katie, ben and lucy » “BOB”

Nope… Not Yet

Ben — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:21:47 +0000

So the due date has come and gone and still no baby. Stay tuned. When it happens, I’ll get a picture up here right away. Katie says I have to wait for the baby to turn pink before I can take a photo for the website… sorry, no purple goo covered baby photos.

Right now, we are having major rain storms in Houston. We were up before 5 AM staring at the rain (couldn’t sleep through that thunder). It isn’t rare for our street to flood a little, but we’ve never seen the water come up our driveway, past our sidewalk. Needless to say, we are actually quite glad that Katie is not yet in labor, as we can’t get our car out of the garage; and I do not want to deliver this baby.

Click on each image to see a larger version

Photos taken just after 5 AM, Houston, TX

Yesterday I decided to remove the countdown from the top of this web page, as it was just sitting there saying BOB is due in ZERO days. I’m considering selling an ad in that space. $5000 per month… any takers?

We went to Kate’s final pre-natal visit on Monday. The doctor says that everything looks great, but that we aren’t much closer. I don’t feel like posting details about dilation and effacement and that stuff about my wife on a website. So let’s just leave it at this: we are still waiting. Fortunately, Katie is in wonderful spirits and, besides a cold she has been trying to kick, seems to feel fine and is getting around great. I am continuously awed at how amazing she looks. She seems to often wear a subtle smile while she rubs her hand across her belly… that is until BOB kicks her in the rib, punches her bladder and she cringes in pain.

Here is the new plan: We are scheduled for an induction next Monday (5/4/2009). Her doctor says that she doesn’t want to wait any longer than that. So BOB has just under a week to come out of there on his own or we’re coming in after him (or her… we’ll find out soon!). It is pretty amazing to know that within one week, I will be a father. I have never been so excited. Yeah, I know that I sound cheesy. But hey, YOU are the one who keeps coming back to this cheeseball website and reading my cheesy writing, so HA!

One last bit of good news for me: Originally, Katie told me I wasn’t allowed to make jokes during labor and delivery. However, Sarah (sister-in-law) advised Katie that it would be best if I keep her laughing as much as possible throughout the process. SCORE! I now have a captive audience with whom I can try out some new material and keep hashing up my oldie-but-goodie one-liners Yes, I am aware that she in turn can break my wrist with little effort… so I’ll have to be careful. But consider this: when compared to listening to my puns, contractions should be a breeze.

Last thing: Since everyone likes it when we post pictures here (and we have no pictures of the baby yet), I thought I would share these. Kate’s parents gave us the rocking chair that they used to rock her and her brother when they were babies. It was a gift to them from Kate’s grandparents. Although the paint was looking a bit worn, the chair was in great shape. We had the paint (three layers of brown, white and green) stripped and refinished with a nice stain. We were amazed at how nice the stained wood turned out. My mother also made brand-new chair pads to match the other decorations in the nursery. So here is our all-new old rocking chair… before and after:

Click on each image to see a larger version

Peanuts and Cracker Jacks

Ben — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:59:58 +0000

Relax… it’s not time yet.

BOB was kind enough to hold off for another day, allowing us to join Katie’s parents at a baseball game on Wednesday night. It was a much needed break as I am trying to get a bunch of work projects done before the baby comes.

We did learn something important tonight: BOB is an Astros fan. He was really cheering for the home team through most of the innings. Although it turned out to be a very good game, the real excitement was watching Kate’s bulging belly as BOB practiced water aerobics in there.

Someone told Katie that toward the end of the pregnancy, the baby would run out of room and the movements would become a lot more subdued. WRONG! BOB is kicking more than ever. The other day, Katie and I were on the phone and in the middle of a sentence she exclaimed, “OW, BOB!” He continues to punch, kick and shove his way around her abdomen. Go baby, Go!

So… we have less than a week until the due date. We’ll see if BOB and the doctor share the same calendar.

Old and New

Ben — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:13:48 +0000

Ask and ye shall receive.Here is the latest Belly Shot of Katie and BOB. It is hard to believe that we are only a little over a week away from the due date.Vaishali and Abhay just had their baby boy this morning. Big congrats to them.

