Who needs baby classes?!

Daphne knows something is up. She is used to being the center of attention in this house. But now, she seems to notice that Shelly and I are discussing something having to do with a new addition to our current family of three. And there are likely times when she feels a bit neglected already. She listened to us oooh and aahhh over all the nice gifts Shelly received at a recent shower. She very carefully sniffed and reviewed each item as it was sat on the floor.

So...to make her feel like she is contributing to the arrival of our son, I've decided to use her to practice such things as diaper changing, CPR, and how to hold and carry a baby in our new Baby Bjorn carrier picture below:

Here's one of Daphne trying on the awesome new shirt my sister Marcy got us for the boy:

It says, "I've got the world's greatest dad" Fits her pretty well huh?

Daphne weighs 13 pounds and although we both hope the boy doesn't weigh that much when he is born, I'm trying to get used to hauling around that extra weight in my arms by practicing with Daphne.

Here's a picture of me practicing the art of the diaper change (just in case Shelly isn't around that is):

And here's a couple of me practicing CPR:


After all that practicing it really tuckers one of us out:

Heading to Branson tomorrow for a few days. Ya'll enjoy your weekend.

Mike
Kansas City, MO

Gaining an identity

There really is a little person in there! About a year after telling my sister Mandy that the 4D ultrasound she had on her daughter Vivian looked creepy, Shelly and I decided we needed to have a little peek at our son this week. And boy was it worth it. Even though some of the video looked distorted because of the amniotic fluids the creep factor quickly subsided and it was awesome to see our little boy. Nothing will compare to actually holding him in a few weeks but it was great to catch a glimpse. Shelly had a normal ultrasound on Tuesday and all looked great. At 29 weeks, he's measuring 2 weeks ahead on most readings right now. He weighs 2 pounds, 13 ounces and his head measured ahead of schedule. Shelly's belly reading was 31. I'm not sure what that 31 reading is called but something where the ultrasound lady measures from her belly button to her nether region. Apparently, the number should line up with the number of weeks pregnant. So as of now, he's a big baby but we're told it could all even out. Either way, Shelly is really feeling pregnant right now. She looks very cute though, as many of you know who have seen her lately.

Anyway, we were told all the conditions were good if we decided to have the 3D/4D ultrasound. I called a place down on the Plaza and we were able to get in a couple of hours later. So we have a 30 minute DVD of the entire ultrasound as well as about 75 digital and hard copy pictures. Pretty neat. Check out this video:

By the way, are you still impressed moments later that I used the phase "amniotic fluids" in a sentence and I'm pretty sure it was used accurately? That's right, I've been readin' my books boys and girls. Enjoy the pics and short video. And bear with me on the video, it's a video of a video (me recording my computer screen with my camera for a bit while the DVD played). You'll notice his left eye looks like it has a dark ring around it like Petey from The Little Rascals. Not to worry as this was just a shadow on these particular pictures. And just in case you don't remember The Little Rascals or know what Petey looks like, here's a pic. Mike
Kansas City, MO

Keeping the boy going

It will be interesting one day to tell our son of all the places we took him while he was still hanging out in the womb. Had a very busy and varied week last week.

Flew to Boston last Monday morning. Since I was using airline miles for free flights Shelly and I flew on separate airlines but met up in the Boston airport just after lunch. Rode the subway to the hotel and pretty much just walked around the city that night.

On Tuesday we bought a trolley ticket that took us to various spots all over the city where we could get on and off throughout the day. Saw many of the major attractions in Boston that day before coming back to the hotel to relax for a bit. Went to a Red Sox game that night at Fenway Park. Awesome park, hard to believe how much history there is in that 96 year old ball field.

Wednesday we took the subway and hit some of the Freedom Trail sights. Went to Paul Revere's house (he was not home at the time), went to an old cemetery called the Granary Burying Grounds where John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin's family, and Mother Goose are all buried there. Ate lunch at the oldest restaurant in America, the Union Oyster House. Went back to the hotel and prepared for the highlight of our trip and the main reason we went...The Eagles Concert!

The concert was amazing. We had great seats, 12 rows in the center from the stage. They played for almost 3 hours straight!

Flew back to KC on Thursday morning and prepared for my parents to visit us the next day.

Took my mom and dad to Stroud's Chicken Friday night before heading to the Uptown Theater to see the Oak Ridge Boys. Even after all these years those guys sounded great. After a stop at Sheridan's for some frozen custard we went home.

On Saturday after Shelly fixed us all a fabulous meal of pork chops and all the fixins, we all went to the Royals game for Military Appreciation Day. It was very hot to start the game but by the second inning we had some shade and a breeze. Great game even though Shelly's boyfriend, David DeJesus, was hurt and did not play. Went to eat Mexican food at Margarita's after the game then went home and played cards that night. Oh, and of course the obligatory jaunt down to Cold Stone to get some ice cream.

On Sunday, we went to church in Independence to visit some old friends and mom and dad left that afternoon back to Oklahoma. Overall, a great weekend. The boy was very active throughout the week and especially when Joe Walsh got on that guitar during the Eagles concert. Pretty active during Elvira and Bobbie Sue during the Oak Ridge Boys concert also.

Shelly's parents visit us this weekend then we're off to Manhattan, Kansas for a week to inprocess my new job before coming back to KC for a school I have here at Fort Leavenworth until the end of November.

Mike
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas