My Personal Superman

As usual with our house, one project turns into another. Repainting the baby’s room (the old guest room) led to emptying out that room, rearranging the computer room, to tearing out all the carpet upstairs. We’ve also scraped popcorn off the ceiling in the Jack & Jill bathroom and replaced old light switch/electrical outlets. Those projects bled into our downstairs which now holds newly painted baseboards and other miscellaneous furniture. Luckily Andrew is like Superman and has done all the work single handedly. The "we" I mention is 95% Andrew; my two hands are not much help these days though I’d love to be helping most of the time!

I woke up one night around 2 a.m. to hear the distinct sound of a roller putting paint on the wall. In any other household, the wife probably would have crawled out of the bed and asked her husband what the heck he was doing, but in our house, I sat up, smiled, and went back to sleep. It’s not unusual for Andrew to be most productive between the hours of 11 p.m. and 3 a.m.

So far, we’ve purchased baby’s bedding (Jungle Tales by NoJo), picked out the paint color (Herb Cornucopia by Valspar), ordered the crib (Serenity by Baby’s Dream), and we’ve begun to register at Target and Babies R Us. We also have decided on a floor/laminate color (Antique Tundra from Ikea). There’s still plenty of time before my due date, but I’m anxious to get as much done – as soon as possible... all thanks to my personal Superman.

Can he kick it? Yes he can!

Monday night, July 13th... I felt my baby boy kick!

A week prior Ashley and I were sitting on the couch watching TV as she gets a big smile on her face and puts her hand on her belly. "I think he's hiccuping" she said. I couldn't believe it and was immediately jealous that I couldn't partake in the experience except to feel the love and awe from Ashley's face as she concentrated on her belly. She hadn't felt a lot of movement (that I know of) yet and this was very special.

I expressed my jealousy and asked how long I would have to wait until I could feel the baby move or kick. She had read that most women with the first baby might go until 25wks before they feel kicking themselves and it can be a couple weeks after that for the Dad to feel anything.

Not liking this news that I might have to wait another month and a half or even two months to feel my boy kick I only had one option. I leaned in towards Ashley's belly and had my first Father-Son talk. In a jokingly-serious Dad voice I called him by name (the name we think we're going to use) and said something along the lines of...
"Listen here _______, I know you're only at 20wks, and I've heard that some babies don't kick until around 25, but you're special and I expect more out of you. I want to be able to feel you kick by week 22... No... by the weekend of week 21. That's one and a half weeks from now so you should have plenty of time to get those legs strong in there. Ok little man?"

Well obviously I was joking... I joke around... its what I do. It was fun thinking of it as a 'Father-Son' talk. And to think ahead to how many we'll have and all that I can share and teach him and even more that he'll teach me.

Fast forward to the first day of Ashley's wk21 (Monday). Sitting on the couch Ashley gets that smile and puts her hand on her stomach. She grabs my hand and says he's kicking and you might be able to feel it but don't be upset if you can't. Trying not to get my hopes up I let her lead my hand to lay flat on her stomach and didn't feel anything at first. No surprises. Didn't expect to feel anything anyway... WAIT! Whats that?! "Ashley I think I felt him kick! I did! He just kicked again!"

This was awesome on so many levels. I really think I was totally speechless for a bit or was just keeping quiet (as if being quiet would help me feel kicking). In all I felt around 5 solid kicks all moving slightly within a small area. Almost immediately I told Ashley I decided he wasn't kicking and they were 'fist bumps' instead. She said "If they are fist bumps then our kid is Rocky". Ashley is funny sometimes too ;)

This One's for Baby A

Thanks to my fabulous stint of unemployment for the summer, I was able to scoot up the mountain to spend the day with my dad. His brother had just left, and among one of their favorite discoveries was a stocked trout pond. I somewhat jokingly asked my dad if he wanted another fishing partner for the day. He took me up on the offer, so I drove up to Blowing Rock and we headed into Foscoe to see if we could catch some trout.

The beautiful thing about this stocked pond was that you didn’t need any equipment or a license. You pulled up, picked out a pole, and a fish man gave you a net, a hook-thing (to get the hook out of the fish’s mouth), and a can of corn bait and a container of live worms. As we walked to the pond with the large fish, I started to second guess myself. You could clearly see huge trout swimming around just under the clear surface. “Do these fish really want to be caught, Dad?” He reassured me that the fish want to be caught! Moments later after he baited my hook and cast me out for the initial time, I had a bite. I got really excited and scared, but one of my first thoughts was, “This one’s for Baby A.” I reeled the sucker in and held the pole with a death grip as the fish flopped on the ground and my dad corralled it with the net. Still uneasy, I watched as he unhooked the hook with the dehooking tool (with minimal blood shed). The hook came out cleanly, and I continued to convince myself this was the right thing to do by saying, “At least the fish got an early lunch.”

