Your call is important to Li'l' Man...

I recently called our phone company to change our service. I was on hold for what felt like forever.

My on-hold experience included some looping background music that was only interrupted by a reassuring voice that informed me, “(my) your call is important to us, one of our service representatives will be with you as soon as possible….”

This was followed by more of the same background music, interrupted by the same statement every minute or so; repeat: loop….

This is what the last month of my wife’s pregnancy has been like. Day after day of people saying, “so, when are you going to have that baby?" And, I’m not even the one with the prego belly.

If everyone, including myself, feels like this pregnancy thing is taking forever, I can't imagine what it's like for Katy.

This makes me think that mother nature truly does move in well-intentioned, mysterious ways.

We've been bursting at the seams (literally for my wife) for the answer at the other end of the line for what feels like forever. I think it's all part of a grand plan to ensure we'll be as excited and ready as we possibly can be for this bundle of big change and responsibility.

Moms, particularly mother nature, are smart. But, being on hold gets old after awhile…. Answer the call Li'l' Man! We're waiting... Oh yea, time to get the car seat installed I suppose.

Good things in four

We celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary on Saturday. Our actual anniversary, Sept. 3, fell on Wednesday, but my wife was in the middle of overseeing one or three of the 12 RNC events she’s been planning for months.

We’ve both been busy with work and transforming the house this summer, but booking, planning, coordinating and executing 12 RNC events in four days has definitely been the giant elephant in the room.

Naturally, everything went well and in the past few days, my wife has finally got the rest she richly deserves.

In honor of our anniversary, Saturday was one of the first entire days we spent together just relaxing and having fun in what has felt like… an entire summer.

Even Lil’ Man decided to throw a party. Reports, sightings and tummy touch confirmations indicated that he danced around the womb almost all day long.

Summer is over; we’re down to the final four weeks of pregnancy and no more elephants. It’s nice to have time to enjoy the excitement and anticipation of what we hear is one of life’s biggest changes.

Katy: Dutch for pretty, flowery rock

Going through Katy’s pregnancy together has given me a new level of respect and admiration for this woman. Having a front row seat to the miracle of birth and its toll on women is nothing short of truly amazing.

Not that I haven’t been a completely wonderful and supportive husband…. I just can’t refer to it as, ‘our pregnancy’. While it is something we are going through, referring to it as, ‘our pregnancy,’ just makes me feel like a poser.

Besides a pint of ice cream every other night or so, I have no idea what my cute transformer is going through. Particularly what her body is going through.

I’m sure she thinks the occasional backrubs and the extra trips to the grocery store are nice, but until I work a nine hour day on my feet with a five-pound, foot-long rib kicker in my belly, I’ve really got nothing.

But, for how rough the first trimester was, the second and third trimesters have treated her quite well - minus having a five-pound, foot-long rib kicker in her belly.

I can tell its getting a bit old for her, but she carries on with almost no complaints. She’s got the glowing pregnant woman look thing down and beyond needing a little more rest than usual, she’s been solid as a rock…I mean…a pretty, flowery rock* of course.

*From: Katy TepleySent: Friday, August 08, 2008 10:35 AM
To: briddle; B Riddle; Troy Tepley; Michael Riddle
Subject: 32 weeks

32 weeks
The baby is about 17 inches long and weighs about 4.5 lbs.
The baby's toenails and fingernails are completely formed.
The baby's lungs are continuing to mature but will not reach full maturity for several more weeks.
The baby's skeleton has completely formed, but his/her bones are very soft and pliable.
The baby has now developed sensitivity to temperature.
The baby will gain one third to one half of his/her birth weight during the next weeks.

From: Michael Riddle
Sent: Friday, August 08, 2008 11:02 AM
Subject: RE: 32 weeks

Cool!! Hope Mama’s hangin’ in there.

On Aug 8, 2008, at 11:05 AM, Tepley, Troy wrote:

She’s like a rock. I mean, a very pretty, flowery kind of solid rock…

Me, on the other hand…

We recently told Katy's dad that we had our delivery room walk-through during our last birthing class. He looked at me with a grin and gave this sage advice: “get ready to feel like a screen door on a submarine.”

At first I was a little surprised, because I felt he usually has something more insightful to offer.

Not like I didn’t feel virtually useless already. Then I got it. Thanks Mike. It's nice to know I'm not the only father-to-be who's felt like lipstick on a pig.

