three is a magic number

Happy three months D$!!

So far I like 3 months. You are chock full of smiles and giggles. We play this game with your legs where you start out walking, walking, then bump up to jogging, and eventually end up RUNNING, RUNNING, RUNNING. You think it is pure hilarity. Before we even start moving your legs you have already dissolved into a fit of giggles.

You are still really kicky and wiggly, but your kicking has a bit more purpose these days. You seem to be laying the foundation for rolling over. You kick your feet up really high and throw them over to one side...you get a little lost after that though.

You aren't sleeping through the night, not even close really. Grrrrr. Mostly I don't really mind though because I actually kind of like our little middle of the night dates. You are all warm and you smell like sleep. You are much more asleep than awake. You are just awake enough to chow down your snack and then pass out cold again from the effort. I just sit there rocking you, breathing you in, and rubbing my face on your fuzzy head.

Very different than what my 3:00 am wake-ups use to look like, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Or maybe I have officially gone crazy from sleep deprivation.

clicky

everybody wants to rule the world

So a while ago you discovered your hands. It's really a funny thing to think about. I mean, your hands were there all along, but one day you just found them.

So now your hands are in constant motion. You scratch things, you wave them around, and you do this really funny thing where you clasp them together in front of your face and sort of wring them. Ummm, it sort of makes you look like an evil mastermind. Like you are plotting your world domination. I can practically hear the evil Mr. Smithers like voice in your head...."damn you woman, I want milk, now!"

I hope you will use your powers for good.

nothing compares 2 u

Milky, you are two months old. Ack! Stop growing up. I command you! Before I know it you are going to be chewing steak and filling out college applications. Me no likey.

You are knocking 2 months out of the park though. On top of smiling you now coo and gurgle and have very intense conversations with anyone who will listen. It is so. damn. cute. I mean you literally say "goo". And you are much more aware of what's going on around you as well. You follow people and objects now, and often turn your head to find me and your dad when you hear our voices. You love to lay on your back and kick your legs, and my favorite time with you is in the morning on your changing table, when you just smile and squirm and are such a happy guy. When you are fussy or tired you loved to shusshed, a lot. Loudly. Right in your ear. Some days I think I am going to pass out from all the shusshing I do. So worth it though, because I love when you fall asleep all warm and soft in my arms. Often with your mouth open.

And every once in awhile, while you are fast asleep, I look down at you and you are smiling. Love.

my buddy, my buddy, my buddy and me

Dylan, today your buddy, the second generation, was born! Chandra and Jonathan had their baby boy, Charles Dashiell Fredrick. And he is soooo cute!

You will get to meet him when we go to LA in January, and I know, I for one, can't wait to snuggle him. I am sure the two of you will get along famously.

Happy Birthday Charlie, and welcome to this crazy world!

smile like you mean it

All of sudden Dylan, you are all smiles. I love, love, love it. Half the time I have no idea what is so funny and I'm clearly not in on the joke, but who cares. I laugh right along with you. You seem to have a particular love of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" so needless to say I have sung it 1 billion times to you. I have gotten a little bored with the song though (it's really not that complex or deep) so I have taken to mixing it up a little. This morning I sang it to you in a British accent, you liked that. You did NOT like it the other day when I sang it to you in a Jamaican accent though. So sorry sir.

I have decided that trying to capture these smiles on camera is as difficult as trying to capture a picture of the Loch Ness Monster. The second I pull out the camera you clam up and go back to your brow furrowing. And the more I talk about the "supposed smiles" the crazier I sound.

I managed to capture a couple half smiles (and one half shriek) though. They are not the greatest, but at least they are proof that I don't need to be committed.

I am going to keep trying though. Don't be surprised if I start donning camouflage, hiding behind bushes, and popping out at you with a camera when you least expect it. That ought to make you smile (snort).

I will triumph!!

turning japanese, i really think so

Happy 1st Halloween D-money! Not sure how much you really enjoyed it, but we made sure you got the full Halloween experience. We went over to Hud and Cam's house, like we do every year, only this year we got to march you around in your costume.

Of course, in true mid-western fashion it was cold out so you were all bundled up. People probably thought you were dressed as an eskimo or a burrito or something, but really you were

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a spicy tuna roll! Complete with ginger and wasabi. Totally yummy.

my one and only you

Dylan today you are one month old.

