Had another checkup this week. I was commenting to my OB that things were kind of boring right now - I feel fine, and the baby is doing fine too. She just chuckled at me and told me that boring is good, as it means everything is going well and that I have nothing to worry about. I guess I expected that the visits would somehow be more exciting.

The part I dreaded the most, getting weighed, was not as bad as I thought it would be. Last month I gained 6 lbs between appointments, but this month I gained only 2 lbs. This means overall I have gained 10 lbs, but since I lost 15 lbs in the first trimester due to the morning sickness, I am still down 5 lbs. My doctor says this is just fine, I'm right on track.

The neatest part is feeling the baby kick and do somersaults - I thought it would be weird, but it's such a gradual change from the tiny flutters and swishy movements to the full on soccer kicks, that I am really enjoying it. I'm sure that I will take this back when my ribs and other inside parts are sore and bruised from being poked and prodded as this baby gets bigger and bigger. The funny thing is, every time I call Bryan over to feel the baby move, the little stinker gets shy and stops moving as soon as he puts his hand on my belly. It's getting a little frustrating!

Only 11 more weeks of work, and 15 to go until this little one is due to arrive. We can't wait!

I now understand why parents purchase gigantic vehicles. While I will never concede my position on the dreaded suburban carriage called a minivan, I can see why moms drive SUV's and other such things. (I will never ever own a minivan. If I win one, or am given one, it will be immediately driven to a dealership to be traded for an Escape Hybrid.)

I went shopping for baby gear today, and have to take some measurements. When I bought my Focus 6 years ago, I kept a couple of things in mind, one being the impossibility of wrestling a small uncooperative human into a carseat in a 2-door car. Thus, the 4 door sedan. What I didn't consider was the SUV stroller that the little human needs as transport. They are HUGE!

How am I supposed to fit this contraption...










Into this....





And yes, this is to scale. Or at least it was the scale in my brain this afternoon at the store.

These are just about the cutest things I have ever seen! This baby is going to cost me a lot of money if I keep finding things like this to buy!

http://www.robeez.com

It's amazing what can happen in the spring...2 weeks ago we had nothing but white, and now we have flowers.

So we decided on a crib for the baby's room. We received some bonus money at work, so I have a cheque on the fridge that is waiting to be spent...
I'm on vacation as of the 13th, so I plan to spend the week off getting some of the baby's room in order. Putting the crib together, painting a dresser, and doing some decorative painting on the walls. We're going with a 'bug' theme, ladybugs and dragonflies, caterpillars and butterflies. We wanted to avoid the usual pastel colors that are used when one doesn't know what is on the way - pale green and pale yellow.

The room is currently a pretty periwinkle blue, almost purple. It will work with a boy or a girl. We're adding lime green and white. I found some simple brushed nickel lamps at (where else?) HD, and they were 1/2 off. If I get tired of them in the baby's room I can always move them somewhere else in the house. All we need is a room darkening roller shade, and a rocking chair.

And a baby of course... 18 weeks to go.

Birthday Post!
Ok, today, as some of you probably know, is my birthday. I won't say how old I am, but I will just go to say that today was one of my better birthdays as an adult. Easily ranking in the top three, perhaps the best, I cannot be certain, I require a bit more thought before saying that.
Anyway, I started the day by waking up bright and early, accursed daylight savings!
Snuck out of bed, careful not to rouse my sleeping wife, then proceeded to get dressed and run out the door to get her the paper. Get back, sit and play on my computer for an hour or two until Carrie wakes up. She then after reading the paper and enjoying some coffee I make her, makes me breakfast.
After breakfast/lunch, we head off to get my little sisters birthday gift; as we have already gotten one for my father-in-laws birthday which is fast approaching. Oddly enough, my sister and my father-in-law share a common date.
So we then get home after our jaunt, and find my birthday gift on the back steps from my in-laws, which I will put to good use shortly, a drill/flashlight combo from Ryobi.
A short break later, off to dinner at Ric's grill in Sherwood park, I had steak and I must say, damn tasty! And Carrie talked me into having the ginger cake for desert, everyone needs cake on their birthday she tells me.
Come home, spend time with my wife and cats, and realize just how lucky I am to be where I am, with Carrie and our baby on the way. As she put it, just imagine next years birthday, you'll have a baby to share it with. And I will, I have little doubt of my parenting skills, while I am a neophyte in that regard I have great support, and that's what matters in the end.