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

Shelly's new "mommy-mobile"

After months of pondering, debate, research, and mini-van ridiculing from many of you, allow me to introduce you to Shelly's "mommy-mobile", a Range Rover. Yes, it was a tough decision but we decided her Audi A4 just wasn't going to be big enough to haul our little boy and his associated stuff around. So this past Saturday afternoon, we traded the Audi in for the Range Rover.

While researching, safety was very important as well as more room, decent gas mileage, low miles, and I must admit that a sweet looking vehicle would be nice. And this Range Rover has it all. We plan to pick it up Thursday afternoon once we return from Boston.

So we believe this will at least get us through the first few years, until we outgrow this or have the need for DVD screens in the back. And what's up with needing movies in vehicles to keep kids occupied these days? Heck, when I was a kid we were perfectly content playing a little "I spy", "Singalong" songs, "Slug Bug", or "spotting different license plates". And even the occasional spanking was entertaining when it wasn't me. But I suppose times have changed and I'm sure we'll pop in "Finding Nemo" a couple of thousand times also.

Having a great time in Boston this week. We saw a Red Sox game at Fenway Park tonight and going to see the Eagles in concert tomorrow night at the Boston Garden.

Mike
Boston, Massachusetts

My disturbing chick flick trend

I've begun to notice an alarming trend in my life since this pregnancy began. I now watch chick flicks on what could now be referred to as a regular basis. As I attempt to evaluate myself and identify the source I've come to this conclusion. It's because of those darn books guys are supposed to read while their wife is pregnant. I've read at least 3 books for men saying all the things I should be doing while Shelly is pregnant. I'm supposed to comfort her, attend all doctor's appointments, spend quality time together, and there may be times I need to do things I wouldn't normally do. That's where I think the chick flick epidemic came from. Now while I enjoy doing all of things anyway, I think guys make a special effort while their spouse is pregnant. So if Shelly hints about seeing a chick flick, I now readily volunteer.

So we saw "Mamma Mia" the other day. That morning I was listening to the Johnny Dare Morning Show and he was bashing all these guys who had seen "Mamma Mia" over the weekend instead of "The Dark Knight". So when Shelly said she wanted to see "Mamma Mia", I was a bit hesitant. But I'm supposed to do things like this so I said "the heck with it, let's go".

We get there just a few minutes before the previews begin so there were quite a few people there already. As I scanned the crowd, I quickly noticed I was one of the only guys in there. We started walking up the stairs to our seat and I tried to look only at the ground, careful not to make eye contact with all the women in there likely snickering. I pretended to check my watch, glance at my cell phone, adjust my shoelaces, anything to not have to stare out into the mass of women.

When we reached our row I went ahead and looked out to the people. I then saw about 6 guys in there, already hunkering down in their seats in order to not draw attention to themselves. I made eye contact with a couple of them, exchanging the obligatory head nod that men do, AKA the distant hand shake. We would slightly grin to each other and sort of shrug our shoulders.

Unfortunately, since the theater was pretty full, all the aisle seats were taken. You know what that means right? Yep, we have to walk through an entire half row of girls to get to our seats in the middle. So my plan to be incognito was destroyed as each girl now has to get up and allow me to pass, wondering to themselves if I thought something else was playing in this theater, or wondering if I really am what a meterosexual looks like in person.

While waiting for the movie to start I tried to count the crowd and get an approximate guy to girl ratio. There were 14 rows of 16 people in the upper area making 224. Then there were several down at the bottom near the screen. So I'd say there were 250 people in there total. Then I counted the guys. In the end I think there were 242 girls and 8 guys. In many other settings this would be nice but not this time.

Luckily, the theater went dark and the movie began. I will say this though. I did enjoy the movie. Maybe because I like Abba's music and I thought the acting was good. It was odd though to see Remington Steele and 007 (Pierce Brosnan) singing gay Abba songs. After the movie ended, I got up and began to walk out. Of course all the girls stayed in their seats enjoying the closing credits and the music. So again, I have to walk down a complete row of girls in order to get out as I had to pee like crazy and could not delay any longer.

We're going to see "Step Brothers" after lunch today. Maybe that will even me out a little bit.

Well, better get back to watching "Steel Magnolias". And make sure we have "Hope Floats" ready to go for tonight.

Mike

Fort Leavenworth, KS

Feeling the baby kick

So I finally felt the baby move! Shelly started feeling it a few weeks ago but we could never time it right for me to feel it. I recall one time when he was very active and Shelly put my hand on her belly. Problem was it was halfway through the movie "Hancock" and it was hard to feel anything except the thump of the movie sounds. Other times when she felt it she would put my hand there and I would almost suffocate waiting to feel it. You know how you hear a sound in another room or outside and you stop breathing so you can concentrate all your senses to try and hear it or feel something? Well, I would put my hand there and stop breathing for like 75 seconds waiting. Once my face would turn blue I would pull away and attempt to begin breathing again, disgruntled in my failure to feel anything.

But at my parents house in Oklahoma this past weekend I finally felt it. Not sure what I was expecting but I don't think that was it. I guess I thought it would be similar to feeling someone's stomach when their belly was growling. Maybe just a dull rolling feeling. Instead, this little punk kicked my hand off like he I was disturbing him. And I've had the opportunity to feel it a few times since then and I actually saw it this morning. I think this kid wants outta there. He always measures bigger than normal at this point and I think he's irritated he has to stay in there for a few more weeks. I still have thoughts of him stepping out of Shelly's uterus 3 months from now and saying, "Man, it is hot as crap in there. Glad you guys finally let me out!". And from all that kicking, I'm thinking he may be a soccer player. Or as Posh Spice calls it, "Futbol".


In unrelated news, Shelly won second place in the Porter Peach Festival dessert contest this past weekend in my hometown. Unwavered by her fourth place finish last year, Shelly was determined to put forth an awarding winning product. She named her entry "Cresthaven Crisp". My sister Marcy* won first place. The * is there because the amount of effort she actually put into the creation of the dessert is still under investigation by Shelly and my other sister, Mandy. I believe Marcy put some ingredients in a bowl. But word has it my mom took over from there, mixed it, poured it into the pan, and ensured it was in the oven the proper amount of time. And I actually ended up taking it to town that day and entering it under Marcy's name. Nevertheless, Marcy is the grand prize winner and has bragging rights for another year.


The pic above is of Daphne on the drive down to Porter. She had just gotten back into the car after a lunch break at Dairy Queen for us and a potty break for her. She was so hot she got into the floor and laid there by the vent, prompting me to switch some cool air down there to the floor. Oh, and beside her is what is left (nothing) of a hot fudge sundae. Shelly let her lick the bottom of the cup. With some cool air on her and some ice cream in her gut, she laid back and took a nice long snooze.

Mike
Kansas City, MO

Picture update

These two pics are from our visit a couple of weeks ago to the Lake of the Ozarks. We stayed with our friends Bill and Jackie in their houseboat. Does Shelly look cute in her maternity swimsuit?



These are from our 4th of July family get together at my parents house in Porter, OK. This was from our annual whiffle game prior to a huge fireworks celebration. Oh, and that is Lila the llama, a new addition at mom and dad's farm. She was giving me some pre-game advice. I was going to tease Shelly about everyone in the field with their hands on their hips or arms crossed while she was batting. But then I noticed that on my pic, although it was a sweet looking swing and great form, I think I whiffed it as you can still see the ball continuing its flight toward the catcher.







23 week ultrasound pic. 19 ounces and growing!



Mike
Kansas City, MO