I want to start this post off by congratulating Kate’s cousin Karen and her husband Brett on finding out that they too are having a baby girl. It will be their third child and their second girl. Karen is due around three weeks after we are.

I’ve been working like crazy for the past few weeks so there haven’t been many thoughts running through my head other then “I’m tired” and “I wonder how the hell I’m going to do this”. But here are those few actual baby related thoughts.

• The other night we were lying in bed and Kate started burping. It was thee most disgusting, rancid smell that has ever crossed this nose. It was “dry heaving” bad! I begged her to stop but she said she “couldn’t” and “that her belly hurt”. She wouldn’t even be done her thunderous belch and it would already be under my nose. NASTY!
• Tuesday morning I was in our closet getting dressed and I noticed a small row of baby outfits hanging by my wife’s clothes. Pink, red, purple. What I’m about to say will be as girly as I’m going to get on this blog. Seeing those outfits lined up on hangers was too damn cute for words. I went and got the camera and took a picture. I’m already turning into a woman. Not good!
• I recently found out I’m not completely ready to be a parent. Maturity wise that is. Saturday night my brother Shaun and I went to our friend Jay’s house to watch the NBA slam dunk contest. Jay has a 5 year old step daughter named Libby. It was time for her to go to bed so Jay’s wife told her to pick out two movies she might want to watch. One of the movies was one of those Olsen twin teen movies. Well, Libby comes over to me to show me the movie jacket and I my reaction, “mmm, yummy”. Everyone was sufficiently amused but it made me think perhaps I need to clean up on the stupid comments. Or maybe just start thinking before I actually open my big mouth.

Last weeks post included a comment that I was extremely pleased with how the name discussions had died down considerably. Well apparently Kate reads my thoughts because there I was Sunday morning at 7am reading through the name book for the umpteenth searching for closure. Needless to say no progress was made. So here are some new semi-censored thoughts from the past 7 days.

• Kate took not one, but TWO naps on Sunday. The first one was from around 8 am until 10 and the second one was on the couch from like 1 to 3. Amazing!
• The kitchen project is coming along very nicely. After the kitchen is done we have the nursery Kate has been planning for me to do and now she wants the laundry room re-done. I think Kate is trying to kill me before the baby is born. Maybe she thinks I’m going to be a bad parent.
• I felt the baby move for the first time this week. We were lying in bed and she was moving around so I held my hand on Kate’s belly and within a minute I could feel her moving around in there. It was rather exciting!
• I find that this part of the pregnancy isn’t all too exciting overall. We know what the sex is, we know roughly when she’ll arrive, and all seems to be going smoothly. All we really have left to do is get the house ready and wait for her arrival. At least we’re busy so the weeks seem to be moving along quickly.
• Our friends Andrew and Christina just signed an agreement of sale to purchase their first home. They close at the end of March. I expect Christina to announce her first pregnancy any day now. Andrew is completely and utterly out of excuses or options.
• We’re accumulating a decent amount of clothing already for the baby. By the time she arrives we’re going to have to change her twice a day so she can wear everything before she grows out of it.

It’s already been two weeks since we found out we’re having a baby girl. Hard to believe isn’t it. That got me to thinking. Maybe the baby will be here before I know it. And I think it’s no coincidence that time has sped up for me ever since I started the kitchen project. Most of the past two weeks have been spent on work, sleeping, and re-modeling the kitchen. I really think I need to stay busy all the way up until the baby is born because the time will pass much faster. So after the kitchen is done I am painting the outside stucco of the house, redoing the spare room to make it into a nursery, and digging up my front walkway and raising it up to the first step coming into my house. That should keep me busy until at least late April. Anyway here are some of the recent thoughts running through the mind of an excited father-to-be:

• I may never say it but I am extremely thankful my wife never had morning sickness and as of today has had no changes in her personality since she became pregnant. I heard from some people that the woman changes for the worse during the pregnancy. Almost like they feel it is their right to torture their spouses because they are uncomfortable, nauseous, and their feet hurt. Basically, thanks Kate! Keep up the good work.
• Being without a kitchen hasn’t been the huge inconvenience I thought it would be. Kate has no problems preparing lunches. And for dinner we either have plans at a family members or one of us isn’t around so the other must fend for them selves. Basically Kate really hasn’t given me a hard time about it yet. Knock on wood.
• I recently received a book of advice for a father on raising a daughter. I read it here and there but most of it seems like common sense. Like “Never fight with her mother in front of her” or “Always tell her how pretty she is” or “Spend one on one time with her so she knows how important she is to you”. I feel like calling the author and saying, “hey, no shit genius! What did it take you an hour to write this book?” Maybe I can use it as a checklist for when our lives become more hectic.
• The great name debate has really died down. And I‘ve found I would be fine with it staying this all the way up until the baby is born. It’s made for a more tranquil marriage.
• I made a decision (without Kate’s input) a few weeks back that if we can’t get our little dog Bella better trained and under control by the time the baby is born we’re giving her up. We’ll find a home that will better suit her needy and bratty personality. Maybe Kate’s parents would be interested. People have asked us what we’re going to do with our Great Dane when the baby is born but he is the least of our canine concerns. I’m far more comfortable with how the 135lb mammoth beast is going to be with the baby than the 12lb energetic, unruly jitterbug.
• Kate looks really cute in maternity clothes. Is it gross that a pregnant woman gets me excited? I’ve always said the most beautiful woman is a pregnant woman.