Waiting for Truffle

This Blog is soooo Last Week ...

2007-09-16T14:09:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

come check out the new blog that is dedicated to Hannah...on the outside of the womb.

See you there.

http://littlehannahsworld.blogspot.com/

Welcome to the World...Hannah

2007-09-09T08:37:00.001-05:00

On Friday, Rebecca and I welcomed Hannah Renee Sutton into the world and further into our hearts. She was born shouting her enthusiasm at 12:56 pm. She weighed 8 lbs. 12 oz. and was 20 inches long. She is beautiful. She is wonderful. She is amazing. I cannot believe that I am lucky enough to look at her and call her mine.

Rebecca did great during the prep and the surgery. She was a pillar of strength. I'll never be able to properly describe the emotions that I experienced on Friday, but I can say that I think I hit them all. I will also say this---there is nothing, absolutely nothing as amazing as when you hear your child's first cry---a new part of my heart came alive that I never knew was there and I felt a completeness to a part that I never knew was missing.

Rebecca and Hannah are doing great. Hannah loves laying with mommy and loves to hold daddy's hand. Today, I will teach her about football. Maybe next week I will teach her to stay away from icky boys. Anyway, I am going to attach a picture of her now. I am giving you warning so that you can be prepared to see the most beautiful girl in the world (I am probably biased)

The Wait is Over...

2007-09-06T09:53:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

I'm sure if you read the last post then you know of our small situation. Last week we found out that our little girl had flipped into the breech position after 37 weeks (at least we assumed she flipped, I guess we will never know). Anyway, Rebecca had her 39 week appointment today and our little girl is as happy as a clam---with her head up. Yep, she hasn't flipped back. There is still time, but following our physician's advice, we are moving forward with the C-section tomorrow (providing of course that she doesn't flip in the middle of the night). Anyway, all good things must come to an end---and by that I mean this pregnancy. It has been good, very good. It has taught me so many things about myself and about the wonderful woman that I married. Rebecca is strong, both physically and emotionally. Rebecca has a wonderful sense of humor--she would have to to deal with my constant bombardment of jokes. Rebecca is patient--heck, she has to be--she waits 9 months to meet this person who is literally draining her. Rebecca is a great Michigan fan--no matter who Big Blue loses to (even if it is App. State), she still is faithful to the end.

Finally, I learned that Rebecca is going to be an outstanding mom. When told of her C-section, Rebecca quickly looked on the bright side and mentioned that if it was the best way to get our daughter out safely, then she is fine with it. I must admit, she is handling it very well.

So, that is where we all are. We will meet our daughter tomorrow (barring any late night flips). We got to see her today via ultrasound. She looks good. She is healthy. Her heart is beating strong--it looks big, just like her mom's. I must admit, I can't wait to meet her, although I wouldn't mind her doing some last minute gymnastics.

So, this could very well be my last prenatal post. It sure has been a long time since my first post. I believe in the first post, I promised to take you on one "wild ride". Well, I don't know if it has been for you, but it definitely has been for me. I can still remember the day that we found out and how new, fresh, exciting and terrifying it was. To know that there was something smaller than the size of a poppy seed growing inside of Rebecca was trippy. All of the "it" pronouns and the guessing of the gender. That initial excitement and fear gave way to a new type of fear when I found out I was having a daughter. I was terrified (I still am) of having to deal with a little girl. I had assumed that a little boy would be easier--heck I could at least throw a football at him (I mean to him). But shortly after finding out she was a she, I must admit that I was overwhelmed with joy about having a daughter. I constantly see the special relationships that daughters have with their fathers and I hope that ours is no different. I know one day she will break my heart when she meets the right man---but that is ok, as long as he is the right man. As the pregnancy went on, I watched my active go-go-go wife slow down and I can't help to wonder how humbling it must be to apologize for not walking fast enough, or having to catch your breath at the top of the stairs, or asking for help when picking things up or tying your shoes. However, Rebecca took it all in stride. Finally, we hit the home stretch and Rebecca was full term--the baby could come at any time--we were really excited. And then we found out that she was backwards--oh well, it will probably not be the last time she doesn't do exactly what I want her to do, but it is ok, we still love her.

This has truly been a wonderful experience and hope you, my readers, have gained a little bit of insight into our lives these past months through this blog. I have had a lot of fun writing it. It has definitely been different than what I envisioned when I wrote the first post, but alas, it was a part of me and a part of my thoughts as I watched my family slowly evolve. Don't worry, I will still be posting and it will still be "blog-esque", but the main difference is that is will feature a new star, little ---. Now you didn't think I would make it this whole time and then tell you the name right now. You'll find out tomorrow (or maybe later)

Anyway, let's close with some statistics! Rebecca's weight gain: normal. Jeff's weight gain: -11 lbs. Yep, I managed to lose about 11 pounds throughout the pregnancy. Nope, it wasn't really worrying--I just exercised more. Ok, the midwife today guessed that the baby was going to be about 7.5 lbs--let's see how accurate she is. So, that is it. I will talk to you soon. Maybe the next time that I write, I will be introducing you to my new daughter. Take care and thanks for the comments over the months. My final request--send a lot of prayers toward Rebecca and our little girl's direction. They can use them. The more the better!

