Baby time!

Almost, anyway, I hope. I guess this post technically belongs on Evan's blog. I'm writing from the hospital bed. We've been here since 5:30 a.m. After a couple of hours on a penicillin drip they started the Pitocin at 8:30 and now my contractions are a couple of minutes apart. I haven't seen the doctor yet but as of 8:30 I was 3 cm. dilated, up from 2 on Tuesday, so at least things seem to be moving along better than they did with Claire.

I don't love being stuck in bed but I have been able to finally start a book I checked out from the library a long time ago. The first due date was Sept. 21 and I've been renewing it ever since. I also have responded to almost every neglected email and Facebook message, so for at least for a few hours, I have a clean slate.

Daytime TV is awful. How do people watch it?

I never posted a picture of Claire's new dresser (which Evan will use while he's in the "baby room"). We got it at the Coalition for $35 and added more coats of paint than I care to think about (it was red with decorative fish when we bought it), plus new drawer pulls. Here it is (it's hard to get a good angle in that small space):
So, not a lot else to report. Thanks a MILLION to Mom and Dad for coming over at 5 this morning so they could be there when Claire woke up and then take care of her until whenever we get home. What would we do without you?

Hunter is here!

In all likelihood most people who read this blog have already heard, but it's the kind of great news that doesn't diminish with repetition ... Hunter Grayson Talbert is here! Congratulations to Amanda, Stephen and Bri!

He was born about two weeks early, just a few hours after a routine doctor's appointment at which the doctor informed a shocked Amanda that she was 5 centimeters dilated. Five hours later, she was holding sweet Hunter! You can read the full story in her own words here. He is an absolutely beautiful baby with a great grip and, from what I can tell, a fantastic disposition. Even his poop hardly stinks. Click here for the first round of pictures. Hooray for our growing family!

Hunter's arrival has significantly increased my antsiness to meet Evan. I've definitely hit full-on nesting mode in the past few days, probably partly but not fully due to Hunter's birth. Matt and I deep-cleaned the refrigerator and oven last weekend, if that tells you anything. The last time I had the urge to do that, much less actually did it, was about three weeks before Claire was born. We'll see if a pattern emerges.

I also am finally making progress on Claire's new dresser. It's sanded and primed and we've ordered new handles, so all that remains is to paint the final coats. This afternoon I cleaned not only the baseboards but the grout on the kitchen floor. And I'm about to wrap up my remaining stories that are due before Nov. 1. I have one more interview, tomorrow morning, and then I'm only 3,000 words away from a short break from accepting writing assignments. The last thing I want to be thinking about during labor is some article that's due in 36 hours.

Finally, and this is less about nesting than about decreasing the odds that Claire will accidentally drink bleach or eat soap or lose an eye playing with scissors, I spent most of yesterday morning doing some much needed, way overdue babyproofing. Our bathroom cabinets, linen closet, pantry and kitchen cabinets are now reorganized with everything dangerous out of her reach. This will buy us some time until she gets good at climbing, anyway.

K2, AKA ...

Not sure who checks the new-baby blog, especially since I hardly ever update it, so I figured I'd include the news here: We've decided on a name for K2, Evan Bryce. Glad that's settled!

This is probably the shortest post I've ever written.

Baby blue

It's already old news to most of you, but baby No. 2 is a boy! The ultrasound appointment was Monday at 9 a.m. and we had to keep it a secret -- except from immediate family and two very persuasive "relatives" who shall remain nameless -- until that night's Pink or Blue Party.

I'd like to offer a blanket apology to everyone whose calls and texts I screened before the party. Not only did I not want the news to get out, but we had a late-afternoon house showing, so I spent the last hour or so before the party scrambling to decorate, cut up fruit, etc. At least the showing meant the house was already clean!

This was our second consecutive year throwing a party the night of the gender revelation, but I ran the numbers and it's very unlikely we'll have another such event until at least 2012.

The party was a lot of fun. We kept it simple with dozens of hot dogs, dozens of blue cupcakes -- courtesy of Carrie, whose hands still show traces of blue food coloring -- a dozen bags of chips and one big fruit salad. And, most importantly, dozens of people we love. We mixed groups of friends (locals only), which can be treacherous but I love to do. A lot of people wore either pink or blue, depending on their guess, and it was fun to see everyone's reaction as they walked in and saw blue balloons everywhere.