How did that happen?! These four weeks have flown by. Your dad and I have been oh so busy just drinking you in, in all your yummy baby-ness. I have covered the top of your head with 1,000,000 kisses, stroked those adorable cheeks too many times to count, and buried my face in your soft, soft hair....I told you I love baby hair!

You look like your dad already. Damn those Derhake genes are strong. And you do have big feet, just like your ultrasound showed. You are mellow too. Just a happy, chill baby. A happy chill baby who freaking loves his pacifier. And you have this funny face you make all the time, where you sort of furrow your brow and look all thoughtful/worried. Your dad calls it the Kate face. Um, you sort of have a wonky ear. Your right ear. It is all folded down on the top, maybe you were snoozing on it those last couple of crowded months in utero? Oh and you have dimples, actually on your right side you have two dimples. Best. thing. ever.

This last month has been surreal.

And it is going too fast already. I don't want you to keep getting bigger, selfish, I know, but I love how small and squeezable you are right now. If I could I would spend all day every day with you curled up, asleep on my chest. All ensconced in your warm snuffly baby goodness.

So perfect.

So one month into the lifetime we will share together, thank you Dylan, for being you. All this is better than I could have ever imagined....really hard too...but still better. You are more amazing to us than we could ever hope to put into words. And while I would love to keep you small and close, I am so excited to see all that you are and all that you will be.

xxoo

check out those big feetsies

my darling.... part three

my darling...part two

So where we? Oh that's right, only 5 cm dilated. Boo.

So we waited some more. Your Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Moochie came to visit. I was feeling really well so we all sat around and chatted a bit. It was hard to concentrate on anything other than the fact that that day, Monday September 20th, would be your birthday. At least I was hopeful it would be.

Everyone kept telling me to let them know when I felt the urge to push. Over and over again that's what I heard. Dr. V. didn't want to keep checking me since my water had already broken and we were at a higher risk for infection. Well I remember sitting around talking to everyone and not so much feeling an urge to push, but feeling really damn uncomfortable. I figured things were just progressing so I just sort of stuck it out. It started getting harder and harder to ignore though. So after an hour or so, when the midwife Sandra came in and offered to check my progress I decided to take her up on it. So we shooed everyone out (don't nobody need to be looking at that), and Sandra did her thing.

And ta da! We were at 10! Just like that, we went from 5 to 10. It was like winning the lottery little guy. You were still pretty high up so the nurses had me sit up and "labor down" for an hour. Not sure what I was supposed to be doing, but basically I just sat up and your dad and I waited (im)patiently until it was go time.

And then the pushing. Oy. It was around the time that I first started pushing that we all realized I had not been making the most of my epidural, because I could pretty much feel everything. Apparently you can push that little button and get more of the good stuff every 10 minutes or so. What?! I had maybe hit it twice in the past 8 hours. Bogus. Needless to say I had some catching up to do, and I quickly developed a nasty little trigger finger. Good thing too because I pushed you out for 2 hours. 2 hours. I will say it did go fast. We put on my birth mix (thank you Carlee) and we all were laughing and joking around in between pushes. Dr. V. and Sandra, and your Dad did a great job of coaching, and were just the right mix of love and tough love....although I did have to tell you dad to "shut up" at one point. But really that was the only mean thing I said. No yelling, or screaming, or cursing, just one teeny tiny "shut up".

And about an hour and forty minutes into that pushing....when I was sweaty and tired, falling asleep in between pushes even, and thinking that quitting was sounding like a really great option....Dr. V. told us that you were right there and that with a couple more big pushes it would all be over. Well say no more, my friend, I gave it all I had and then some, and at 5:06 pm you were born.

It is all a bit blurry and slow after that. I remember everyone crying out when you were finally out, and people saying that you were much bigger than they thought you would be, and that you had a head full of hair. I remember you looked good and sounded good, so Dr. V. went ahead and placed you right on my chest. I remember your dad and I just looking down at you and everything else just sort of faded away. You cried, but not much at all, and the three of us just sort of gazed at each other. I remember the nurses eventually took you away and I looked over at your dad, and he immediately followed you...good job dad. The nurses cleaned you all up, weighed you, and gave you 9's on your apgars. It all felt like it took forever. I wanted you back so badly.

And finally, finally they put you back in my arms. You blinked a lot and looked up at me and I looked down at you.

And all I remember after that is love.

my darling....part one

As much as I want to believe that I will never forget your very first birthday, I know in time I will. Years will pass and the details will blur and go out of focus, as we turn our attention to the business of living. So I want to write it all down now, for me, for you, for our family, so that we can always look back and at least be reminded of some of the bits and pieces that made up the day that you came to us.

Since you were one late little guy, and showed no signs of budging we were scheduled for an induction at 9:30 on the night of Sunday the 19th. Being induced was not something I was excited about and I knew I likely had a hard road ahead, but as the time came to head to the hospital I found that most of my fears and trepidations had at least temporarily subsided and I was calm and ready to meet you.

I think I will always remember saying goodbye to Baxter, and walking outside with your Dad to catch a cab. It was a chilly night and very calm and still outside. I remember riding down Lakeshore in the cab, holding your Dad's hand, and not saying a word, but knowing just what the other one was thinking. The lake was still and downtown was all lit up, and it was an amazingly perfect moment. If it had been a movie a sweeping epic score would have been playing.

We pulled up to the hospital and it was really quiet. We headed to triage and they sent up right up to our labor and delivery room. I remember being so relieved that it was empty, I was so afraid there would be a baby boom that night and our induction would get bumped to another day. And now that I knew you were coming I was ready to go!

We got up to labor and delivery and right away they hooked me all up. It all happened so fast. I don't know what I thought it would be like, but for some reason I thought there would be more waiting around. You Dad and I talked with the nurse and joked around. It was all good. And then came the catheter. That was not all good. Because I was only dilated one pitiful centimeter I had been warned that I would need The CRIB. I have no idea what CRIB stands for, but I do know it was invented by a sadist. Basically it is a catheter inserted into your uterus. It is left there for 6 hours, and at the end of that 6 hours it should have forced you to dilate more, and if not, guess what.......you get another 6 hour date with The CRIB. It was bad. And you know what? Your Dad feel asleep!!! I was writhing on the bed in pain, and your Dad was in the corner sawing logs. Unbelievable. I will spare you the details of those six hours, but lets just say when the 6 hours were mercifully up, I was positively giddy to learn that The CRIB had worked and I was now 4 1/2 centimeters dilated.

Goodbye evil CRIB, I hope we never meet again.

It was now about 4:30 on Monday morning. The nurse broke my water (weird), they turned up my pitocin, and told me to rest (snort). by 6:30 I was having back to back contractions without any break in between (not awesome). The Resident decided my pitocin was turned up too high, and I decided it was time for some drugs. So I got the epidural and it. was. awesome. You know that feeling when you have the flu and you feel awful, and you know you have to throw up but you really don't want to, but then you do throw up and for a little bit right after that you feel soooooooo much better. It was a lot like that. I could have gotten up and cleaned the whole hospital if they asked me to.

So then I really did get some rest. Our beloved Dr. V. came in and checked me around 11:00 and I was 5 centimeters. She swore up and down that was great progress and I was right where I should be, but I felt a little defeated. Only halfway.....ugh.

baby love

Dylan Thomas Derhake

Born

September 20, 2010

at

5:06 pm

weighing in at

8 lbs 3 oz

and

20 inches long

Love at first sight.

99 reasons

Well Gizmo, now that we have successfully avoided the dreaded September 11th birthday date, I think you should starting putting together your exit strategy.

In order to help you motivate, I have compiled a list of wonderful things that are waiting for you out in this great big world. Things worth leaving your little watery hidey hole for.

1. clean, fresh sheets

2. great summer thunderstorms

3. DQ

4. Christmas Eve

5. Harry Potter

6. french fries

7. iphones

8. puppy dogs with really soft ears

9. vacations

10. the beach

11. first snow of the winter

12. fireflies

13. mystery trips

14. the Olympics

15. pancakes for dinner

16. your nephews

17. the smell of fresh cut grass, cookies baking, and coffee

18. movies

19. presents

20. finding $5 you forgot all about in your coat pocket

21. cookouts

22. hot chocolate with marshmallows

23. Chicago in the summer

24. trick or treating

25. birthdays

26. us. me and your dad and the rest of our family and friends who can't wait to meet you.

Ok, so it's not exactly 99 reasons. I'm no Jay Z. But it's a pretty good start. You will just have to come out and discover the other 76 reasons for yourself.