Its all about position: Part II

2007-09-03T16:48:00.000-05:00

Well as I mentioned in an earlier post--its all about position. Let me give you two examples. First, Michigan's defense. Obviously, the spread offense of mighty Appalachian State put Michigan's defense in some awful positions. Better yet, the Michigan defense often found itself out of position in trying to defend the spread offense. Result: Michigan loses to a sub-division I team. That was embarassing. I don't really want to discuss that anymore, because this loss should have never happened. No disrespect to App. State, but the 3rd or 4th string on Michigan should be able to beat App. State. Everyone on the Michigan team is a former "blue chip" player in high school and turned down schools much better than I-AA App. State in order to compete for a chance to actually play at Michigan. This is not Michigan arrogance, this would be the same for any good BCS football team such as Florida, Texas, Miami, etc. The talent on Michigan alone should be worth 14-21 points. But instead, they didn't prepare at all, took App. State for granted and got embarrassed on their own field. I hope the rest of the season turns around.

Second example: Rebecca and I went to her doctor's appointment on Friday and were met with some surprising news. Our baby had done an improbable post-37 week flip and was currently sitting (probably very happily) in a breech presentation. Most of you will know that this is not a good thing, especially at 38+ weeks. Our doctor (in agreement with us) recommended against any manual correction (ECV) and scheduled a C-section for Friday (39 weeks). So there you have it---our daughter has one bad sense of direction. Therefore, starting Friday, we had one week to turn her around (naturally, of course). We have been working with an accupuncturist to try and turn the baby. We have noticed a lot of movement and the baby appears to be in a different position, although she appears to still be breech. However, there is always hope. This is where you all come in. Please pray for both Rebecca and the baby. We know that a C-section is not the end of the world and we are very much at peace with it, if that is the way it all plays out. However, assuming the breech presentation is not the only way the baby will be healthy, then it is our desire that she turns head down and we jump back onto our orignial set of plans. However, some things are out of our hands and in God's (and that is perfectly fine with us). Anyway, I mainly encourage you to pray for Rebecca and the baby's health. We will go in on Thursday for our weekly appointment (w/ ultrasound) and see where (or what on) the baby ended up. If that is a bottom, then we will leave and go about our normal preparation. If that is a head, then we will go in the next day and meet our daughter. Either way, we will be ok.

The Week in Review...

2007-08-27T20:01:00.001-05:00

Let's see what's been going on? We have finally gotten the nursery in order (well, almost--everyone will still have to wait a little bit for some pictures) and we have started getting all the stuff together that we will need for the "hospital bag". The only problem with that is that most of the stuff that goes into this famous bag is used on a daily basis. So what we have is the less famous "hospital list". This is a list that describes what should go into the bag. But we do have a bag!!!!

We have only 18 days until the due date---that is a very small number. We are currently experiencing a whole bunch of emotions--excitement, anxiousness, nervousness---the list could go on and on. Although, I think both of us are ready for her arrival. As a side note, Hardy does not seem to be phased at all?!?! In fact he seems to only concentrate on his new love--Tug-O'-War (he's getting pretty tough to beat)

Well, not a whole lot went on this past week except that our neighbors had their little girl--welcome to the world little Cory!!!! Oh yeah--and I got a very good picture of my wife. Check it out--she is barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen. This is like the tri-fecta, the perfect storm, a grand slam, or any other over-used catch phrase that describes this event. Without further adeau--"my Everest"

Thank you Rebecca...

2007-08-27T19:36:00.000-05:00

As the pregnancy draws near to an end, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on the experience thus far. We currently sit at 37 weeks and 3 days---and it has been a fairly easy 37 weeks and 3 days for me, mainly because of my wife. I know it hasn't been very easy for her at times, especially here at the end, but she has not complained very much and she has not made me run out at 2:00 am for ice cream or twizzlers or anything like that. I'm willing, but she hasn't asked me---yet! For the most part, Rebecca has been the same upbeat, caring, unselfish person that I married and for that I am truly grateful. I can only hope that our daughter inherits her personality from her mom.

Don't worry Truffle, you're in good hands...

We graduated!!!

2007-08-19T09:54:00.000-05:00

On Thursday Rebecca and I finished up our labor/newborn care class. We are now experts! What?!?! What do you mean we have no idea what we are talking about. Yeah, you're probably right. Actually, they do send us out a certificate which states that we finished our class. Does this mean that we are any more qualified to raise a child than we were before?--no, but it does give us a cool certificate to hang on the wall. I think I will hang it next to this one:

Let's see...what have we been up to. On Saturday, the Fishers came by to visit. They were nice enough to bring us some goodies. Here is little Nathan demonstrating how to use the Bumbo seat. Nathan reminds us that Bumbo is happiest on the floor.

I tell you--that Nathan is one cute kid--I'll have to watch him carefully around my daughter.