We continued to fish for about an hour. I kept getting nibbles and the fish kept tying seaweed to my hook, but I had no more beginners’ luck. My dad snagged a few fish and let me try to reel them in; he said that was the fun part of fishing and he wanted me to have the thrill. I lost one, but got the other one in with a bit of a fight. He was huge… as far as trout in a fish pond are concerned. My pole bent, I struggled a little and finally we got him in. This one was definitely bigger than the first, a tad squirmy-er, and a bit bloodier. While he was still wiggling, I bravely held him tight in a towel to pose for a picture. This one, too, is for Baby A.


Aside from the bonding with my dad, truly a great time, I enjoyed watching the little kids, mostly boys, with their parents and grandparents. It was not at all difficult to fast forward my mind to 2-3 years from now and see my son with his dad and my dad excitedly by the water’s edge reeling in their first catch.

Fueled by a desire to be a good mom to a little boy, in one day, I touched a worm, reeled in two fish, and even ate a small portion of our nearly six pound catches. Its all for you, Sweet Baby A.

Traveling Little Man

Not even born yet and our little man is definitely getting indoctrinated into one of the ways this family loves to spend time… traveling! It is a passion for both Ashley and me. A passion that we’re sure will have to change while we wait for the birth and then first part of baby A’s life. We’ve already had to bow out of a mission trip to Europe and spending our vacation time mostly in one place, as we have this past week, is almost alien compared to our normal traveling schedules running from here to there. That being said I know neither of us would have it any other way. We’ve already been to Europe a few times, are sure to go on future mission trips, and I’m finding that spending a bulk of time in one place doing nothing but relaxing on the beach really isn’t all that bad. For someone who usually likes to run all over and visit as many places and do as many things as possible… this vacation has been about as opposite as it could be. We did still fit in some little side trips here and there (cousin Jennie’s wedding, visit parents and see friends about to have a baby soon) but it was the most time we’ve spent in one place for a vacation yet.

Our little slice of heaven is just North of Southwick Beach on Lake Ontario. We’ve spent a very relaxing and calm week with weather as good as one could ask for in CNY this time of year. Me getting burnt while floating on a tube ‘to Canada’ on the first day and Ash getting a nice tan all week is evidence of the weather we’ve had. A week filled with falling asleep in the hammock, bombing around on the jetski, playing with the dogs in the waves, getting some sun and simply spending time with Ashley and watching the baby grow in her belly.

That last part really has been really fun lately. Ashley’s belly goes some days without much change while others there seems to be a huge difference overnight. We’re trying to be diligent about taking pictures periodically to chart her growth which is fun to look back at already and see the amazing transformation.

The picture above is from the camp looking out past the totem pole to the sunset over Lake Ontario. Now watching every sunset (and the very seldom seen sunrise) reminds me of the song ‘Sunrise to Sunset’ by Paul Wright. Most reading this probably have never heard of him but he is a great musician that Ashley and I have been following for a few years now. Paul is a Christian artist with an acoustic/chill/surf sound out of Oregon (Check out some of his music here). The main lyrics to the song are ‘Sunrise to sunset… let me not forget… all that you’ve done for me. Sunset to sunrise… help me keep my eyes… upon your Glory.’ It brings you back to the majesty of the sunset and who created it. It’s not just ‘something pretty’ or ‘cool’ to look at. Its amazing that the same God that created each and every sunset and sunrise is at work inside Ashley putting together our little miracle that we’ll get to meet in about 5 months. He knows the plans he has for me, Ashley and our baby. He knows his name, what he’ll look like, and where we’ll go on family trips/vacations together down the road.

Venice, Munich, Cozumel, Pacific Northwest, Colorado Rockies, Florence, Cinque Terra and Prague… As much as I love to travel and loved all of these places… It’s becoming apparent more and more each day that thoughts of visiting these places will fade to the background as my son arrives. Ashley and I had a blast watching our dogs running and playing in the sand and waves, but more than once commented how awesome it will be to see our son running and playing on the beach. Then I started daydreaming to sometime in the future simply watching him playing in the backyard in a similar manner. No exotic location… no far off land. Just Charlotte, North Carolina in good ol’ Cameron Wood neighborhood. There’s no doubt that traveling will continue to be a love for Ashley and I and we hope our son will feel the same one day. We look forward to long road trips as well as overseas adventures. Until that time comes up again we’ll continue to travel in our minds to the not so far off future when our family of 2 becomes 3!

