Someone Remove The Basketball Under That Gal's Shirt

We'll be at 36 weeks tomorrow and it's time for another belly shot! If belly size is any indication the little guy is still growing at a rapid pace. He's super active, which is both good and bad, I guess. On the good side, it tells us that he's still in there growing away. On the bad side, according to Bridget, he's ALWAYS active. Needless to say, nighttime has not been too kind to Bridget (and me to a lesser extent) over the last month or so. Maybe this is some sort of practice for the sleepless days and nights we have to look forward to once he's born.

Just about 36 weeks!

Bridget has been doing really well so far with the whole pregnancy. Over the last week she has started to be a little more tired but what can be expected when you're working full time as a lawyer, you're not getting great sleep at night and you have this little person inside that continually gives you kicks to the midsection?! We're just both anxious at this point for him to be born! We have a crib, diapers, a car seat, and all the other "stuff" we need. Now we just need a baby!

Erin is Funny

I signed up for a pre-natal breastfeeding class that took place at my hospital last night at 7pm. Since I work really close to the hospital - and I couldn't convince my baby daddy to come with me - I decided it would be easiest to go to the class straight from work. It was only once I was printing out the course information around 6pm that I realized I was supposed to bring a doll or stuffed animal to use during the class as a prop. Still not wanting to drive all the way home and then back to the hospital, I decided to stop in at the Target next to the hospital to purchase a new stuffed animal or doll.

My thought process was that I needed a prop that would actually be reused by my son, so I immediately ruled out any of those life-like girly dolls, which made up the majority of the selection at Target. I was left to decide between a variety of Disney character dolls and Sesame Street dolls. So many choices!

I ruled out Big Bird because I couldn't bring myself to fake-breastfeed a bird with a disturbingly long beak. Oscar the Grouch was too mean. Aladdin was out, too, because, well, he's too old. I had narrowed down my selection to a Handy Manny Disney doll - which to me looked like a cute little baby boy - and Cookie Monster. Thank God my girlfriend Erin (schoolteacher and baby-lover) happened to call at just the right moment. I explained my choices to her, and she immediately ruled out Handy Manny for me. She explained that although his show is wonderful for little kids, he is actually a grown man! Yikes. That left me with Cookie Monster, a choice that met with Erin's full approval.


Fast forward to my class, and the introduction of the students' various props. I was hoping that Cookie Monster would not draw too much attention - for pete's sake, other women had brought in stuffed chihuahuas and Care Bears - but, alas, no luck there. The teacher immediately called me out for bringing in Cookie Monster. Rather than get shy or embarrased, I simply repeated to the class what Erin had said to me - everyone likes a little milk with their cookies!

Planting Some New Bushes

Last year Bridget and I decided to spruce up the back of the house with some flowers. We chose impatiens since we were told that they'll grow pretty much anywhere. And they did. They grew. And grew. And grew. By the time fall came around the impatiens were about 18 inches tall and had stems that looked like small tree trunks. They looked more like bushes than flowers.

We went back to the Apenberry's Nursery and talked to them about our options. They said that we could cut the impatiens back and that they would start to grow again. We tried that, but it was an utter failure. A couple of the plants died and the ones that did survive never looked right again.

Two weekends ago I removed the impatiens and decided to go with a longer lasting, lower maintenance approach. I went back to Apenberry's and David came up with some great options for bushes that would provide a bit of color, would be low maintenance, and again, would grow pretty much anywhere. I just got done planting the 14 new plants and putting down new mulch and wanted to share some pictures. I'm not great with plant names and I usually forget them. I do know that the nine little plants are annual varities called Coleus.




And, yes, if it seems like I used a two-tone mulch it's not my fault. I purchased five bags of Scotts Nature Scapes mulch, the same mulch I used all last year. Two of the bags ended up having a much lighter shade of red than the other three accounting for the difference. I think as the mulch starts to see sun and rain the colors should even out.

My First Trip to the Toy Store

I haven't been to the toy store since...well, I don't know the last time I was in a toy store. But I'm about to have a son and I hadn't bought any toys for him yet. It was time. I decided I didn't want to go to Toys R Us. I was hoping that Orlando had some local toy store run by a person that had been selling toys for the last 40 years.

I didn't find that. But, I did find a store called Learning Express Toys. It's a chain but it was not the mammoth Toys R Us and having the word "Learning" in its name made me want to check out what they had in stock.

I hopped in the car, drove over, and walked into the store. Wow, so many toys. I don't know that they could have crammed more toys into their little space if they wanted to. After a couple minutes of wandering around I found the baby toys. That's when it hit me that there are not a ton of choices for newborns when it comes to toys. I suppose that could be because they spend all day sleeping, eating, and crying. That didn't stop me, though. I'm this kid's dad and what's the most important thing to every American boy? That's right, sports.

I walked out of the store the proud owner of an All Star Sports Bag (below). Sure it's marked for kids six months and older, but I fully expect to have an advanced kid. I'm sure by three months he'll be playing with these nonstop as I fill him in about the finer points of each sport.

Updated Nursery Pics - It's Complete!

We're one step closer to being ready for our little guy to arrive with the completion of our nursery! The last pics that we posted showed the furniture being assembled and put into place. Two weekends ago that furniture took on a new look as Bridget's parents came into town and helped us put on the finishing touches.

Bridget's mom, Joy, was gracious enough to make the crib skirt, a blanket, curtains, and pillows for the baby. They are all in the color scheme of the rug we put in the baby's room and it looks like something out of a Pottery Barn Kids catalog!

I've posted a short 5 picture slideshow below. If you want, you can click on the link below the slideshow to go to our Picasa web album to view the pictures in full size.

View Album

What a Scam!

Bryan and I received the following email from a concerned resident in our neighborhood. I'm really surprised to hear that we are being scammed like this by kids. Last year, I made a donation to the local high school band, who sent a couple kids in band hats to my door. I didn't ask them to show me their school id...the really dumb band hats convinced me that they were legit.

Dear Neighbors,

It has come to our attention that young adults have been soliciting residents in the neighborhood for donations to go on a trip. I have confirmed with the Principal's office at [the local] High School that these young adults are NOT students from [the school]. Please remember that students are required to always carry school ID or wear a team/band uniform if they are soliciting donations for school-related activities. Of course we like to support our students and their activities. But please be cautious! If they do not have the proper school ID or uniform, then we have been asked by the Orlando Police Department to call [and] report them. Please do not hesitate to contact OPD immediately if you feel something is suspicious. Thank you for helping to keep our neighborhoods safe.