Later on Saturday Rebecca and I did some final shopping. Ok, women shop--men buy--so since I have been involved in the purchasing--we've been buying for our little girl. We got a whole bunch of goodies. We got our car seat and base (the Snugride), which I promptly installed (which means there is a good chance that is will be re-installed by the Fairfax county police department). We also bought the accompanying Snug-stroller and Snug-swing.

We went with the Graco Snugride because it has gotten good reviews and were weary of certain other car seats such as this one from Apple--I think it is the iSeat:

Sure, I can listen to 10000 GB's of music and watch videos, but I don't see how the baby is safe?
Anyway, we also managed to get two other cool things. One is our pack n' play that doubles as a bassinet. We mainly got it for its durability, comfort and cute little puppies. Never underestimate the importance of cute little puppies.

Secondly, we bought a limited edition chest for the nursery:

NO, not this chest---this one:

Ok, so that is enough fooling around for one post. Its late and I have been getting over a cold (can't quite shake it), so that is why this post makes no sense whatsoever. Anyway, as an update, Rebecca is doing well. The physicians gave her the "green light" on Thursday, meaning that if she goes into labor from this point forward, they will not try to stop it. The baby is still head down and is doing well. Here is a 36 wk pic of Rebecca:

Yep, she only has one outfit. Maybe after the pregnancy we'll go grab her another one or two. Talk to you soon.

My Little Bag of Sugar...

2007-08-05T16:10:00.001-05:00

That's about the size she is according to the book Great Expectations. Each week they describe her weight by some physical object. In the past, she was about the size of an apple, or a small pot roast. This week (> 34 weeks) she should be over 5 lbs, about the size of a bag of sugar. Next week is awesome--she is the size of a small roasting chicken :)

Let's catch up on these past couple of weeks. Rebecca and I went on the hospital tour. Its a pretty nice place. There is plenty of space (hallways and such) to walk around and spend the time while early and active labor occurs. Also, we have been progressing along in our childbirth and newborn care class. So far we have discussed pain, labor, delivery, and drugs and as always we end each week with a breathing exercise. However, the best part is where we get ready for the breathing exercises. We all come together and find spots to sit down...you know, the classic guy, two pillows, girl sandwich. However, in order to form this sandwich, the women must get down to floor level. This is hilarious. Last week, I took the opportunity to listen to the process. Aside from my wife and a few others, a lot of the other women have...how should I put this delicately....some trouble making it to floor level. In fact, it sounds like the scene from the Family Guy, where Peter starts the NAAFP (the National Association for the Advancement of Fat People) and all of the "members" sit down. Well, if you know the scene, then this visual is hilarious. However, if you do not know the scene then you are probably thinking I am being very mean. But here, I encourage you to watch this scene...

...and now image 12-15 pregnant women trying to get to the floor. Enough said.

anyway, all is fine....the doctor appointments are going really well---Rebecca is measuring right on schedule and at 33 weeks, the baby was head down--this is a really good thing. Let's hope that she stays this way!!!!

Rebecca is doing pretty well, although the fatigue is setting in. She is at her best from the hour(s) of 9:45-10:15 am. After that---downhill. She is also getting real tired at night, so noone call us past like 7:25 or so...just kidding...not really...no, I'm just joking...or am I?

Well, for a while now people have asked me what our daughter's name was going to be. We have been keeping it a secret (plus the fact that we are only 99% certain and reserve the right to change it at anytime). However, I will give everyone a chance. Her name is hidden in the following puzzle. Good luck.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

anyway, here are week 34 pictures of my beautiful wife

talk to you soon.

Its all about position...

2007-07-21T15:25:00.000-05:00

Well, that's at least what the teacher of our birthing class says. This past week we had class #2 and it was all about labor--signs or labor, early labor, good-active labor, transitioning, pushing, and the position of the baby. We learned a lot, but at the end we were a both a little uneasy with high levels of pain that seem to be attached with this whole labor and delivery process. Me--I was uneasy b/c I have to watch Rebecca in pain--Rebecca was uneasy because, well let's face it---she has to push this baby out and no matter what ER or the baby stories tell you, it seems to take a long time. One thing that dawned on me---these contractions---well they seem to be a real big kick in the pants. They last for 60-90 seconds and the time between them are about 2-3 minutes. Yep, its time to use that old Ph.D---let's do a little math :) If the contractions are about 2-3 minutes apart and they last 1-1.5 minutes....Rebecca gets what!?!?---she gets a lousy 30-120 second break between them? And the kicker is that this whole process can be up to 24 hrs and the contractions get closer together as you progress. How can they get closer together---what am I going to start having one while she is on the other one??????

Anyway, there is no turning back---we should have made that decision about 30 or so weeks ago---yep we are going forward--ready to take on these painful contractions---yep, we are going to meet these painful buggers head one with some serious weapons (at least that is what the teacher says)--yep, we have....breathing???? Excuse me nurse/teacher---you gotta be kidding me---these things sound furocious and we are going to try to breathe them away? You know what else works---blowing on a house fire to put it out or placing a blanket over some dynamite so the explosion won't be so bad.