The only thing that threatened to put a damper on the night was when the neighbors called the police to complain about the parking situation. There is very limited parking on our tiny culdesac, that's just how it is, but people squeezed into our yard and the center of the culdesac circle and didn't encroach on anyone else's property. The police basically rolled their eyes and apologized for bothering us and said they told the neighbors no one was parked where they couldn't be parked. They were really nice about it. Lame, neighbors!

Two other funny things from the party: The other neighbors' sprinklers came on and drenched a convertible whose top had been left down (thank you for being such a good sport, Bill!), and Josh found a handwritten note decrying the evils of alcohol inside his six-pack. We probably were not the audience the author had in mind, since at least half of the people at the party belong to our Bible study.

Anyway, it was a great night with so many of our favorite people around. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate!

No joke

I was going to write this post yesterday but since it was April Fool's Day and all I didn't want to confuse anyone. Because I am actually serious when I say Claire's going to have a little brother or sister sometime around Nov. 1!

Naturally, I started another blog to document this event. But judging from the amount I've written so far, I don't know how long it will last. Anyway: http://ababyinnovember.blogspot.com/

Claire and the newbie will be right at 16 months apart, and with Amanda and Stephen's two, Mom and Dad will have four grandbabies under about 19 months , if my math is right. I love the thought of big, bustling households and cousins who are best friends. Bring it on!

Happy Good Friday!

P.S. If I ever have another opportunity to announce my pregnancy to my grandparents on April Fool's Day, and decide it would be a good idea to tell them I'm having twins, someone remind me not to do that. It was much funnier in my head, and then not fun at all to tell them I was kidding. Kind of like the time Carrie fell for the fake lottery tickets. Sorry, Granny, Granddaddy and Carrie!

Mushy baby girls

I've gotten out of the habit of posting cute baby pictures, but I actually had my camera handy when we kept Riley Saturday afternoon, and I had to share these with the world. Of all the many, many toys this girl owns, her favorite is an old pill bottle (don't worry, it's a prescription bottle that's hard even for adults to break into) filled with bubble gum. I think it's supposed to be a rattle, but she prefers it simply stuffed in her mouth. SO cute.


And this picture is from when Lib, Jorge and Ruthie visited a few weeks ago. When Amanda brought Bri over to meet the Armentas, we took the babies on a walk through the neighborhood with Lib's (AMAZING) BOB stroller.
I am not planning to get a running stroller. I think I'll appreciate the excuse to have at least a small chunk of time to myself every day, and I don't think any stroller would do great on trails, and I think I'll be doing CrossFit as much as running by August anyway. But if I change my mind, I'm probably going to splurge on a BOB. It was like pushing air.

The Baby Bjorn, by the way, was awesome too. It was my first chance to use this great gift and Bri loved it -- she slept the whole time. I'm a huge fan of hands-free baby-holding and I'll probably wear this thing out.

Guilt

I suppose the fact that slack bloggers and hypocrites annoy me means I should aim for posting more than once a week. I'm going to see how much I can write in five minutes and that will have to do until I have more time. (But those of you who harrass me when Green Grass starts to wither -- thanks for caring. :)

We had a great weekend with Lib and Jorge and baby Ruthie in town. I hadn't seen Ruthie for months and in my opinion her most distinguishing characteristic is the fact that she is almost always smiling. Even when she's fussing, Lib or Jorge can usually persuade her to pause for a smile. Such a happy, happy girl. We love the Armentas. It was a lot of fun to introduce Ruthie to Bri and Riley. There are pictures, but I don't have them.

On Friday I got the chiropractor's go-ahead to start running again. I knew the SI joint was feeling a lot better and he confirmed that the swelling was way down. I ran Friday and yesterday and both days it was neither a pleasant experience nor a pretty sight, but I think that had as much to do with the heat and this huge belly as with the SI joint, which was fine after the runs. Thank God. I'm going back to the chiropractor one more time, on Thursday, just so he can check it out after a week of running, but I expect that will be the last time I see him unless there's another flare-up sometime in the future.

Not a lot else to report. I got a pedicure last week that was better than a massage. My car wouldn't start this morning. The Fresh Market is having a great sale on peaches right now. I'm trying to persuade Matt to let us go to the beach for a few days before Claire comes, but he has this strict work ethic I'm having to contend with. I tried to explain to him about babymoons but he thought that was something I made up on the spot. If you run into him in the next week or two, do me a favor and put in a good word. Thanks in advance.

