Baby Shower Slam!

Hey Madison,

Your wardrobe is much larger than last time we spoke.  The Baby Shower happened and you cleaned up!

My parents came into town for the first time since we moved up here for the event (they'll come up for the 2nd time since we moved up here when you're born I'm sure).  I picked them up from the airport and proceeded to drive the 40 minutes back to Lake in the Hills.  Everytime the GPS said "20 miles until" my Dad was like "What!? Where do you live!?".  I had the same reaction the first time your mother brought me up here.  We got picked up by her parents and proceeded to ride for an hour through a bunch of corn fields.  "You are NOT from Chicago" I told your Mom.

So on Saturday was the Baby Shower.  It was held at the Village Squire in Elgin.  Your mom, my mom, and my sister all went while my dad and I went to beautiful (sarcasm) Spring Hill Mall to wait it out until gift opening time at the Barnes and Noble.   When I got the call we drove over and we opened all sorts of things for you.  We left the join with onsies, dresses, headbands (OH THE HEADBANDS!!!!), toys, bottles, pacifiers, AWESOME UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA APPAREL, and a couple strollers.  Still a couple more must buy things on the registry but we definitely made some good head way thanks to the generosity of our friends.

After the shower we had to rush back home cause all your furniture was being delivered.  The bed you're still in now (hopefully) was delivered on that very day.  With all that set up of course your mom had to unload all the gifts and start nesting.  Things are really starting to come together and it is very clear that we're going to be having a child in the near future.  We can't wait until you're in that room!

In non-baby shower news I was able to find a job after about a month of unemployment.  It is actually a dream job - super close to the house and dealing with computers.  Apples to be exact.  By the time you read this Apple or Google will have taken over the world.  I leave work every day at 5 and am home by 5:15.  Compare that to getting home at 730!  I'm living the dream.

We also started taking our Childbirth classes.  Basically those are held by the hospital and they tell us what to expect during the whole labor process.  I'm learning a lot but your mother is totally against the relaxation techniques they're teaching us.  Hopefully you get my more laid back personality...

Less than 3 months away from meeting you!  Hurry up already!

Love,
Dad

Last Trimester!

We're in the home stretch now Madison!  You're getting bigger every day and pretty much a fully formed human in there now.  Over 2 lbs and over a foot long.  It's crazy to think that in just 3 months we're going to have you in our lives.  This pregnancy has just flown by.  At least for me.  I can't say the same for your mother since you've made her sick, tired, kept her up at night with your kicking, and now you're making it difficult for her to pick things up.

This picture is of the glider I picked up yesterday for your nursery.  It is ultra comfortable and I've contemplated taking a nap in it already.  Occupying the glider is your bestest bear friend.  He doesn't have a name yet but right now I'm thinking Kevin in honor of the peacock that used to live outside my apartment in Atlanta.  The plan with this bear is to take pictures of you as you grow up with him so we can see how big you get.  Our friends Adam & Jenni did this with their son Parker and a stuffed monkey.  Kevin is WAY bigger than their stuffed monkey.  Proof that we love you much more than they love their son.

The rest of your nursery furniture should arrive this weekend.  Once that's in then all this will be real.  You'll have an official room in our home.  Who knows how old you'll grow to in that room.  Or what weird colors you might paint the walls in acts of teenage rebellion.  Just remember it's already been pink before so try to avoid that one.  The crib we bought is one of those lifetime cribs so as you grow it will drop down to a toddler bed and then a full sized bed.  Fancy, right?  I think my parents just stuck me in a makeshift hammock they made in their closet.  Actually they might have had a drop side crib which we know these days (2012) are vicious infant murderers.  Apparently it is very easy for an infant to get their head stuck in the drop side crib and get strangled.  Forget that!  Only the best for you daughter.

Meghan has her baby shower for you next Saturday.  My parents are flying up from Augusta to attend.  It'll be the first time anyone from the south has come to visit our Illinois house.  They should be quite impressed.  I've come along way from living in the ghettos of Atlanta in a shack.  Hopefully we pull in a whole bunch of cool loot for you.

In less cheery news I was laid off from my job in the city.  In the end I think it was for the better because that 4 hours a day commute would have made it so I never got to see you.  Now I'm looking for a job closer to home.  It is a little difficult because there aren't alot of agencies outside of the city so I'm primarily looking at client side marketing jobs.  Been looking for almost a month now.  In my downtime I've been super productive around the house and I've got dinner ready for your mother when she gets home every night.  She might not want me to go back to work if I continue to spoil her like this.

Well that's about it for now Madison.  I think I might go upstairs and do some reading in that glider (napping).