Ok, so I am kidding---we are learning some methods to deal with Rebecca's pain----and breathing is pretty good--I know when my insides are being pulled out, I like to take a deep breath or better yet...I like to pant. Hey, maybe we could have Hardy in the delivery room teaching us how. All I have to do is walk him outside for about 3-5 minutes and we will have a panting instructor for about an hour.

Ok, let's see what has been going on:

Rebecca got beat up! Yep, from the inside---the girl is really taking out her frustrations about Michael Vick on Rebecca's inside. Actually I'm more conviced she is just curious about what all those body parts are:

*inside the uterus*
Truffle-"oooh...I wonder what this is...I should poke it....I should kick it....I should poke it....I should punch it......ooohhh squeashy"

*outside in the real world*
Rebecca- "whoa, I gotta pee"

We brushed Hardy. Doesn't sound exciting--well, then I guess you don't have a Husky:

Ok, here are some pics of Rebecca. The first one gives you the first sneak peek of the long-awaited Pascal...the second one is a good indicator of how great Rebecca looks at 32 weeks

White Plains, NY...A little piece of heaven

2007-07-12T21:30:00.000-05:00

Some of you have shown concern for our inability to secure Pascal the Pachyderm--and it has been appreciated. The support has been overwhelming. I feel a new closeness to you all as I struggled to get past this loss. I took it pretty hard since it was my fault that we could not order the chair. When it first went on sale, my very smart wife suggested that we get the chair in case it was discontinued. I said," no way...if it goes out of stock, it will come back in...let's just leave it on the registry." Well, we all saw how that turned out. Anyway, a lot of you have given many suggestions. Heck, we even had one really nice visitor write in the comments section letting us know where we could get this chair--thanks, Geri.

So, on to the good news---we just received Pascal the Pachyderm in the mail a couple of days ago. About 2 weeks ago, I just started calling all of the stores to see if any were in stock. Finally, I found one in a wonderful little city called White Plains, NY. Now I don't know what "White Plains" translates into in english, but it must mean something like "beautiful garden" or "enchanted oasis"???

Anyway, I ordered one of the chairs and had it sent to us. One thing that I learned--Babystyle.com has a good sense of humor. After all of this hassle and finally finding the chair and ordering it--Babystyle sent it in an "Ollie the Octopus" box. I bet you can guess my confusion (insert other words) when we received the box and in giant letters it said
"Ollie the Octopus". Long story short--we opened the box and there sat a wonderful sight--a plush Pascal the Pachyderm chair--Yippie. I will soon post pictures of it in our nursery.

Ok, so what else has been going on---well, we went on vacation to west Michigan to visit Rebecca's family and for Rebecca to have a couple of baby showers. She wants me to pass on the fact that she had an awesome time and that she really loves all of the loot. Ok, so that wasn't exactly her words, but I think I captured the beautiful sentiment. I must say that both Rebecca and Hardy enjoyed the cool temperatures there. Here it is so hot and humid--it is just plain nasty. When we go on family walks, Hardy and Rebecca are just sad to look at sometimes. The hardest part to deal with is that when we get done with our walks Rebecca and I have to listen to our hyper-asthmatic dog for the next couple of hours. You should see (or hear) this dog.... PANT, PANT, PANT, PANT,PANT,PANT... on and on. When I ask him to tone it down a bit, he just looks at me with this look that can only be described as.."you try wearing a fur coat outside, jerk." We are thinking of moving to Antartica for Hardy's sake.

Let's see what else---oh tonight we started our childbirth/newborn care class. I enjoyed it. We learned a lot and the instructor is pretty good. We ended doing some Lamaze exercises at the end. I don't know about Rebecca, but I felt relaxed---I really think that is going to help me when labor comes :) Ten bucks says that all females reading that last statement instantly took a punch at me via cyberspace.

Ok, here was the bad part of the class. I did not use the bathroom before we went---bad idea. By the time we got there at the start of class, I really had to go--bad idea. I bet a lot of you already know why. We went in at 7:00. The instructor said there would be a break at 8:00. My initial though was.."ok, that is not too bad...I can wait one hour" Then I started to look around---what class was I going to again???? The class had about 20 participants---10 were pregnant women---that is a whole lot of compressed bladders!!!! So, when the break came, I decided there was no way that I could jump up and go to the bathroom in front of one of these expectant mothers--no way, that would not be cool. So, I watched...one went in that bathroom, another in that one....then a line formed...I watched for every expecting mother to get up and use the facilities--heck, I even waited for some of them to use it twice (afterall, it was a 15 minute break). Finally, when I saw other guys going for the bathroom, I new it was safe--at least for a few minutes.

Ok, picture updates.
Remember last time when I told you about Hardy eating Grumpy's face. Here is the proof:

Oh yeah...we picked out a little girl's take home outfit. Enjoy!

And here is a 31 week picture of Rebecca:

Well until next time.....

"Have a good freakin' week"

3....2....1....

