One and a half rooms down

First of all, I am SO thrilled to be a dad. I am very anxious to see my baby on the ultrasound screen Thursday. I can't wait to see Christine's response too. We've already planned a dinner date to celebrate.

I found the color! At least I hope so. Soft cream is on the wall and I'm waiting for Christine to get home to tell me it's perfect, because it is. And the baby room is half done... The upper half. It is navajo white on the top half (inspired by Cornerstone) and will be dancing green on the lower half. It is a nice baby green and very neutral. It will be divided by a creative looping and twisting ribbon design in a third color, such as a darker green. The ribbon was an idea Christine pulled from a Pottery Barn catalog. I think it will look great.

Well, Christine is about to get home from her long weekend away with her mom's side of the family, which means I am going to go unload all of the sweet baby shower gifts! I'll post pictures soon.

Fighting for my family

I am just so thankful to be a dad right now. To know that my son/daughter is growing (and even moved this week!) is so exciting. Christine is feeling very well and I am too. I know you were concerned about dad. It's the first thing you think of: "How's Kurt doing? Is he feeling well? Is he coping with the changes okay?" I'm kidding. Christine's health and well-being is my number one priority. And she did feel the baby move. It was of course, and definitely not as cool as this-->>,
but at this point that's really exciting.

I am fighting for Christine and the baby in prayer. I am praying against anything that might cause Christine worry or anxiety. And I am fighting for them one washed dish at a time, figuratively speaking. I'm going to paint this weekend, and hopefully I'll get most of it done. Cream is a hard color to pick!

Dadius Maximus is excited to see Babius Bekins

Only 5 more weeks till I get to see my beautiful baby! (Have you ever told someone there baby was not beautiful?) October 23 we get to see an ultrasound of our baby. We definitely want to find out the gender and we are hoping for a boy. If it is a girl. We will be thrilled and will have 4 months to get ready for the excitement of having a girl for the first time in our lives! If it is a boy, we will be thrilled to have an older brother for our other children coming soon.

Wednesday was Christine's check-up. The baby is moving into position perfectly so far and is about 4 inches or so. The heart beat is regular and normal. We found out Christine has a negative blood type, meaning that if I have a positive and the baby has a positive, we may have to take precautions, if not for this baby, definitely for the next. We will see what we will see.

And here's what's happening the next few weeks from Pregtastic Podcast-

As a side note, I'd like your opinion on baby clothes... Crawl the Line

Doubling size in the next month!

Our baby is about to double in size during the next month. We will soon feel the baby's movements. It is almost time to start reading and singing to the baby. And it is my 25th birthday tomorrow! Yeah for lower car insurance rates! Hey, check out what's going to happen here very very soon...

Growing Tummy

First I have to tell a great story a friend told me at work about her brother. Leah's older brother was a toddler at the time and was very confused about the whole baby thing. "But mommy, if the baby's in your tummy, won't you poop the baby out?" Leah's mom explained that the baby was in a different section called the uterus. Another time at the grocery store the cashier asked her brother, "Is there a baby in your mommy's tummy?" He quickly replied, "Actually, it's in the uterus."

Christine's tummy is growing now and she is showing, though most wouldn't notice unless they were looking for it. She's quickly needing maternity clothes or at least the next size up in normal people clothes (which will is the way to go since she'll be about this size postpartum. It was fun going to stores and allowing myself to buy a bunch of clothes since I don't often do that. It was not fun seeing some of the hideous maternity "fashion." I'm no fashion expert, but some of the styles look very homie, even dumpy. I'm pretty sure pregnant women are already feeling a bit down on their size and have enough trouble feeling good about their new shape. Why not make them feel classy and beautiful with clothes that look great? Look great and feel great.

Christine is starting to grow only slightly from what I can tell. She comes home from Chicago tomorrow, but I'm sure she won't be noticeably different than Thursday. At 15 weeks, our baby is somewhere between 3-4 inches long and weighs about 2 oz. I just had shivers run up my spine with a big grin on my face! My child is growing up already. I love being a dad so far.

Yeah, you're going to love it!

Christine and I heard a great line from Debbie Swinger yesterday that "someday you'll enjoy food again." Well, that sounds nice. I think for C, food is a necessary evil right now. Yesterday she had a pickle craving on our beach picnic. Sixty degrees and windy is not the best time for burgers and the beach, but it was so much fun playing boccie ball (sometimes 1 foot away) and laughing and talking about what it's going to be like to be a parent. We touched on our habits, both good and bad, as well as why we aren't fond of facebook as a window into our lives.

We are reading a great book together called Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend to try and wrap our minds around the concept of healthy boundaries in our lives before we bring our baby into our world of joys and sorrows. One thing we were excited about was the idea of sharing and exploring with our baby- going to the beach, seeing sunsets, climbing hills, and later teaching the words to every thing in sight.

I was driving to a house tonight to deliver a pizza and when I got to the cul-de-sac the "island" of trees and landscaping in the center was covered with cute little toddlers waving at me and smiling, but anxious to get back to exploring and riding their power wheels. They were playing together and it was just amazing.
"I think I paid with a credit card..."
"Oh yeah, sorry. I kinda got lost in a daze watching the kids. We're expecting and I'm really excited."
"Yeah, you're going to love it."

Getting Pampered!

(Ladies in picture may appear less beautiful than the ladies spa-ing today)

Not me. Christine! Christine got pampered today by her Aunt Debbie who graciously practiced her Spa "home party" so she can present the information on Monday for 14 ladies. So part of practicing was testing out products to help teh lips, hands, feet, face, and even eye wrinkles! I was invited too, but decided I'd rather troubleshoot internet router issues for Aunt Cindy. So this afternoon Christine's mom, sister, and two aunts relaxed, they were massaged with one of those spider looking copper head massagers, and they learned how they can make fat stacks of cash helping other women look as beautiful as they are!

Christine is still eating for two and working for two. She's been very busy helping with Women at Risk, both at the Botique and at the packing center. She comes home extremely tired, but even if she finds the dishes aren't done, they are when she goes to bed. I've enjoyed doing dishes as a visible, active way to show her I love her. It is very rewarding when I see how tired she is and how much she appreciates just the dishes.

And our little "grapefruit" seems to be doing well! If only we could see an ultrasound...