R&R in NY

On my second nightly bathroom break, I had a few realizations. The first was that I love being on vacation… we’re up in upstate New York spending the week at my family’s camp on Lake Ontario before Andrew’s cousin’s wedding. The only thing I have done is read on the beach, play on the beach, read in the hammock, and play Phase10 to pass the evenings. TV is no good, cell phones don’t work, and the internet connection is slower than a snail’s pace… This is a true vacation. I have also achieved a healthy glow of which I am quite proud, and I have upped my protein, fruit, and veggie intake. I am taking care of me and the babe with no other worries at all, except poor Andrew’s massive sunburn obtained the very first day at the lake.

We have also had fun watching the dogs play in the lake – our high maintenance pups who sadly skipped having a carefree puppyhood are frolicking in the lake and racing on the sand like there’s no tomorrow. It is fun to think that the next time we come here, our little boy could be the one exploring the surf and sand with toddlerlike wonder, but I know there is no sense in rushing time or living in the future.

My second realization is that despite my imperfect posture normally, I think I am trying to subconsciously fight my body’s front facing bulge and my spine’s evident curve. During our few sunset photo shoots, I have found myself foolishly sucking in my stomach… for what vain cause??? And sometimes when I look down while standing, I barely look pregnant, but my side profile doesn’t lie! Even though I almost fought the checkout lady at the grocery store a week ago, I really can’t wait to show the world that I am pregnant!! We had dinner with some of our Central NY friends the other night and the girl is 39 weeks pregnant and so gorgeous! I’m sure I’ll think otherwise when I am at 39 weeks, but I am so excited for that time.

For now, I need to live in the moment… I think I’ll go read in the hammock!

He loves me anyway

I was at the store the afternoon after our ultrasound searching for a perfect, sentimental father's day card for Andrew - his first - even though the baby won't arrive for another 5 months... I ended up with a card showing a grill with hamburgers, hot dogs and a spatula on the front. Inside the card it says,

"Happy Flippin' Father's Day!"

Not exactly sentimental or sweet, but it got the expected chuckle.

I'm not sure why I am so unromantic, but Andrew trumps me in the sentimental category every single holiday. His cards are always perfect, thoughtful, mushy... haha, everything a girl could want. I end up forgetting the card altogether or getting a goofy card...which is what I opted for this holiday as well.

He loves me anyway, this I know.

Easter Surprise

First trimester passed slowly, with many naps and closed lips… we didn’t share our news with anyone until after 8 weeks when we told our parents at Easter. The day before Andrew’s 30th birthday, we had our first ultrasound… which I thought would show us a 9 week embryo, but instead showed a 7 week one. Those two weeks I thought I had surpassed had to be relived and were soooo slow! A wise mommy friend pointed out that at the end of my 40 weeks that 2 week difference would be minimal. We now set our sights on a Thanksgiving(ish) due date!

A few days later, we unveiled our secret to my parents and sister in Blowing Rock (and Andrew’s parents in NY) by putting the ultrasound pictures in Easter eggs. My sister opened hers to find a pacifier in the egg and immediately screamed, “Shut up!!” in an unbelieving, authentically excited way. My mom was thrown by the knit booties that used to belong to me, but understood once she saw the U/S picture and note… “Coming Thanksgiving 2009.” Dad opened his egg and just grinned… perhaps from shock… for the next few hours. Andrew’s parents opened their eggs while we were on the phone and the most memorable part of the conversation was Andrew’s dad saying, “Hallelujah” with audible tears in his eyes/voice.

It was a joyful Easter for sure. My prayer on the way up the mountain was for everyone (our families and the world in general) to accept the miracle of life and to love the child of God…both figuratively and literally. On a day of rebirth/resurrection, our baby came alive to our families and became more alive to us. Already our capacity to love was being stretched beyond our human understanding.

Back at school, it was all I could do to get through math between 9:30 and 10:15 without taking some breathing space and shoving a snack in my mouth. I never had morning sickness of any kind, but definitely had to eat as soon as the rumblings of my stomach began. The kids – and my teammates- had no idea I was pregnant, but I readjusted my outlook and approach with the kids knowing I had a matter of significant importance growing in my stomach. Rather than raise my voice and my blood pressure, I began to sit and wait for their attention. This strategy worked well most of the time, for most students…but the resulting patience I learned will serve me well in parenthood.

At the end of most days, whether good or bad, I rewarded myself with a nap on the couch … growing a baby is hard work! Now that I am off of the summer, I still induldge in well deserved naps. Baby A and Mommy A are on growing spurts!