2007-06-21T20:40:00.000-05:00

So here we sit in the final trimester....

Rebecca is doing very well even though she is getting tired more easily. We have been busy getting the nursery ready, even though it has a long way to go. Rebecca is making some decorative pillows as we speak. However, I came up with the coolest idea---you'll see it soon enough--one hint--mobile!

Here is something that confuses me---you tell me if you agree. For our nursery, we would like to get a stuffed chair from Babystyle.com. It is Pascal the Pachyderm stuffed chair and it is cute as you can tell from this picture.

However, it is out of stock. So I call babystyle.com yesterday and ask them if they are going to get some more in. The customer care agent said, "No...unfortunately we are not going to be ordering that item again....We've been getting a lot of requests for that." To that I responded," So, you're saying that you are not going to order it again (even though you are getting a lot of requests for this item)?' "No...(nervous and confused laughter follows)." So that makes a lot of sense, right? Anyway, if anyone sees this chair, please let us know....it is a vital piece of our nursery...ok, its not that dramatic, but it would be really nice in there.

Let's see what else is going on? Oh yeah, Hardy ate Grumpy Bear's face. I don't want to discuss it any further :(

Ok, here is Rebecca from the last 2 weeks:

Week 26

Week 27

Week 28

(Haven't taken it yet---tomorrow)

Doesn't she look great?

Well, that is all for now.....

SEE YA LATER

She Ain't Heavy...

2007-06-14T11:46:00.000-05:00

Well, I think we are now in the third trimester, if not then we will be on Saturday. Anyway, I bring this up because Rebecca is starting to lose all of that wonderful 2nd trimester energy. For example, the other night as Rebecca and I were going to bed I asked her, "can I get you anything?" She replied, "could you just carry her for a day?" Well, of course everyone knows that I can't--I haven't grown a proper uterus, but that is besides the point.

The question as rhetorical as it was got me thinking about how easy of a part the guys play in the pregnancy. I mean our main duty in the process is at the very beginning and is actually pretty fun [Truffle, when you read this in the future, I am sorry for the picture of your parents that I have put into your head :( ]. However, I guess our continuing duty is to provide support (both emotional and physical). The physical support is easy. Help her up when she sits on the floor, help her pick up things when she drops them, tell her what color shoes that she is actually wearing--you know, easy stuff. The emotional support can be harder. One area that I have tried to work on is how I respond to her. Emotional support can come in the form of not making rude comments---for example: when she sits on the sofa next to you, don't jump up on the air like you have been thrown off and yell "whooooa". Also if your pregnant wife wears red and says that she looks like the Kool-Aid man, don't immediately say "Oh Yeah!" These are just a few examples----everyone feel free to write in and give me others so that I can be a better husband.

Updates---the little girl is kicking up a storm these days. She particulary enjoys when I read to her and Rebecca at night. I actually felt her "move" for the first time the other night. Let me clarify---I have been feeling her kick and punch for a little while, but the other night was the first time that I actually felt a large entity "slide" across Rebecca's belly from one position to another. That was pretty cool.

Also, Hardy has been getting some needed time with infants these days. We would like to thank Nathan and Katie for agreeing to be guinea babies with Hardy. I am happy to report that although Hardy was very interested in both babies, all he wanted to do was sniff and lick them. I am very happy with the test results. Hopefully, test subjects Nathan and Katie will come back soon and we can go into phase II of our test plan----isolation---Hardy and the babies by themselves. We will see how both the babies and the dog respond when left unattended together for several minutes. I'm very interested in how this test will turn out.

Also, if you would like to write in and give me suggestions on how I can help "ease Rebecca's load", that would be awesome--I'm betting she would appreciate it as well. Talk to you soon.

Does God Endorse the Metric System?

2007-06-05T22:04:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

Today as I was driving home from my wife's doctor's appointment, I thought of something--I believe that the metric system must be better than the imperial system, in fact, I think it is heavenly endorsed. Here is my rationale: After about 20 weeks, practitioners will measure a woman's fundal height to see "how far along they are." For women that are not overweight and have not popped out too many kids, the fundal height in centimeters (a metric unit) is compatible with number of weeks of pregnancy. For example, at 21 weeks, 5 days, Rebecca measured 22 cm. Today at 25 weeks, 4 days, she measured 26 centimeters. At 30 weeks, we expect that she will measure at 30 centimeters and so on and so....This correlation is well known and doctors/midwives/practitioners actually get a bit concerned if one does not "measure" within 2 cm of one's current date. Therefore, it is obvious to me---if something as awe-inspiring and complicated as growing and forming a human life uses the metric system, then goodbye "slugs", "foot-pounds, "bushels", "pecks", and "pounds" and hello "Newtons", "meters", "pascals", and "kilos".

Now some updating. Rebecca's appointment went well today. The doctor was very pleased with her progress. All of her stats--blood pressure, weight, and FUNDAL HEIGHT were normal and looking good. The baby's heart sounded great----it went something like this: thump, thump, thump, thump, thump....