OK, time's up.

I'm back

So, last time I blogged it was May and now it's June. June is right before July and that's when Claire's scheduled to arrive. What?!

For the record, Carrie's predicting that Claire will be born on June 28, which would suit me just fine. I think this is based on a dream, but Carrie's dreams have some credibility with me, since she dreamed and predicted that I was pregnant about two weeks before I had any idea. Time will tell.

While I was an absentee blogger, lots of fun stuff was happening in real life ... an awesome baby shower thrown by Carrie (of which I unfortunately took about three pictures); a weekend to myself while Matt went camping with the guys; a small surprise wedding shower for Lauren R.; one-on-one time with my two favorite babes, Bri and Riley; a high-maintenance real estate client; more than my fill of writing and editing, etc.

Now I'm doing writing as well as editing with this new freelance deal, and the only problem, if you can call it that, is that I have a hard time not doing it ALL THE TIME when I'm paid by the article and there's an unlimited supply of work to be done. I stayed up until 4 a.m. Friday night/Saturday morning (not only working, also scrubbing down the house -- I'm always inspired to clean when Matt's gone) but after that I was sick of words and didn't open my computer again for the rest of the weekend. This sudden excess of writing opportunities probably has a lot to do with my blogging slackness and the pile of emails I need to respond to, too.

I had my second chiropractor visit today. He adjusted me, gave me six exercises to start doing daily for the SI joint issue and told me I need to take one more week off from running. Tomorrow will mark two weeks off, and not running -- or doing anything active, really, since we don't belong to the fitness center anymore -- SUCKS.

I don't think I've gone a week without running since 2000, when I had a bunionectomy and was out of commission for about a month. Having that bunion removed, though, was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Mom and Dad were generous enough to let me do it before college graduation, while I was still on their insurance, and I consider it a third graduation gift (the others being lifetime membership in the UNC General Alumni Association and a repaired sunroof in my beloved old Camry).

Weekend update

A Thursday weekend update -- nice. Well, c'est la vie. It's hard to make time for blogging when there are so many other demands on my time, such as filling out an improbably perfect March Madness bracket*, writing a gazillion thank-you notes, and working extra-fast so I can enjoy a nice long run at the reservoir every beautiful, sunny afternoon. (I'm also woefully behind on emails and would like to offer a blanket apology to everyone I owe.)

Saturday Amanda and I had a big joint baby shower thrown by a handful of Mom and Granny's BFFs, namely Renee, Joy, Gail and Catherine. It was held in the fellowship hall of the church we grew up in, and other than lots of relatives, most of the attendees were women who have known us for most of our lives.
(Dad didn't actually attend the shower, but after it was over he stopped by on his way to the Old-Time Fiddler's Convention, where he won first place in the piano category!)

We opened gifts side-by-side for two solid hours and it was SO great to share the center of attention! All showers should be joint. Amanda, let's be sure to time all future pregnancies together. Seriously, I can say with confidence that Brianna and Claire will not lack for diapers, dolls, books, rattles, stuffed animals, linens or love. Also, it appears they will be much more well-dressed than their mamas.

After the shower, I went home to drop off the gifts and pick up Matt at half-time of the Duke game in the ACC tournament. We went to Amanda and Stephen's, where he and Stephen watched the second half while Amanda and I went to pick up pizzas to sustain us through the much-anticipated movie marathon!

That's right, we watched movies for almost 12 straight hours: "The Departed" (Matt's pick), "Love Actually" (Amanda's), "We Were Soldiers" (Stephen's) and "Steel Magnolias" (mine). (I have seen "Steel Magnolias" multiple times, but Matt and Stephen had never seen it and would probably never sit through it in ordinary circumstances. I thought it would be good for Matt to understand why I walk around saying "Her colors are pink and pink" and "In a good shoe I wear a size six, but a seven feels so good I buy a size eight" and I seized my opportunity.)

Amanda and Stephen have the coziest living room ever for a movie marathon -- huge, plush couches that rock and recline, a huge, plush rug, a big-screen TV and easy access to the kitchen and the bathroom. After three movies it was around 1:30 a.m. and we were starting to falter so we paused to make popcorn, finish the pizza and drink yet more Coke. It worked! Second winds totally kicked in and by the time we got home (around 4:30 a.m.) I felt wide awake -- but I don't even remember my head hitting the pillow.