Love you,

Dad

Kicking Away

Your Mom and I were watching American Idol last night (as we always do Wednesday nights) and my favorite contestant, Philip Philips (yes that was his real name!) played a Dave Matthews song.  Dave Matthews, as you may or may not be aware of at this point in your life, is my favorite musician ever.  You started kicking up a storm so I'm going to assume that like your Dad you're a Dave fan as well.

The app says you're the length of a papaya at this stage.  Animal wise I'd say that's the size of a duck. Maybe? You are definitely making your presence seen on Meghan.  She is to the point where it is pretty obvious she's pregnant.  Getting larger every day she claims.  All I know is that my real estate on our bed is rapidly getting taken up by her, you, and her new pregnancy body pillow!

Baby Shoppin'

Hey Madison,

This weekend was packed full of stuff all for you! On Saturday we went to Buy Buy Baby, Baby's R Us, and Target to register for our baby shower in June. Let me tell you that was a very intimidating affair. I realized I have no idea what one actually needs to get before having a baby. Blankets, sleep sacks, burp cloths, changing pads, diaper genies, the list goes on and on. I don't know what the "correct" number of sleep sacks is but I'm pretty sure it isn't as many as we registered for (8).

After like four hours of all that registering your Mom was pretty tired so we headed home for a brief nap before heading out to Geneva to meet with Mom's friend Dani and her husband Jeremy. Geneva is a nice 40 minute drive south east of us. That is definitely one thing I miss about living in Atlanta - all our friends were no more than 10 minutes away. Everyone is so spread out here!

Sunday we headed back to Geneva (poorly planned, I know) to look at some baby furniture. We had found some stuff on Saturday but Meghan wanted to look at this little boutique shop cause her friends had gone there for their kids. We ended up leaving that place $2,500 lighter but you had a crib-to-full bed, a 6 drawer dresser, and an end table. See how much we love you already? Usually I would have analyzed a big ticket purchase like that for a couple weeks but instead pulled the trigger in 15 minutes.

All weekend long you were kicking up a storm in the womb so I guess you were excited about the though of all this stuff you'll be getting. A natural born shopper...I wonder where you get that from.

Love,
Dad

Another Ultrasound

Here's one of the ultrasound pics we got after our appointment on Monday. We had 2 other ones: one that showed your head and torso and one that supposedly showed us you were a girl. I didn't include the head/torso one cause it showed your skull and made you look like a strange alien. I didn't include the gender one cause quite frankly it looked like a couple of grey blobs.

This one though you can easily see that you're a little person in there!

It's a Girl!

Hello Madison!

This morning your Mom and I found out that that little cantaloupe sized thing growing inside her is a girl. The ultrasound lady must have been a pro at drawing out the suspense - she took pictures of all parts of you skillfully avoiding the gender region until the last set. So finally after taking an extraordinary adventure around the womb where we saw your arms, legs, chest, beating heart, head, brain, nose, lips, eyes, hands, and feet she FINALLY was like "it's a girl".

Not that we minded getting to see all your little baby parts. You were kicking up a storm in there. I'm surprised your Mother doesn't feel that all the time but she says she just feels some flutters occasionally. For the briefest of seconds the ultrasound tech had it positioned just right on your face I could clearly see your little nose and mouth. Your mouth opened up for just a second and I'm sure you were about to say "hey dad" but then she moved the ultrasound over to your butt.

1 More Week Till GenderSlam!

Hey Kid,

A week from today I'll know if I'm referencing a girl or a boy in this blog. Through informal polling it seems that most people think you're going to be a girl (me, your mom, the psychic at Motherhood & Maternity...) but both your grandmothers seem to think you'll be a boy. I know my mom wants you to be a boy because she's thinking long term and wants us to have an older boy to look after our second kid. Most likely this is due to the outstanding precedence I set being the first born of our family. Just ask either of your aunts or your uncle to tell you how wonderful of an older brother I was to them :)

Speaking of your aunts - today is your aunt Erin's birthday. She turns 31. I don't know what to get her for her birthday so I guess I'll take her out to lunch. Of course she took me out to lunch for my birthday and I ended up paying for both of us so I guess maybe I have already taken her out to lunch?

Today the pregnancy app says that you are the size of a mango. I don't know why all these pregnancy things describe the baby's size as a fruit. I would prefer to hear it in terms of animal size. I think you would be the size of a squirrel using my method. Doesn't that sound more impressive? Apparently you're going to be hitting a growth spurt here soon so we'll see what animal I describe you as next time.

Your mom thinks she can feel you moving around in there but I am doubtful. I think its still gas at this point!