Ok, we have made some progress on the nursery. We cleared out pretty much everything in the former guest room and moved in some of the baby's stuff. On Friday I put together the crib with the help of Rebecca and Hardy. It is pretty sweet. Take a look:

Other things that come to mind--hmmmm----oh yeah, last week we received the first baby gift from our registry. It is great. The baby will have tons of fun playing with all of its little parts. I bet she will spend hours and hours on it, climbing all around and seeing what kind of noises it makes. Thanks Joe, Heather, McKenna, Kyle, Nick, and Ryan!

Oh, this is not what you sent us??? Well, this is what was in the box when I got my camera---Rebecca is now telling me that this is not a Baby Einstein activity center, but in fact, a siberian husky. I hope that the receipt is inside the box b/c we already have a siberian husky and we do not need a second one.

Well, I think I will go to bed now. Just so you know--as I write this Hardy is having a dream beside me and he growling at something????

So that I can catch up, here are week 24 and 25 pics of Rebecca:

Where Did I Go?

2007-06-05T06:37:00.000-05:00

Sorry that I haven't posted for some time :(

Attention Everyone!

2007-05-16T12:38:00.000-05:00

Jeff would like to issue the following statement:

"Earlier this week, I made a statement that could be read to imply that Rebecca was eating a hotdog that is derived from animal flesh or parts, otherwise known as a 'real hotdog'. However, she did not consume a real hotdog, but a tofu-derived food product housed in a hotdog-esqe casing. I apologize for my earlier comments and I apologize if I offended anyone with my remarks. It was not my intention. Everyone who knows me knows that this is not who I am. However, I will continue to push through this rough time and hopefully come out stronger. I apologize to my family, my friends, my teammates, and anyone else this might have hurt or confused."

Because My Mom Said So...

2007-05-14T20:08:00.000-05:00

When I was talking to my mom last night, she requested that some of the pictures of Rebecca and her belly show her face. I explained to my mom that the "belly shots" were pictures designed to show how far along Rebecca was in the pregnancy. But since I am a good son I am going to honor her request. Here are a couple of pictures that both show Rebecca's face and Rebecca being pregnant.

Also, here is a special look at the first really cool piece of our nursery. It is a blanket that Rebecca knit for the baby. I think it is really cool

It is pretty neat how she knit those hands in the corners. Don't they look real???

BTW, when I first saw this picture, I got real scared--I thought we were being haunted by a striped ghost. I was like, "Listen specter, horizontal stripes are not the way to go...you definitely need to try vertical stripes, if you get my drift." Then the ghost said to me, "you calling me fat?" and I was all like, "ghost, you are so fat, that you tried to float in the air...and you got stuck." Then the ghost charged at me...but it didn't matter because, well it was a ghost and it passed right through me. Stupid ghost!!

Killer Dinette Set...

2007-05-12T16:23:00.000-05:00

"Nice Harley. I was going to get one of those, too. But I spent $6,495 on a killer dinette set. Harley . . . Dinette Set, Harley . . . Dinette Set. Went with the Dinette Set"

Does everyone remember this commercial...it was pretty sweet.

Well, today I bought my "killer dinette set". Rebecca and I bought our crib and matching dresser. We also got an introductory course on what to look for in a infant/toddler mattress and crib sheets. These things cost a pretty penny. In fact, I think the little mattress for our little girl will cost more than our mattress. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy buying these things--no, I'm super excited. What is amazing is how excited I am to buy these things! Its funny how the whole process of preparing for a baby provides an incredible way to see how one's self has evolved over the years--especially when you have to start making choices on what to spend your income and time on.

If you had asked me 15 years ago what I would want to drop my change on, I would've told you guitars, guitars, guitars, and especially a Jag-stang. This was Kurt Cobain's pseudo invention. Fender once asked him what he wanted in a guitar and he basically gave them the pros of a Fender Jaguar and a Fender Mustang. I always wanted a baby blue one. If you asked me 10 years ago what I would have wanted to spend my money on, I would have said a pretty sweet car or SUV (remember this was 10 years ago--gas was ~$1/gallon). At twenty-one I was finishing up college and thinking about all the money I was going to make after graduation (yeah, right--thanks alot grad school!). If you asked me 1 year ago what I wanted to spend my money on---42" plasma TV. That's all I need to say about that.

If you ask me now what I want to spend money on (or time for that matter)---no question, hands down #1---my little girl and my wife. I am so happy to be having this little girl. The crazy thing is that I am getting just as excited as Rebecca about the nursery furniture, all of the decorations, all of the clothes--who knew? Now, I may not show it all the time b/c I have to keep some testosterone flowing in this house (remember, its me, Rebecca, my unborn daughter, and my dog who has been neutered---its all on me for the testosterone). Anyway, there was no real point of this post--it was just me writing down my thoughts and marvelling over how someone so little right now and who's still snuggled away inside of Rebecca can change my life so dramatically.

Now buying a crib, matching dresser, clothes, etc. does not mean I will be a good father, it just means that my perspectives on what is important may have changed over the years--for the better!!!

Anyway, when they come in, I will post pictures of them---you'll see---we bought a pretty killer crib.