Paradigm Shift

Pregnancy and the expected arrival of a baby has changed many things. Here's one recent example I found kind of funny:

The "Fire Alarm" in the office as it hung for the past three years:





The new Fire+ Alarm in the new nursery, aka, "old office":

Mancation

In early June, I went on a vacation with my best friends, Andy, Eric and Travis. We grew up together in New Ulm and our life long bonds were set in stone helping each other make it through the awkward time of high school. We were so inseparable we even stuck together after that, as we all attended the University of Minnesota when we ventured from home.

Since the time we eventually separated in our early- to mid-twenties - Eric has lived in Chicago and Andy has lived in Portland for more than five years - we’ve gotten together in bits and pieces for things like weddings and holidays.

It’s also weddings and holidays that have kept us from getting together as just friends.

We finally met up for a “guys’ weekend” in Colorado at a cabin outside Cripple Creek. If you’ve never been to the Rockies, it’s a scenic splendor. But for me, like I think for all of us, it wasn’t the place, it was the people.


Prom '95: Eric, me, Travis and Andy


Having the weekend together gave us a chance to catch up, reflect and remember why we’re such good friends. I guess the old saying is true. No matter how long it’s been since the last time you met up with long-time friends, after a hug and some break the ice conversation it’s like old times again.

And for us, for better or worse, that means arguing about music and sports and trying to solve the world’s problems through drunken discourse. While we've never really solved any of the world's problems (outside of our own minds), the tangents are unparalleled.

During the vacation, we almost instantaneously interacted as if we were five years younger while we got to observe how much each other has grown in the past five years. Among many things, old friends make great life-long history markers.

For example, the job Eric followed has turned out alright as it takes him to places like Abu Dhabi, where he makes sure some of the world's most cutting edge skyscrapers won't fall down.

I remember when we once killed time in study hall for a couple weeks by drawing a picture of a fruit basket on the back of my notebook.

That picture, creatively named “fruit,” would later hang on a wall in our first dorm room.

Anyway, upon reflection, as father-to-be of a son, this trip gave me a new perspective on our friendship.

Of course, it’s pretty much impossible to spend a weekend with three other guys in a hot tub at cabin in The Middle of Nowhere, Colorado, and not gain at least one new perspective on life.

It just became very clear how much we mean to each other. It's not like the next sentence you read is going to go like, 'maybe it was the wine, maybe it was the moonlit scenery, but all of a sudden, our friendship took on a whole new meaning...' I'm just trying to recognize the bond between some really good friends.

Friends like I truly hope my son has someday. They’ll be able to support, understand, influence and walk through life with him in ways his loving parents simply won’t be able to do. It’s a timeless treasure.

So here’s to the Andy, Eric and Travis in wombs near you, Lil’ Man. I hope you’re all resting well. You're going to need it.

A Battle for the Ages!

Well, I stand corrected. Our little hop-a-long pinned a hopper....

When I came home from work this evening, I noticed a rabbit in our yard. This is nothing unusual as rabbits are all over South Minneapolis.

What was odd was that this particular rabbit couldn’t seem to find its way out of our yard as I walked through toward the house. Usually when I enter our yard the wildlife scurries as if I’m shooting leprosy from a sprinkler. This rabbit just stood still and tried to act natural as I stared at it from five feet away.

The rabbit looked at me like we were ex-lovers who ran into each other in public. Don’t make eye contact. Is that really him? Yes, it really is… Okay, I’m not going to make the first move. I'll just pretend I don’t notice him and hope he plays the same game…soon it will be all over.

There must be multiple exits through our fence that are well known in the bunny and squirrel world as they typically enter and exit at will. Either this one forgot the map or didn’t get the memo.

I went into the house, let Chloe out of her confinement room and grabbed the mail. From a previous phone conversation, I knew my pregnant wife was starving. A starving pregnant wife is a recipe for a disastrous evening, so my mind got fully consumed with getting dinner going as soon as possible.

Without thought, I ran outside to get the grill going and Chloe followed. This is when things got interesting.

Like a heat seeking missile after a jet, (or, in this case, like a turtle in hot pursuit of a snail) Chloe tore after the map-less rabbit stranded in our yard. A wild chase ensued. It ended in a corner of the yard as the rabbit simply had no place to turn. Chloe had it cornered and for one glorious moment she was like, 'what’s up now, doc?'

But that authority quickly turned into, 'whoa, I finally caught you….what in the hell am I supposed to do now…?' She's clearly the last of the great hunters.