*P.S. Here's the answer sheet:

It's a girl!

Hooray! A healthy baby girl!

We squeezed in a few quickie announcement calls between the ultrasound and the doctor's appointment, and by the time we got home from the doctor our foyer and dining room looked like this:
I LOVE IT! I knew right away it was Carrie's handiwork and I was right. Thank you so much, Carrie (and Jacob)! How in the world did you do that so fast?

Ultrasound pictures are posted here. Name announcement coming soon!

Stuff

Mom, Amanda and I spent Thursday through Saturday in Greenville, S.C., for our second annual girls-only trip. Last year we went to New York City and while at first glance these seem like entirely different places, the trips had a lot of similarities.

Such as Googling directions from our hotel to a zillion thrift stores, and finding them without (too much) trouble. Meandering through gorgeous parks. Walking across bridges with cool views. More thrift shopping. Eating hot dogs between meals. Brazenly disregarding "do not walk" signs (Mom). Finding a hotel with a great location at a great price. A little more shopping. And most importantly, lots of togetherness with my top two ladies.

In contrast to last year, I did not take one picture! I don't even know how that happened. Fortunately, Amanda did, and she posted some on her blog.

Saturday night just a couple of hours after we got home, Jacob and Carrie were driving home from dinner when they were intentionally plowed into from behind by a guy who had been drinking since 10 that morning (and who was fleeing the scene of another hit-and-run across town). Thank God, Jacob and Carrie were fine and Riley wasn't with them. The paramedics were there before Jacob even got off the phone with 911 because they happened to pass by on their way to another call.

The other driver was out-of-his-mind wasted and when Jacob went over to his car (which had flipped from the impact) to see if he was OK, the paramedics told him to get away because the guy was talking about shooting people. He turned out to have four guns in his car! The craziest part is that the next day, after a trip to the hospital and a night in jail, he claimed not to remember any of it and was extremely apologetic. Absolutely insane.

I am loving this warm weather so much! Yesterday while Matt and the boys played basketball I went on a long, lovely run through our neighborhood and several miles of greenway trails. It's supposed to be just as nice through most of this week, I think. I'm going to go to CrossFit today since I haven't been since last Monday, but tomorrow I'll definitely be back outside for another long run.

And during that run I'll probably be thinking of nothing but baby names because finally we find out tomorrow whether we're having a boy or a girl! It's going to be so nice to finally know! I'm tired of saying "he or she," "him or her," etc. The English language really needs to take a cue from most others with a gender-neutral pronoun. I do not like referring to our child as "it."

Totally off-topic, today through Feb. 22 the N.C. State Highway Patrol is running a campaign to crack down on speeders on interstates and major four-lane roads, so beware.

Cavity club

Today my cavity fillings -- two of them -- could be postponed no longer. It wasn't quite as bad as I worried but it was bad enough. The anesthesia that was supposed to keep me numb for three hours lasted about 20 minutes and they had to reapply it in the middle of the first filling. (They blamed it on my metabolism and my first thought was -- should I be concerned about how long my epidural's going to last?)

It also ran out in the middle of the second filling, which was on the other side of my mouth. They said they would give me more anesthesia but didn't really want to because of the pregnancy, even though my doctor had said it was fine. I asked how much longer they'd be drilling and they said only about 10 seconds so I sucked it up and went without extra numbness. I HATE how sensitive my teeth are. I also am not crazy about the taste of burned tooth that is now in my mouth.

I was a regular member of the no-cavity club when I was a kid and once even won a giant stuffed kangaroo for my efforts, but in recent years it seems I always have cavities, even though I'm more diligent about dental hygiene than ever. Dentists always tell me it's not my fault, it's the shape of my teeth. So I asked the dentist today if there was any reason I couldn't just get sealants over the rest of my molars that are so far cavity-free. She said they don't usually do sealants for adults but that was pretty much the extent of the explanation. I might see if I can talk to her about that more.

I wish I had something other than the state of my teeth to talk about but I really don't. Maybe tomorrow will be more interesting.