Week 22 Comes To a Close...

2007-05-10T22:37:00.000-05:00

Hiya,

here is a quick update of our week 22 doctor's appointment. Rebecca's blood pressure and weight are fine and Rebecca is measuring at 22 cm, which is right where she should be. The baby's heart rate was in the 140's, so everything was good. We'll go back in another 4 weeks.

Let's jump straight to the chase--the reason you are all here...the 22 WEEK BELLY PICTURE:

As an aside, I felt my daughter move for the first time tonight. It felt like little muscle spasms, which it could have been--nah, it was my girl--I'm a proud papa!!!

Wouldn't You Like to Get Away...

2007-05-10T21:48:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

Rebecca and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary on May 2, therefore, it was time for our annual anniversary "get away". We alternate the planning--I get the odd years and Rebecca gets the even. This year Rebecca planned a cool trip to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. I must say the trip was awesome (except for the smoke poisioning--more on that later). I thought I would share the trip with everyone in song---just kidding. What about a photo album? Since I am not hearing anyone complaining, let's start. "Honey, get out the slide projector..."

After a very ease drive, we arrived in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley

I must say that I was very happy to be here (the last few weeks were long!)

Rebecca reserved a very cool cabin. It was pretty sweet--comfy beds, shower, toilet, no TV, no phone and very clean. Take a look at the little place

Our plan for the weekend was to relax, hike, do nothing, rest, relax, hike, and do nothing. We pretty much followed that to a tee. On our first full day, we hiked a couple of spots. We ended up doing a total of around 9-10 miles for the trip. Not bad for pregnant lady. All kidding aside, Rebecca was awesome. I think I was more tired than her at some spots. However, there were some rough stretches for Rebecca--even at the start:

I guess that part of the backpack doesn't fit so well right now.....ok, moving along. We saw some cool sites...I won't bore you with a ton of pictures (who does that anyway?), but I will show you a pretty sweet scene that we saw. Check out this waterfall:

Anyway, after a day of hiking, its time for--yep you guess it, food...and not just any type of food, but camping food. Yep, we cooked all meals over a fire. Before I go into the specifics of how good the camping food was, its instruction time. Yep, even though I had never been camping before, I'm going to illustrate how to make a sweet fire (yep, that Ph.D. in combustion is paying off!)

Step 1: Start with empty fire pit (if you have a pit with a fire already in it, please go to step 8)

Step 2: Set up some kindling. I used a small central tee-pee with some leaves in the middle. My thought was that the leaves will burn easily, then the kindling will burn, and then the main logs would eventually heat up and burn.

Step 3: Get a small central fire burning (my initial thoughts in Step 2 are put to the test)

Step 4: Watch this kindling fire grow (hopefully it will heat up a central core and then ignite the bigger logs)

Step 5: As the fire grows, add some more kindling wood and maybe even a new log. The fire is really starting to grow now:

Step 6: Wait for the fire to get pretty big and enjoy the sights. I must say I love this picture!!!

Step 7: Wait for the fire to evenly spread to the main cooking logs. You are now ready to cook (note the really hot central core--this is great for cooking hotdogs, hobo pies, and s'mores)

Step 8: Cook the food!

Yep, that's Rebecca cooking a hotdog---and you know what else?

...that's Rebecca eating a hotdog. I guess those pregnancy cravings finally win. The food was great and I loved making it over the fire. The only problem is it turns out that I am pretty sensitive to the smoke--who knew? My eyes were all watery and I was coughing up some serious phlegm--that's pretty good dinner talk, isn't it? Well, after a long first day, it was time to sleep...and then wake up. Little know fact - I sleep with my head covered.

On our last day we did a little more hiking. We hiked up to this peak with an amazing view.

This was also a good place to get a picture of Rebecca and our daughter on her first hiking trip. Aren't they both so cute!

Well, we had a fun trip. We were tired, but it was a good time. This is the happy couple signing off....

Bring Out the Marching Bands...

2007-04-28T23:06:00.000-05:00

...Its halftime. Yep, we have just passed 20 weeks. Well, actually halfway is 21 weeks (due to the actual gestation time), but we aren't really worried about that. Rebecca and the baby are doing well. As you all know from my previous couple of posts, the baby is a girl. We are both excited about that. Like I have already told several people, I believe that is a good thing--the probability of me being peed on when changing diapers goes way down.

Well, here is the scoop. The baby was "perfect" according to the technician. Also, I believe she used the words "precious" and "beautiful", but maybe I am biased. Our little girl was measuring right on schedule, looked healthy and weighed a whopping 14 oz or 0.875 lbs. Now, I'm not sure how accurate this weight is, but it is definitely reassuring that the baby is progressing well.

Rebecca is doing well. She is feeling much better. She has a lot of energy again, except when it comes to walking up hills--I don't know, she may be faking.