The hesitation cost her. Mr. Rabbit seized the indecision by darting off and miraculously finding an exit through the fence.

The bunny hopped away and never looked back. Chloe was confirmed - in her head - champion of the fight. She ran back to our deck and gave me a look like, ‘I sure showed bunny who was boss, no doubt about it, I’m the woman.’

While I found the whole situation kind of pathetic - after all she’s hopping around on three legs - I bent down, scratched her behind the ears, patted her on the chest and said, “Chloe, I’m so proud of you for keeping me safe.”

She strutted with her chest out for at least the next hour. It was adorable.

Let me guess, our refrigerator will someday be plastered with squiggly laden, nonsensical finger paintings….

Chloe Chaos

Chloe, our first kid, who happens to be covered in fur and have four legs, recently went under the knife to have the ACL repaired in her left hind leg. As it turns out, Chloe is an anatomical misfit. She's part Black Lab – a breed known to have leg problems – and part Boston Terrier. Obviously, her parents should've never co-mingled, but, we're glad they did as we're big fans of Chloe, even if she is prone to injuries like a torn ACL.

In a nut shell, this situation and her surgery couldn’t have left our pocket books lighter and our hearts heavier.

I have to commend the little pooch; she’s quite the trooper. The surgery was more invasive then anything Katy and I (knock on wood) have ever had to go through, yet her spirit is still up.

Actually, the little hop-a-long gets around quite well on three legs. I hate to sound like a jerk, but sometimes it’s quite funny. Like when she still tries to catch bunnies in the back yard. She couldn’t catch them when she had four legs, so, in my non-medical opinion, invasive surgery on her leg clearly didn’t make her more intelligent.

That’s okay. I love her passion for ensuring the backyard is void of anything that moves, by chasing everything she sees in it from bunnies and squirrels to fluttering leaves. Basically, when it comes to our backyard, she’s like an elementary school hall monitor who actually takes her job seriously. Totally ridiculous, but unbelievably cute.

Beyond that, she’s got a fun loving, quirky personality. Considering her mix, you can imagine she looks a bit odd, but we also find her pointy ears and crooked smile adorable.



She enjoys finishing the last couple drops of my beers before I toss them in the recycling bin and she cleans up the floor after I make lunch in the morning. She’s a fetcher and a lover. All in all, she’s a fantastic dog, who also happens to be a huge pain in the ass right now.

As in, right now, this dog is on more pills than Keith Richards at a Pink Floyd concert and we’re responsible for ensuring she takes them exactly when she needs to. Also, I’m carrying her up the stairs every night when we go to bed and carrying her down the stairs every morning before I go to work.

This wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t act like she was a feisty old lady and I was a mugger who was trying to knock her over and steal her purse.

What’s worse, she’s been licking her stitches like they were covered in bacon. She's been so relentless that we had to get her a cone head to wear when we’re not around because her activities were compromising the stitches. Basically, our poor little Chloe and this whole situation is just a mess.





It’s tough because we know what’s good for her and we want to do what it takes to make her better. She just doesn’t get it and is simply confused by the whole thing.

Just in time, I think we’re starting to understand why people say that having a dog is good training for having a baby.

Like Father, Like Son…Already?

For the past few weeks Katy has started to feel Lil’ Man bouncing around the womb.

Beyond being a wondrous pregnancy related experience, she says it kind of tickles and can be distracting; particularly during important business meetings, which happen to be junior’s favorite time to cut a jig. So, as Katy is trying to be serious, Lil’ Man wants to make her laugh.

I find this hilarious. First, I think you’ve got to give the kid a break; there isn’t much going on in there, so I imagine entertainment is at an all time premium. Also, it reminds me of how Katy and I met.

It was the summer of the 2001 and I thought the best thing I could do with my recently obtained college degree was to continue waiting tables for the summer. So, I parlayed my serving experience at a chain Mexican restaurant into a job as a server at Brit’s Pub, a busy, Brit themed pub in downtown Minneapolis.

As it turns out, it really was the best thing I could’ve done, as Katy and I met there as colleagues.

When I started, she had already been working there for awhile and had a specialized job managing parties and events. Actually, she created the job she had at Brit’s, which I thought was pretty impressive for someone who spent her late teens and early twenties hanging out in Seattle working in coffee shops.

As an event manager, Katy catered to demanding customers who dropped thousands of dollars to host flawless parties. As a server, I specialized in joking around with customers and talking dirty in broken Spanish with the amigos in the kitchen. Clearly, the similarities between us were striking.