Earlier this evening, Katie was laying on the couch and relaxing when BOB started beating her up from the inside. I just sat there, fascinated, as her belly bulged and rolled. I am amazed by the little person growing in there, so soon to hatch.

One more thing… the Old and New in the title of this posting refers to the cradle (old) and the baby (new). Like I would ever call my wife old…

April Showers

Katie — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:47:53 +0000

	I know, I know…it’s been forever and a year since we’ve done an update. Sorry…life’s been a bit hectic lately. So here it goes… To start with, Ben and I work for wonderful people. Both of our bosses generously threw us two wonderful baby showers. My boss from the clinic and his wife threw a party for all of my coworkers and family at his home about a week ago. And it was amazing….delicious food, fantastic company, and all in all a great time. Not only that, “the guys” (meaning, Ben, the grandfathers, two of Ben’s friends, my boss and his son) all played a round of golf that afternoon. From what I heard, everyone had a blast. As for Ben’s bosses – they actually flew Ben up to Ft. Worth for a surprise baby shower, under the guise of all-day meetings. Then, to top it off, they over-nighted all the adorable gifts to us the very next day. Pretty cool. Ben and I are so blessed. Not to be overly sappy here, but we really do have wonderful friends and family. And we talk about that everyday…just how lucky we are. We could not ask for anything better. So…now that we had our fantastic baby showers, it was time to start nesting. I guess for me, it finally hit this past weekend. My mom and I went to Babies R Us for a shopping spree, in order to pick up the rest of the boring essentials. After that, I began setting up the baby’s room, washing all of the cute clothes and blankets, and asking Ben to assemble all of our baby gizmos (like the swing, the stroller, the car-seat, etc.). I still have so many more things to sew and hang on the walls for decoration in the baby‘s room. So when you look at the pictures, keep in mind, the walls won’t be that bare in a few weeks. It’s just a matter of me finding time to sit down at the sewing machine. Oh, and a rocking chair will be added to the room later this week. It’s the same chair my parents used for me and my brother. It was originally given to my parents by my grandparents, who bought it at a garage sale. So who knows how old it really is. It’s currently at the shop, being refinished and stained. Actually, all of the baby furniture is “slightly” used, shall we say?! The crib also belonged to my parents first, for use with my brother and me. My brother has used it for his two children, so now it’s our turn. As for the dresser, bedside table, and “changing table” (which is really a writing desk), those originally belonged to Amanda, our sister-in -law. She used them when she was growing up. Last but certainly not least…there is the cradle in our bedroom. Ben’s parents did the math, and that cradle is at least 130 years old. It was used to rock Ben’s Great-Grandmother to sleep. Can you believe that?! Long story shorter, we’re finally getting organized as reality is sinking in. BOB will be on his way soon, so we better be ready for him. I think we’re officially set and ready to go. We’re just waiting for his first move…so to speak.

In Bloom

Ben — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:46:40 +0000

The bush in front of our house always blooms early in the season. It made for a lovely late afternoon backdrop for another Belly Shot.

We have 5-6 weeks to go until the due date. Of course, almost everyone we talk to expects Katie to deliver late. Our sister-in-law, Sarah, has predicted 5 days late and 8 lbs, 3 oz. So that has inspired us to create our Baby Bets page.

We want your bets on the baby:

What (boy / girl)
When (on-time / # days early / # days late)
How much (birth weight – lbs and oz – NO METRIC!)
Hair Length (None: Bald to 1/2 inch, Some: 1/2 inch to 1 inch, Lots: more than 1 inch)

The person who guesses closest wins a $250 gift card and gets to pick the baby’s name.

OK, not really. There’s no money involved and there’s no way that I would let you name my baby Clyde or Marge. Therefore, the prize is limited to bragging rights and a free cat.

Start sending in your bets by posting comments (click here if you aren’t sure where to do that). After we’ve received a few, I’ll compile them into a list (charts and graphs!) so we can all see who the smartest (luckiest) blog reader is.

READY SET GO!