Come out, come out wherever you are.

awwww, FREAK OUT!

So in less than 24 hours, babe, we will have only 2 weeks left until your due date. How is that possible??!! I'm not gonna lie, Giz, I ........ am ....freaking ....out! I mean, logically I know you aren't going to stay in your little hidey hole forever, but I didn't expect for your eviction date to sneak up on me so fast. I may be the only pregnant woman in the history of the earth to say this, but please, please stay put a little longer. I need you to just chill and not come out, or at least wait until I can get a pedicure. I really cannot have my feet up in stirrups looking the way they currently look.

In all seriousness baby, I will miss you and all of our time together. But I have started to think about you, the actual you, a lot lately. And despite all of my freaking out, I am really excited to meet you. I feel like I know you pretty well already....I know you like oatmeal raisin cookies, I know you come alive during the hours of 6-11 pm, I know you like to hang out on my left side, and I know you do NOT like this hot summer we are having....but I know there is so much more to learn about you. And I want to learn it all Giz, every last itsy tiny detail that makes you you. I can't wait to meet you baby boy.

....I'd just prefer to meet you a little closer to your due date.

You in your hidey hole at 38 weeks....well technically 37 weeks, 6 days and some change.

spooky, scary

Uh Giz, I might have bought you a Halloween costume. Blame it on work being slow, or me spending one too many Halloweens with your Halloween-obsessed-Auntie-Emily. Whatever it is, I just couldn't help myself.

Really, you should just make your peace with it now I guess. What good are kids if you can't dress them up and have a good chuckle at their expense now and then?

So in just two short months, you will be donning this

That's right, baby sushi! Don't worry, I had your "ginger and wasabi" put on a more masculine looking hat instead of that headband. That headband would just look ridonkculous.

rotten to the core

So baby Giz, looks like you are going to follow in your mama's footsteps and end up a spoiled rotten child. In case the one perfect baby shower we had wasn't enough, you got three more. My work threw you one, and your papa's work threw you two, one in Chicago and one in Texas! I would have loved to see your dad at the baby showers, I'm pretty sure he didn't quite know what to do with himself.

Anyways, everyone was so sweet and made just the biggest fuss over you. I'll tell you babe, once you are here and old news and we stop getting all this attention, I am in for a very rude awakening.

Here are some pictures of my work shower. I tried to get some of your dad at his, he swears they exist, but I have decided getting pictures from a boy is more difficult than squeezing water from a stone. So these will have to do.

ummmmm Sweet Mandy B's cake. Thank you Monica!

My most adorable Godkids, Cam and Hud, came all the way down just for your party (and probably for the cake too). They were quite the hit. Is it just me or do I look like I am going to topple over in this picture??!!

They couldn't be any cuter!

By the way babe, don't ever let anyone make you feel bad about being spoiled. I'm totally cool with the spoiling, I think I turned out just fine in the end. Your dad may have a differing opinion, but what does he know anyways.

go ahead and smile

I have noticed that when you are pregnant people smile at you a lot. They look at you, look at the belly, and then just sort of smile up (or down) at you. In a city where I am automatically weirded out when a stranger says “hello” to me, it is really sort of a sweet occurrence.

I find myself wondering why the smile? Does much of humanity just love a pregnant lady? Are we all just sort of in awe of the whole pregnancy and new life thing? Are they remembering their own experiences with their children? Maybe they are just smiling in thanks that it is me and not them.

I wonder if people smiled at the mothers of Idi Amin, Pol Pot, and Stalin, and Charlton Heston while those women were pregnant with them (and yes, I consider Charlton Heston worthy of that group). Huh, if those people knew then what they know now….

looking so long at these pictures of you

Gizmo,

Today we had our 34 week appointment and one of our coolest ultrasounds yet. A 3D one, which was a total surprise. You are a boy, a real boy! No longer do you look like a sea monkey or Mr. Peanut, you look like a full fledged baby. Today we learned:

1. You have hair! I LURVE hair on babies! The more the better. My ideal baby would come out looking like a troll doll. I already have visions of faux hawks dancing in my head.

2. Your testicles have descended. We saw them ourselves, full on. I guess that's good. Your dad seemed proud. Baby balls. Weird.