But, as we quickly discovered, there was something really special between us, and we like to think that we’re two different pieces that fit together well to make a better whole. And, luckily for me, Katy likes a man with a unique sense of humor.

Since I used to get to make her smile on the job, and that’s where all of this began, it’s sort of heartwarming, in a really odd way, to see that, perhaps, the apple already hasn’t fallen far from the tree.

Keep making your mom smile, Lil’ Man. From my experience, it’s simply the best advice I can give.

Uncle Bub & Aunt Katy

For whatever reason, when our favorite nephew James was even younger than he is now, I often referred to him as Bub. As in, "Hey, Bub, how you doin' little man..." And, for whatever reason, that really stuck with him. He's referred to me as Uncle Bub since he's been able to formulate words. I've been called worse, so I'll take it. Truth be told, I find it pretty endearing.

He was recently back in town for a visit, and Katy and I got our first opportunity to spend time with him out and about on our own. He was staying with his grandparents while his parents were on vacation and we were able to take him out for an afternoon, which was a great chance to flex some parenting muscle. It was really important to me to show him how we have fun in the big city.





It seems like he had a great time with Uncle Bub and Aunt Katy...

Retail: The difference between First-Time Moms and Dads

I’ve lived on this planet for 30 plus years. A little more than 12 of these years, I’ve probably shopped at Target at least twice a month, if not more. (The first 18 years were spent in a town that actually didn't have a Target (but now does), yet, surprisingly, I was able to survive.) That means I’ve, at minimum, been inside a Target at least 288 times.

Yet, just recently, I found myself entering a portion of the store I never really realized existed – the Baby Department: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzlG28B-R8Y

I remember life as a kid, teen and a young twenty something, full of summers running into lakes and diving into pools full of cold water. There’s a slight initial shock, but your body quickly adjusts and you’re good to go.

Well, that is the male mentality at least. I also remember the ladies, dipping one toe into the pool or standing knee deep in the lake for what felt like eons as they, ‘adjusted to the temperature.’

So, there I was, standing in a somewhat foreign aisle of a typical Target store. It was somewhere in between the Office Section, Shoe Department and Women’s Clothing Department. My initial thought was, when the hell did Target get carpeting? I stood and stared and couldn't get myself to walk into this carpeted mystery land full of moms with crying babies.

Then, there was my wife with shopping cart in hand busting through the aisle like a run-away semi-truck. She barreled into the Baby Department as naturally as a recently hatched baby sea turtle makes a mad dash for the sea.

“Look at these booties and blankets, car seats and cradles,” she said ecstatically. She was so into it, I don’t think she noticed the obvious shock painted all over my face.

I put one foot onto the carpet then quickly brought it back to the safe and known Target linoleum. It was clear; I needed to ‘adjust to the temperature.’

But, I eventually ‘jumped in.’ Don’t get me wrong; I really can’t see myself in this Department for fun on a regular basis. But, it was pretty amazing to see what made up the retail space between where I buy cards and where I used to buy video games.

In a really odd way it made me feel like I was entering into a new Department of my life. I wasn't sure I wanted to let go of where I once was, but when I did, It was kind of fun splashing through this Department of miniature sized consumer goods that we’ll need for the next phase of life. Besides, itty bitty socks, frogs on small t-shirts and giraffes on tiny overalls are fricken cute, no matter what anyone says.

The next time we're at Target, shopping for Little Man, aka Baby Monster, I’ll dive right in. Yea, it’ll still be a bit shocking, but I know that once I jump in, I’ll 'adjust to the temperature' quickly and will be happy to be there.

Baby Monster is a Boy!

Katy and I had our big "20 weeks into the pregnancy" ultra-sound today. Baby Monster and Katy are 100% healthy. And, as you can see in one of the ultra-sound images, Baby Monster is a boy! Apparently, he's not very shy. That's my boy;)

Neither of us had a preference, but we couldn't be more excited. It's been a fantastic first Mother's Day for Katy.

Profile:


Face:


Another Profile:


Feet:


The Money Shot:


If you want to see larger images, just left click on the image you want to enlarge.

Minnesota Twins Love Baby Monster

Baby Monster attended its first Twins game on Saturday, April 19. Everyone rooted for home team and the Twins beat division rivals, Cleveland Indians, by a score of 3-0.

