouse and keyboard. Luckily the computers are usually off.

I'm trying to ignore all the little tantrums he's been having the past couple of months, and I think it's been working out OK. Hopefully he's learning that naptime is non-negotiable, he must hold my hand if we are walking down the street, and that food will not heat up any faster in the microwave if he screams at it and throws himself on the floor.

Enjoy the video of our silly little monkey!

Lately

Here's what we've been up to lately...

32 weeks, 2 days, & counting
These are my 30, 31, and 32-week photos. You could guess that I am getting more and more uncomfortable, and you'd be right! We took some where I am holding up my shirt, but why scare anyone? I did get to this point with Zachary, with the belly sticking straight out, but it didn't last too long before he was born. If I really have two more months left with this one I'm doomed!

Nowadays:

*My feet are swollen by the end of the day most of the time.

*Between what I use to make my instant coffee, what I wash down my cake and cookie desserts with, and just other general cravings, I am consuming at least a quart of milk a day. I have always liked milk, but this is getting a little ridiculous. No wonder the baby is able to kick me so hard.

*We are still completely undecided on a name. Well, I guess we have a first name that we kind of like, but can't decide what would go with it. Can both your kids have the same middle name?
*I have started on a baby quilt, but have no real hopes of getting it completely finished before the birth. I figure I have time, considering that Zach hasn't even realized that I made him one.

*I am almost completely packed for the hospital.

*Zach is binky and bottle-free for now. A couple weeks so far with no bottles and a few days of not using pacifiers as usual at nap and bedtime, and I don't think he's even noticed. We'll see what happens when the new baby starts using them.

*It's taken me a couple days to finish this post, and I've completely lost my train of thought. I guess that is par for the course.

Abby came to town

We mostly just lounged around the house, which is something I'm really good at these days. We did go out once to hit the touristy stuff downtown and also visit the Magritte Museum. I don't think I am much into Surrealist art, but it was one of the things on Abby's list so we were happy to include it in our outing. It was nice to have another person around to entertain Zach while I rested, and also just nice to catch up. We even worked on some crafts together; she brought some sewing projects with her, so that prompted me to work on the baby quilt some more.

Zach and Daddy time

By the time Frank gets home from work I am pretty exhausted. I tend to put my feet up and let him fix dinner, do the dishes, and play with Zach. I do realize how lucky I am!