3. You are head down, butt up by my left ribs, and feet out under my right ribs. Excellent work. Genius even. Now just stay that way.

4. You are about 4 lbs 14 oz. which is the 50th percentile on the nose. Perfectly average. No shame in that baby. The tech thinks you are on track to be an average size baby, somewhere in the 7-8lbs range. I like it. 7-something sounds very manageable to me.

So without further ado, I give you....you.

p.s. The tech assured me that is not an accurate picture of your nose. You are smashed in there so your nose looks bigger. You may just dodge that Roman nose yet that seems to run on my side of the family.

head, shoulders, knees and toes

Petite Giz,

You are all body parts these days. We are 33 weeks into this ride and I think your watery home is getting a bit cramped. Your donkey kicks have turned into different movements. Sort of squirmy, I-can't-get-comfortable-in-here movements. Also, little parts sort of jab out now, and if I press back on these knees/feet/elbows/butt you usually retract...sometimes though you ignore me and continue to stick out. Try and stay within the lines Giz!

Probably the most fun though, and by fun I mean torture, is the way you love to crowd my lungs. Ugh. At some times of the day you are all jammed up in my lungs and I find myself huffing and puffing. I worry that I sound like some kind of a pervert what with all the heavy breathing I have to do! So feel free to do that "lightening thing" and drop down a little, just try not to land on my bladder.

oh good times Gizmo, good times.

We have your 34 week check up next week. I am going every 2 weeks now. We are having one last ultrasound at that appointment and it will be crazy to see you again. It's been 13 weeks since we last saw you and I think we will be blown away at what a little butter ball you have turned into. It would make me particularly happy if we learned at that appointment that you are head down.

So work on that, and head towards the light babe.

it's raining, oh baby it's raining, it's pouring rain....

Hey Baby,

Long time no post. I think this time I will blame my lack of posts on the hot, hot weather which makes for a lazy me. It has been really hot. Honestly. And I have the Shrek feet to prove it. I know it is July and what do I expect, blah, blah, blah, but pregnant in the hottest summer in 5 years is just mean. Also, we have been bu-sy. Getting your room ready, getting the house ready, getting Bax ready, and best of all having your baby shower.

Um Giz, I'm pretty sure I can say, with some certainty, that you had one hell of an amazing shower. Your Auntie Em really out did herself. It was so beautiful! She knows me oh so well, Scary well actually, and everything was just so perfect. The flowers........

.....um the amazing cake (it came in three flavors: red velvet, chocolate, and vanilla and I may have tasted all three)

....and if you look really carefully, past the big lady, you will see the cutest banner made up of baby pictures of your papa and me. Awwwwwwwww.

And so many people came here to celebrate. Your Gammie, your Grandma and Grandpa D, your Aunt Chandra braved the horrible humidity and hauled her cute belly out here, your Great Aunt Deb, and Grammie's friends Carolyn and Nancy...and Nancy's two girls, Maria and Anna. I sort of even hate to type this, but I babysat Maria and Anna one summer when they were little girls. Oy, that makes me feel elderly. They are the cutest though, and it was so great to see everyone. You are one popular fetus!

And Gizzie, check out all this stuff. That isn't a shower, that is a freaking downpour.

Who the heck is going to wash all this stuff and put it away?? That is really going to cut into my tv time babe. Good thing your Grammie is coming back in a couple weeks, she'll fix everything.

Thanks Emily! We love you Schmoolie!

super bad

2 things to tell you tonight Gizmo:

1. I made zucchini bread. It was an epic failure.

2. As much as we love dogs, we are definitely Team Edward.

If these two random musings give you any sort of insight into my night than by now you know your mom is one wild and crazy gal. Baking bread and watching tween movies.

Bad ass.

ch-ch-ch-changes

Gizzie,

One year ago your Papa and I were in Thailand on an amazing two week vacation. One year ago we were laying on the beach

being attacked by monkeys

eating copious amounts of noodles and prawns,

drinking bottles of Chang and Singha and Tiger

and taking elephant and Tuk Tuk rides

My oh my how times have changed. All good changes, naturally, but changes nonetheless.

Actually, your Papa is currently on a plane to London, and then onto Stokholm to play soccer. So maybe life hasn't changed all that much for one of us <-------insert giant eye roll here. What a charmed life he leads.

Pain in the....