Anyway, Rebecca is starting to pop out some--its all good except that every now and then Hardy will make some rude comment about her. Like yesterday, we were all sitting around and Hardy says to me "ruff", and I'm all like---"Hardy, she is not a competitive eating contender." Or like the day before that, Hardy says, "ruff" and I had to scold him because as I told him--it is not nice to make beeping noises when Rebecca backs up. Anyway, I think Hardy has learned his lesson.

All kidding aside, i think Rebecca looks absolutely great, judge for yourself:

Pictoral Evidence...

2007-04-27T14:56:00.000-05:00

Fresh off the presses--here are pictures of our little girl from our ultrasound this morning. I will probably post another one or two later.

Here is the classic profile:

Here is our little girl rockin' out (notice the cool hand gesture):

That's awesome!!!

News Flash...

2007-04-27T10:15:00.000-05:00

This is a very quick update. Pretty much anyone who reads this already knows, but I'll post it anyway. We're having a little girl. Yep, she is already gorgeous (must take after her mom). Anyway, I gotta run...I gotta run by the store and buy a few things--rope, shovel....you know for when the boys start coming around :)

Just an Update...

2007-04-13T12:39:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

I haven't written lately because, well, because nothing exciting has been going on. Don't get me wrong, life has been pretty good and Rebecca is healthy and doing well (more on that in a second), but there have not been any "breakthrough" stories or anything that has made me laugh or ponder. Then again, do I really ponder? That is probably a question better left for later...although I am intrigued by my own question. I know that I talk to myself--is that pondering--well, maybe.

On Tuesday we went for another doctor's appointment. Everything was good. The baby was active, trying desparately to avoid the mighty Doppler. Finally we snagged him/her down--the heartbeat was in the upper 150's, so everything looks good. Rebecca is healthy and is steadily gaining the appropriate amount of weight. We received our paperwork for our 20-week ultrasound (US), which is in exactly two weeks from now. In that US, they will thoroughly check out the heart and the other organs--very important and then they will tell us the gender if they can tell.

Rebecca and I are excited to find out the gender, but more importantly we are very excited to take a look at those organs. That was said is somewhat of a sarcastic tone, but you couldn't tell that b/c you are reading and not listening to me. Well, try to read it in my voice, but when you get to that part about..."but more importantly...", add some sarcasm. All kidding aside, shouldn't we be more interested in these vastly complicated organs versus whether or not we can see a 'wee-wee'. Its amazing that the gender is what we as prospective parents focus on. That is only a few moments of the entire US. The doctors/technicians are busily examining every nook and cranny of the baby's brain, all four chambers of the heart, the kidneys, the bone structure, etc. and we are just sitting there the whole time grinning wondering if our boy is going to pitch in the majors or whether my little girl will grow up to be president. Kinda funny I think. All that being said, I'm am really excited to find out the gender!!! To quote my good friend Luke, "I'm excited about all of the excitement".

Ok, without further adieu, here are some gratuitous shots of Rebecca (and her belly) at 18 weeks. Enjoy.

-
p.s. If anyone wants to see pics of my 18-wk belly (or any other week), please send your written requests and a check or money order for $9.95 to:

Amazing Belly Pictures

c/o Jeff or Truffle

123 LongWinding Road

White Plains, NY 10603

All proceeds go to the Truffle college fund*.

*By all proceeds, Jeff means that a portion of the proceeds will go to the Truffle college fund. By a portion, Jeff means that about 1 dollar out of every 10 will go to the Truffle college fund. The other 8.95 will go operational costs. By operational costs, Jeff means taking Rebecca out on some pretty sweet dates.

Oh, by the way...

2007-03-30T22:58:00.000-05:00

Please leave me (us) some commments/posts. I would love to read your comments. You can do this by clicking on the comments tab at the end of each post. If there is not a comment, it will say something like, "0 Comments "

You can click on that and let us know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.

Story time...

2007-03-30T22:21:00.000-05:00

Hello all,
It dawns on me that I never told you the story of how we let our loveable dog know that we are expecting the baby. If you have a dog, then you know that it is actually not a trivial task to introduce your dog to your new baby. There are lots of books and techniques that tell you how to introduce your beloved pooch to the new member of the family. Well, Rebecca and I decided we would let Hardy in on the secret early. I could just tell you the story in words, but I think a picture library will be best. I think it went something like this....

Once upon a time there was a happy family, Hardy and his two people Jeff and Rebecca...

Then one day, Jeff and Rebecca told Hardy that he was not going to be the only one receiving attention in the near future, yep, they told him they were pregnant...

Well, Hardy didn't take it so well, in fact, he got real mad...

Hardy even challenged Jeff to a fight...

Jeff and Hardy were involved in an epic battle...

Ultimately Jeff won by knocking Hardy out (hey, I gotta defend my wife).....

Hardy was then thrown into doggy jail....

While serving hard time in "da joint", Hardy had lots of time to think about all of the good times he had with Jeff and Rebecca and how much he liked them....

He then decided that having three people to play with and to walk was better than none, so Hardy made up with Rebecca, Jeff, and the Truffle. He even decided to "kiss the baby"...

In the end they all lived happily ever after, and Hardy was sooooo tired. The end.