All over the place

I don't know when I became such a loser blogger. Actually, I think what put me over the edge is that I started yet another blog (inspired by Kate's new one) and even though it was fun I'm going to drop it because three active blogs is too many for me to keep up with well. Especially since the newest one required daily attention. Too bad, because I loved the idea. Click here to see the short-lived venture.

Last Friday and Saturday Amanda and I went to Charlotte to visit Lib and Jorge and their new baby, Ruthie! It was wonderful. I can't claim that Amanda and I were very helpful, but we sure enjoyed passing Ruthie back and forth between us for hours on end. Lib and Jorge were in great spirits, not even that sleep-deprived, and already incredibly adept at handling a newborn. I am so, so glad I have so many friends doing the parenting thing slightly ahead of me -- because I'm going to have A LOT of questions. (Amanda has a few more pictures from the visit here.)

Speaking of babies, we get to find out our baby's sex on Feb. 10 ... I can't wait!

Other than that not a whole lot's been happening. Stephen and Bill moved into Stephen's new house Saturday (I got out of helping since I was still in Charlotte) and that means the house they've been living in for four years is ready for new renters. It's actually already been rented to a couple who took it sight-unseen and are moving in at the end of the month, but it definitely needed a ... facelift.

Matt, Jacob, Carrie, Stephen, Terry and I spent two days this week scrubbing and painting it. Luckily, the carpet's being replaced today so we didn't have to be careful with the paint -- that makes things a lot easier. It's also getting some updated fixtures, a new stove, a good pressure washing and some landscaping work.

Bill, who acknowledges that he and Stephen quit cleaning the house about a year ago, couldn't help because he has a "real" job, but he did thank us in a blog post. (The only reason he mentions me by name is that I reminded him about five times yesterday that I cleaned his bathroom. Carrie really deserves more credit -- she cleaned the kitchen -- and believe it or not, that was more repulsive than the bathroom.)

Then yesterday all the same people except Carrie, who got to be a mom instead, dressed like we were skiing and laid sod at the new house ALL day. It felt like slow going but we unloaded 15 pallets (I think) and finished the whole thing -- front and back yards. It looks great. Guess what, this month I've made the most money from writing and editing that I ever have (freelance, anyway). Before you get too excited, I should add that as monthly income for full-time work, it's not so hot -- right at minimum wage. Luckily, I didn't work nearly full-time to earn it. Unluckily, I had NO real estate income this month to supplement it. Still, maybe it's a sign of good things to come, freelance-wise.

O happy day

I loved today. I got to sit in Panera Bread all day long, listening to new music I love (I spent some time updating my iTunes over the holidays) and writing more than half of a big story I've procrastinated way too long and at one point turning off the music (but keeping the headphones) to eavesdrop on a job interview taking place at the table beside me.

At 3 I had to leave to get a cavity filled, which I was dreading. I consider myself to have high pain tolerance but not when it comes to my teeth -- they're just so sensitive. But this appointment had already been rescheduled once (it was originally supposed to be done the day I found out I was pregnant, and they told me to postpone it until the second trimester), so I was just ready to get it over with, because I have no interest in root canals. Isn't that what happens when a cavity's too bad? Maybe not.

Anyway, I went to the dentist and gave them a form letter from my doctor telling them which medicines are and aren't OK for me to have during pregnancy. Apparently the letter wasn't detailed enough so they called the doctor's office with some specific questions, and the person they needed to talk to hadn't called them back before it was too late to fit in my filling. I got to go home! This is kind of the opposite of delayed gratification, but I welcomed it today. And getting home early meant I got to fit in a great long run outside.

My headaches have been much better the past two days. I think it's been good to start to get back in a normal routine and on some semblance of a normal sleep schedule. I also am making a concerted effort to drink more water and to eat more, which isn't that easy because a lot of foods don't sound appealing to me. It's not like I'm queasy, I just don't have much of an appetite. I thought over what I'd eaten a few days recently and realized it didn't add up to much, so maybe that did contribute to the headaches.

This book I'm reading about Wal-Mart is really making me think about boycotting Wal-Mart. I already despise the entire experience of shopping there -- from parking to the crowded aisles to the checkout lanes to running into half the town. Reading about the massive, global negative effects of their "everyday low prices" (specifically, what is sacrificed to keep those prices low) helps put the few dollars I might save there in perspective. I won't go off on it now, and I haven't even finished the book yet, but I won't be surprised if I join Kate in cutting Wal-Mart out of my life soon.