Gizmo, today you are 28 weeks old, 7 whole months, and you are already a pain in my ass....literally. At my appointment today I had to get a shot....IN MY BUTT. This is something that hasn't happened since I was about 5 years old. See I have a very rare blood type, O-. Apparently the odds of you also having a negative blood type are very small, and if you are in fact a positive blood type and your blood and my blood mix, certain disaster will occur. Sort of like when the gatekeeper and the keymaster finally meet up. So at 28 weeks, and again at birth, I get a RhoGam shot to make sure that I am not developing antibodies to you Giz.

So when the nurse took me back in a room for the shot, instead of the lab where I usually get them, I thought to myself, "Wow this shot must be really bad if they don't even want to give it to me in front of the other girls." So imagine how confused I was when we got to the room and the nurse told me to bend over and pull down my pants. Yikes.

Good news though, everything about you/us is looking good. Weight = good, fundal measurement = good, blood pressure = good, and your heartbeat = good. All in all a very boring appointment. Boring is good Giz.

On a completely random note we have been having tons of storms here lately. Scary green sky storms. Today the tornado sirens went off in the city. I don't know if they had ever gone off before in all the years that I have lived here. I had no idea what to do. All those years of tornado drills in grade school and I completely blanked. Are you suppose to keep the windows shut or open them? Maybe you open them if it's a hurricane? Where do you go if you don't have a basement? In the end Bax and I decided we would be safest if we all napped on the couch. So that is exactly what we did....all 2 and 2/3 of us.

sliding into third

Babe this week marks the last week of our second trimester. We are turning the corner and heading into home.....ugh your dad has had way too much sports on lately, I apologize.

Anyways, I'm sure this last trimester will be a crazy one and I am already sort of sad that we are 2/3 of the way through. Don't get me wrong I am ecstatic to meet you and welcome you with a giant glass of champagne, I just will really miss having you all close and cuddly and always knowing where you are.

So this is us at 26 weeks. 14 more to go.

a room of one's own

So the time is finally upon us that I have waited for since I first learned of you. That’s right, it’s time to start decorating your nursery. Oh baby, there are few things in this world I enjoy more than decorating. I am embarrassed to even admit how many hours I have spent pouring over websites, catalogs, and blogs in search of the perfect crib skirt. I just can’t help myself, it is truly my sickness. I have a theory though that good (or poor) taste can be cultivated from a very young age, so I consider it my duty to give you a gorgeous room in which you can start appreciating the finer things in life.

And even more exciting, Your Grandma and Grandpa and your Uncle Moochie came up a couple of weekends ago to help us. Free manual labor! Yay! In all honesty though, it was so much fun to have them all here. I loved being ensconced in all that comfy, homey family time. And we got so much done! "We" (ok your dad, grandpa, and Uncle Moochie) painted your room, hung your new light fixture, and helped haul all kinds of junk out. While your Grandma and I ordered your new furniture, and um shopped. I am really tempted to post pictures of everything so far, but I think I will wait until it is all together to give you a final reveal. I promise you I will make it worth your wait.

Until then I'll leave you with a picture of "our little helper."

wide awake - a haiku

it’s four in the morn

you’re having an all night rave

hope you’re happy Giz

the juice is loose

No, not that juice silly, the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad “juice” they give you for your glucose test. This “juice” is to test you for gestational diabetes, something I was convinced I would have based on the large amounts of sugar I have been imbibing. Clearly, small Giz, whomsoever developed this so called fruit punch juice, has never actually tasted any kind of fruit punch.

This juice was a sham.

I finished it up while I was driving to my appointment. At one point I was afraid to swallow and had to hold that bad juice in my cheeks chipmunk style because I was positive I was going to gag it all back up.

I was triumphant in the end though

And you know what…..we passed! With flying colors! And you only have to take and pass the test once, so bring on the sugar snacks.

Just kidding.

Sort of.

beruang rambai

Yeti, Almasti, Yeren, Yowie, Orang Kubu, Beruang Rambai, Orang Gadang, Zana, Ameranthropoides loysi, Mono Rei, Grey Man, rakshasa, meh-the, abominable snowman, Sasquatch, Jangali Mosh, Barmanu, Chuchunaa, wildman, Yahoo, Great Hair Moehau, Orang Dalam, Orang Sanat, kapre, waray-waray, orang gugu, beruang rambai, batutut, atu, sedapa, mawa, Malay, Sedapa, Wookie, Momo, MacDhu, and Liath Mori.