Although Justin Morneau homered, Nick Blackburn got his first win as a Twin and Joe Nathan got the save and held the shut-out, the biggest highlight for Baby Monster, who had an obstructed view seat, was the nachos and Malt Cup.

Big thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Tepley who made the day possible by buying the tickets.

Link to box score: http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/wrap.jsp?ymd=20080419&content_id=2553902&vkey=wrapup2005&fext=.jsp&team=home&c_id=min

Here we go!

I get to see my favorite (and only) nephew, James every once-in-awhile. I’m sure we’d like to see each other more often. I know I’d like to hang out with him more. Since it would be pretty sad if a diaper wearing two-year-old thought I was lame, I’m going to assume he digs me too.

As it turns out, James is a huge fan of trains. Good kid. The last time he visited The Cities, his mom, my older sister Tonya, decided it would be fun to take him for a ride on our light rail train. I was lucky enough to join.

I ride this train downtown to work every day. It’s a great way to get downtown, mostly because it’s quick and easy. I pop on my iPod and just grab onto something as I mindlessly get whisked to work with the same similar faces day after day.

This trip was much different. As I'm just getting to know, to a two-year-old almost every experience is new and amazing. It’s great to be a part of when I get the chance. I’m a 30-year-old cynic, which means it’s been a long time since I’ve been so excited that I screamed uncontrollably. James hit that level of excitement a few times on this trip.

He thought the train was about one of the coolest things he’s ever seen, much less taken a ride on. He took in so many new experiences, his wide eyes almost never blinked. His joy brought joy to everyone on the train. “Here we go!,” he shouted every time the train started from a stop and there we went to grins and laughter.

It was an enriching experience and a great day.

Recently, my wife and I had a routine Baby Monster check-up with the Obi-Wan-Gynobie. (Help us Obi-Wan, you are our only help. Please tell us how to soothe Baby Monster.)

Baby Monster is happy and healthy. Katy, though still nauseous, is healthy as well. The only thing that didn’t go as planned was that we were supposed to get to hear Baby Monster’s heart again and it didn’t happen. Our OBGYN grew impatient and said, “we’re going to try to do this another way.”

So, she had me dim the lights as she pulled out an exotic looking tool and some lube that looked like KY Jelly. I could tell it was going to get interesting and we eventually experienced things we had never experienced before. We got to see Baby Monster for the first time by ultra-sound. Inexplicably cool.

There it was; a real little baby in Katy’s belly. Our little baby.

At the time we voyeurd into Baby Monster’s world, it was kicking and bouncing from one end of the womb to the other. Well, there's the answer to Katy's nausea. The structure seems to be holding up fine; good work Doozer.

Baby appeared to be in an excited state of discovery and it looked like it was yelling “Whoopee! Whoopee! Yippee! Woohoo!” as it zipped around in the only world it knows.

It looked a lot like a two-year-old on a train for the first time, or a 30-year-old, soon to be first-time dad, seeing a growing little baby in his wife’s belly for the first time. I guess it’s just a matter of perspective.

At one point in time, it appeared that Baby Monster turned and looked right at us. Then, it lifted one of its arms over its head and moved it back-in-forth as if to waive us "hello" for the first time.

Hello Baby Monster, here is to many more exciting firsts for all of us.

Early 2nd Trimester... yea... sort of...

Well, we've now officially entered the second trimester.

Katy has gone three days without puking.

It's been a banner few days in our household...

Go Doozer.

T-Minus Two Weeks ‘til Second Trimester: Time Warp Please!

After my third call in-a-row to Katy on my way home from work tonight, I snapped the phone shut a bit anxiously as she didn’t answer, again. It’s not that I was obsessively worried about her; I really just wanted to reach her before I got home.

We’ve been in a routine for the past few weeks and I really hate to break routine; especially in these days of the great unknown. Basically, everyday during the work week we get a hold of one another around the end of the work day and I ask the simple question, “So, what sounds good for dinner tonight?”

This leads to an elongated conversation about random simple meals Katy thinks won't come back up later in the evening. It’s like a multiple choice question on a high school quiz - but this question usually doesn’t have a correct answer. At least so far.

However, we keep hearing things should turn around and get much better in the second trimester. We just entered our 11^th week of pregnancy, which means that might be light I’m seeing at end of this tunnel (no sick pun intended) (reference to stupid pun shamefully intentional)

When the pregnancy was still really fresh, all the changes going on with my wife – even though painful and discomforting to her – were really awe-striking to me.