Back to reality

It seems like forever since the last time I posted. At Christmastime last year we didn't even have an Internet connection at home and I still managed more regular blogs than this year. I just haven't been in front of the computer much.

We went to Atlanta for a few days after Christmas and visited Dad's family. The day after we got back Mom and Dad got a call that Grandma had fallen and it wasn't looking good, so they headed back down. We stayed here since we had just gotten to see her. In the past five days she's gone from unresponsive and on a ventilator in the terminal unit to breathing on her own and eating and talking in a regular room. Quite the fighting spirit for an 88-year-old. (For a fuller, more eloquent version of this story, click here.) Mom and Dad are still there but may be coming back today.

We had the most low-key New Year's Eve ever -- pizza and movies ("Mamma Mia" and "Baby Mama," both pretty good) by ourselves at home. Neither of us felt much like going out, and there wasn't a coordinated plan anyway -- everyone seemed to be doing their own thing (or nothing). We did watch the ball drop and whose idea was it to let Dick Clark keep doing the countdown? Not to be mean, but he seemed more dead than alive. It was painful to watch.

Last night the whole Matt's guys crowd (those in North Carolina, anyway) came over. Originally we were going to have them over for a New Year's Eve party but a couple of people had work conflicts so this worked out better. It was such a great time! I LOVE that whole group. It's so weird to think that three years ago there wasn't a kid in the bunch and six months from now there will be eight of them. Of course I didn't take a single picture. Unfortunately at the end of the night I got a killer headache and even though Maegan and Lee spent the night I couldn't stay up and chat like I'd have liked to.

For my entire first trimester I didn't have a single headache, which is SO unusual for me -- I usually get headaches if I'm too hungry, dehydrated, tired -- almost anything will do it. And now suddenly for the past week I've had a mild headache almost every day, not enough to complain about or even mention, but it's there. And then last night it was really bad, and it still isn't gone this morning, although it's much better. I wonder if this could be related to my newly lax policy on caffeine, but I've also read headaches can hit in the second trimester, so maybe that's just my luck.

This morning we woke up late and decided to skip church rather than scrambling to get ready, etc. Definitely the right decision for today. We got to eat a good breakfast and then we listened to a Tim Keller sermon while still in our pajamas -- fantastic. Not a replacement for church, but perfect for this morning.

You are the bomb.com

Thank you to everyone for the flood of comments and emails in response to yesterday's post! I often think about the proverb that "shared joy is a double joy (and shared sorrow is half a sorrow)" and all of you are proving it true.

A special thanks, too, for cumulatively leaving me more than 20 comments (and counting) on that post! You guys can take the credit for my checking off No. 94, "Write a blog post that draws at least 20 comments, even if I have to beg."

The baby blog address is http://ababyinjuly.blogspot.com/. I'm also linking it on the sidebar for easy access. I won't promise to update it as frequently as I update this blog, because pregnancy-wise there isn't a lot to say right now beyond "I'm tired ... I'm tired ... still tired." I suppose that will change, though.

Again, many thanks for the vicarious joy (Dad's phrase)!

P.S. The daily baby Riley has returned!

July 8, 2009

I don't know what you're going to be doing on 07-08-09, but I'm going to be having a baby!

In reality, only about 5 percent of babies are born on their due date -- but my point is, I'm pregnant!

We're really excited about this development. The best part is that our baby will be in the same grade as Amanda's baby Brianna (ETA April 20), Carrie's baby Riley and Melissa's yet-to-be-named new baby boy (ETA April 13), all of whom live here in town. Lib, Maegan and Sallie are also expecting babies that will be in the same grade -- I love it! London and Dylan will be just enough older -- a year or two -- to teach all of our kids everything we don't want them to know.

I love knowing that this happened exactly when it was supposed to happen. As counterintuitive as it may sound, there's real freedom in not being able to micromanage every area of your life.

I also love knowing no one will ever bug us again about when we're going to procreate! Seriously. Many, many thanks to our families for not being those people.

Please pray with us for a healthy baby!

And don't worry, this is not going to become a blog focused on pregnancy and babies. Those usually bore me to tears. However, and I admit this may seem contradictory, I have started a separate baby blog. Let me know if you want the address.

P.S. With this announcement I'm checking off No. 27, "Have a baby in my belly."