All of the above are names for Big Foot, because, woah Giz, that is a big foot. I can only assume that is the very weapon you have been using to deliver your Chuck Norris style roundhouse kicks.

That's all really. Except that I hope we don't end up the subject matter for one of those TLC shows like "The Baby With the Feet That Never Stop Growing." That would be bitter justice for all those shows I have goggled at over the years.

Nighty-O my little Beruang Rambai.

p.s. I really did just watch one of those TLC shows called "The World's Strongest Toddler" This 3 year old kid could bench press!!!

boy, oh boy!

Babe, you are a boy (of course you already knew that)! A very bouncy, baby boy. Here I was all afraid that you might not cooperate and we might not get to find out just what you are, but you had absolutely no qualms about flashing your junk all over the place. Such a Derhake. Almost immediately our ultrasound tech was able to say those three words to us......It's a boy!

Your Dad and I just looked at each other and started laughing and crying and smiling so h

ard, I'm sure we both looked a bit touched. And right away it just all made sense, you are a boy, of course you're a boy. I can totally see us with a boy. You will fit right into our little family so perfectly. In fact, I am pretty sure your Dad is mentally picking out cleats and soccer balls for you already.

We will have a wonderful time together Gizmo.

You looked very handsome in all your pictures and all your little fingers and toes are accounted for. We got to see you kicking and punching at my cervix like it is some sort of trap door you are trying to bust out of (stop doing that by the way, it hurts). The tech was nice enough to print out the stats for all your various body parts and limbs, and I was ecstatic to see that your head is in the 49th percentile. Try to keep in that range baby, think lots of "normal size head" thoughts. Our beloved Doctor, Doctor V., explained that you are 11 0z, or about the size of a bag of chocolate chips.....how great is she???!! Although, if you are only about a pound, that really doesn't explain why I have gained 9 lbs. Sigh.

It is so weird and amazing to know that you are a boy. That in just a short time we will have a son. Makes me even more excited to meet you, and I didn't even think that was possible.

And just because it seems only fair since I have posted so many pictures of you, here is one of me.....carrying you. In this picture you are 21 weeks old.

boy, girl, twins, or triplets...boy, girl, twins, or triplets...

Ok Gizzie, so we definitely know you are not twins or triplets, but that chant keeps going through my head. It is from this old song we use to sing while we played jump rope (what??! people play jump rope). Anyways, the people twirling the rope would chant "boy, girl, twins, or triplets" over and over again until the person jumping messed up, and whatever was being chanted when the jumper messed up was what they would supposedly have some day.

Totally scientific.

So all day I have been walking around with that lovely little ditty in my head. Can you tell I am excited to know just what you are?

I want you to know, that whatever you are, that is exactly what we wanted all along. Boy, girl, makes no difference to us, we are just thrilled to call you ours.

I do sort of hope you aren't some of each though. I would hate for you to be known as the Hermaphrodite Cheerleader from Chicago, or for people to write in your yearbook that they are so sorry about your "teeny weenie"....btw that is from a really funny episode of Friends that we will watch together some day.

it's alive!

Hey there Kicky McKickerson, I feel you. I officially felt you for the first time last night actually. I thought I had felt you a few times before, but man oh man it is really hard to tell what with everything that is going on down there these days. There was no mistaking it the other night though.

I was lying in bed (on my left side, of course) and I felt a flutter. My initial thought was to curse the cheesy noodles I had for dinner, but then I felt it again and again. I finally realized that was no cheesy noodle aftermath baby, that was you. So cool. People tell you how cool it is to feel those tiny flutters and jabs, but I wasn’t really impressed until I felt it myself. And now, I am a “feel you move” junkie. I can’t get enough of it. I find myself talking to you, eating sugary things, even resorting to sharp pokes in my belly all to get you to respond and move around. Who does that? It’s like some sort of warfare.

I am thinking that the most sure fire way to get movement out of you is to reenact the events of the other night when you were so active. See what happened was Bax was in bed with us, under the covers, releasing his tiny deadly Baxter farts. They were so awful and relentless. I wonder if that was what made you deliver a small jab. Sort of like a "hey, cut it the hell out, out there" sort of jab. Putting up with that smell is a high price to pay Giz, but I am willing to endure it if it means feeling you again.

a little bit of this, a little bit of that

Oh geez baby, look how lazy I have been at updating this already. Is your shiney new-ness wearing off a bit already? Impossible I say!