She kept talking about how weird she felt because she could feel her body going through so many physical changes. I kept thinking about how cool it was that I turned my wife into a Transformer. Or, as I tell it to my my wife, I found it utterly cute and adorable that my baby was making a baby.

I found it so "cute" early on that one night I woke up in the middle of the night and before I fell back to sleep, I went into a half-awake dream state and imagined that there was Doozer inside my wife, prepping her body to house the baby.

If you recall, Doozers were the little green construction workers on the show, Fraggle Rock. The Doozer in my fantasy is the head Doozer from the show, who comes complete with a pink nose and a grey mustache.

Just like in the show, all he's concerned about is building these scaffolding like structures. The only difference is that now he is building scaffolding structures to support my wife's growing womb, versus the show, where the Fraggles simply ate his structures like snacks.

It was an odd show and this is an odd fantasy.

So there's a Doozer in my wife's belly. I haven't gotten to detailing out how he gets there, but he is there none-the-less, with only one goal to accomplish on his mind. He is a single handed machine, laboring tirelessly forward to do nothing but build and expand his infamous scaffolding-like structures that will form the dome to keep our baby safe and secure.

He spends his days building, checking the blue print and scratching his head as he anxiously tries to figure out how he’ll complete his daunting task on time.

Katy woke up with me the same night I created this odd world in my head. I shared the story with her and we shared a good laugh at four-o-clock in the morning.

It was one of the first times we broke the ice and made light-hearted conversation about the effects pregnancy was having on her body. After all, what's not fun and cute about the thought of a tiny green guy in her womb, busting out his mad construction skills to make her belly a safe haven for the baby monster for the next nine months?

For starters, how about his over-zealous dedication to construction, which has completely screwed with my wife for the last 11 weeks non-stop. I shouldn’t complain, I know. Baby and wife are both healthy. But, we're now into an 11 week stretch of Katy as a puke-ie, couch stricken mess.

After next week, we'll officially enter into the second trimester and I really hope that means Doozer gets her to a comforting spot in the construction process soon. If not, I hope he at least leaves – in whatever way he entered – from time-to-time and starts helping me with the laundry.

Currently

Currently, I find myself on the couch sitting next to my wife, Katy. It's a Sunday afternoon and some romantic comedy is on the TV. I don't know the name of the movie. I'd ask my wife, but she's sound asleep.

As it turns out, Katy is one of the lucky ones who gets to experience pregnancy-related nausea. Of course we're elated about being pregnant, but for the past eight weeks, beyond work, my wife has been basically confined to our couch. If you need any updates on American Idol, America's Next Top Model, etc., just let me know. I've got a great resource.

It's funny how quickly our conversations went from talking about how we need to get back to the 112 Eatery for their Lamb Scottadito to talking about whether it's Kraft Mac-n-Cheese or Campbell's Chicken Noodle she's most likely to keep down.

Don't get me wrong, being pregnant is incredible. Easy for me to say. But, I'd be lying if I wrote that we both weren't a bit surprised at how proficient we were at getting pregnant.

Again, we're incredibly fortunate for being able to get pregnant at all, much less so easily. But, it went from an idea to a reality in a few tracks of my wife's temperature changes on this thing she called a "fertility chart."

Now, something that's currently the size of a green olive, and up until about a week ago looked like a snot-ball alien baby (but is looking more like just an alien baby everyday...), is making my wife's life miserable. When we measure a good day from a bad day by how many times she pukes, pregnancy isn't making the best first impression on these first time parents...

So, in my effort to share some of our weekend together, I've now spent enough time on the couch to figure out that I've just watched Sliding Doors. When we talked about getting pregnant, I didn't see that coming.

But what's important (or the stuff I keep telling myself) is that we had our first check-up this past Tuesday, and although Katy has been sick, our pregnancy is going great and our alien baby is happy and healthy. (Motion image of a 10 week-old fetus: www.i-am-pregnant.com/pregnancy/calendar/week/10 (bouncing explains nausea)

We were even able to hear a heartbeat. Hearing the heartbeat gave me my first true, of which I've been told are many, inexplicably wonderful emotions related to the pregnancy. It completely overtook me. All I could do was grab the hand of the woman I love and share in the feeling. Sappy I know, but true.

I assume the rapid heart rate is either due to the natural process of baking up a baby, or we're actually having an alien baby. I think the doctor said something about it, but I was lost in the moment.

Katy's awake now and hungry. What will it be, Mac-n-Cheese or Jell-O?