In my defense we have been busy. Let’s see, we went to L.A. to surprise your Uncle Joe for his 40^th birthday.....check out the video below. Btw babe, can you believe you have an Uncle that is 40?!! Ew :o) We spent lots of time in L.A. with your cousins Nate and Zach and their eight, yes eight bunnies (insert birds and bees talk here). Nate and Zach have predicted that you, baby, are a boy with curly dark hair and eyes and that your name is Tyler. I wanted to tell them that I was next to positive that your name is not Tyler, but I decided not to burst their 6 and 3 year old bubbles.

We also got to see my buddy, Chandra while we were in L.A., and just like a good buddy she is cooking up a playmate for you! Perfect timing, but a tad geographically undesirable. Her bebe is due in November, so you guys will be almost exactly 2 months apart. We must start plotting ways to Jedi Mind Trick her hubby into moving to Chicago. As previously mentioned, I am sort of busy these days babe, so I delegate that task to you. So whip out your monocle and hairless cat and get to hatching some plans.

Your Dad and I also painted our master bathroom, you know, for you. I am just sure your soul would have been assaulted by the old color in there. It was this yellow-ish/beige-ish color that, along with the tan-ish tile, resulted in a bathroom we not so lovingly referred to as “Desert Storm.” It was certain to be unflattering to your newborn complexion, especially if, God forbid, you are suffering from any sort of jaundice. Now it is a lovely calming grey and I know you are sighing baby sighs of relief in utero right now.

Also your Grammie came to visit and I think we hit up every baby store in the city. We were all exhuastified baby, but we had so much fun. She is soooo excited to meet you (naturally) and bought you all kinds of cute prezzies.

So see, that’s a whole lot. Don’t be mad. Just remember all those presents you scored. Presents make everything better.

the sound of music

I hope that you really like music babe. I love music, a lot, and all kinds. My Ipod is a "living" testament to my love for all kinds of music. There is so much random (some of it very embarrassing) stuff on there. I often think that if I lost my Ipod and if some one were to find it and try and return it to me, I would go all Judas on it and deny that the thing was even mine out of fear that person had perused the songs on there.

I am hoping that I can help foster a love of music in you at a young age. All kinds of music, not just that annoying, creepy kid crap. I have no problem with my two year old be-bopping along to some Beyonce or Rolling Stones. I hope that we can have lots of dance parties together baby.

Perhaps I should start cultivating this now. I listen to my ipod every day, but maybe I should turn it up a little louder so some of that noise trickles on down to you. Hummm, also maybe I should pay more attention to what I am subjecting you to. I mean, you are such a clean slate. It is fine for my ears to be poisoned by crap music, but maybe I should help you to develop some good taste.

Ok, new rule then, more Beatles, U2, and Ramones, and less Belinda Carlisle and Bel Biv Devoe.

Don't Judge.

oh nice and chubby baby

Oh baby, look at you! No one would mistake you for a lima bean now. You resemble a life form now, maybe not a human life form, but a living creature nonetheless. I am just a little freaked out by the last picture, the overhead shot one, it's a little too Alien Nation for my liking. I do, however, like your chubby belly. I asked the tech if you were an abnormally fat fetus, she didn't seem to think so, but I'm not so convinced.

Our 12 week appointment went amazingly. You scored the best possible numbers you could get on your genetic tests, in fact, the counselor told us I had the risk of a 20 year old. A 20 year old! I made her say it three or four times.

Hands down the best part was getting to see you again though. I was in agony. My bladder was so full that it was actually giving me back pains, and when the nurse saw how full it was on the ultrasound she called me an "overachiever". My pains were all forgotten though when you popped up on the screen. You were in a perfect position for the tech to get all her measurements (genius), and your Dad and I just stared at you. The tech thought we should get to see you move around and you were being very lazy so she had me cough. Baby, one little cough woke you up and sent you flying, with your little arms and legs waiving in protest. Just when I was thinking how bad I felt and I was going to have to make it through the next 6 months without ever coughing again, you flipped over and stuck your little booty out at us.

You are definitely our kid.

A real charmer.