Guest Post by The Wife

"My favorite parts of any and every day right now are when I can feel Sam moving inside of me. Sometimes it feels like a stretch, sometimes a kick, and sometimes like Sam is being attacked by a bee (at least that's how I imagine all of the commotion). I especially like when Sam's papa gets to feel the action, but grandparents, uncles, and even his cousin have felt them too! My belly button has come out of hiding and is very soft in its current state. Freckles and moles (I've got 'em!) are growing and changing as my belly skin grows to accomodate Sam's house. I can't believe that it's time for my baby shower, but I also can't believe that I'm going to get bigger! Sam and I have been a compatible team so far, and I hope that continues (and I hope Sam feels the same way). I want to knock on wood because I've had such an amazingly good, easy, pregnancy so far, but I somehow feel confident that we will finish strong. I can't wait to smother Sam in kisses, and smother Sam's papa with kisses - I am just so in love with our little family. I can't imagine being without a loving partner at this stage - who does one kiss when they're just overcome with love? In some ways I wish I'd kept a pregnancy journal, but I'm clearly not very good at articulating how I'm feeling. Just in love with my little family and in love with who we will be soon."

Hoppy Easter

Easter was nice and quiet. Friday afternoon was spent at the doctors office, listening to Samsters heartbeat. Samster seems to be doing well and the heartbeat was good and strong. On Saturday morning, the Wife and I went to TirNaNog to watch Liverpool take on Birmingham (Liverpool won 5-0). At the pub was a family with three kids. The dad had at least four beers during the game, I had none. The game ended before noon.
In the afternoon we put together the dresser that will be in Sam's room. The dresser is big, but I have a feeling Sam will be bombarded with clothes and toys and a big dresser will be needed.
On Sunday, we went to Jersey for dinner.

Less than two months until the scheduled birth of Sam. Time to get nervous yet?

Birth Class

Two out of three birth classes done, one more to go. Can't say they have been enlightening or educating. The lady who "teaches" the class is un-organized and keeps jumping back and forth between different stages of labor. It's hard to remember when to do what and when it's time to head to the hospital, I hope The Wife knows how long the contractions are supposed to be before seeing the midwives and other birthing professionals. There about ten more couples taking the class with us. The Wife thinks most of them are a bunch weirdos, I tend to agree. One woman doesn't like to be massaged by her hubby in public, another man let's out random noises and laughs loudly/nervously. (Alas, my literary skills are not good enough to properly illustrate the rest of the group). One good thing that I liked with the class was the tour of the birthing suite/labor room. The rooms looked inviting enough to welcome Sam to life and comfortably enough for me endure a long wait. They all come with a TV and shower in case I get bored or feel the need to freshen up. One of the suites also has a jacuzzi, expect to find me in it with a mojito and cigar. Honestly, I have a feeling the hours we spend at the hospital will be spent breathing in The Wife's face and telling her to woman-up (two techniques we were told at class). Another advice was to avoid eating tic-tacs...

Getting There

We called our landlord about the hole in the sewer pipe eight days ago. Today, a guy finally stopped by to plug it... On Saturday we got internet and cable installed and in celebration we dusted off the old grill. Didn't grill anything exciting, just burgers, but it was nice to sit by the barbecue and sip a cold Saranac Ipa. 80 degrees (28 Celsius) today, it's fair to say that spring/summer has arrived in Philly! (Please disregard the forecast for the rest of the week) Rest of the weekend was spent cleaning up the backyard, the previous tenants seemed to have forgotten about doing it themselves...

Post-moving

I’m still here, been busy with packing and moving the last few days. Saturday’s move went well, kudos to all who came out and helped the Wife and me/I.

Felt a little bit sad leaving the apartment where we spent the past 3½ years. When we moved into the apartment on 26^th street, we were about to get married a few weeks later and start a life together. This time we move, yet another life is about start.

I think Samster is growing well even though he/she is still an eggplant according to Wife's weekly email. She is very miffed about it, guess I should be too. Truthfully (I hate when grown-ups use that word), some sort of change in vegetable/fruit would be fun. Think Sam is supposed to gain lots of weight these the coming and I can't wait until Sam has the weight and size of a (small) pumpkin. The Wife might not be so pleased though, tossing and turning in bed is already a nightly struggle.

We like the new place so far. However, there is a slight problem with quarter-sized hole in the pipe taking water from the washer which leads to a small fountain in the basement each time we do laundry. The landlord has been notified and I'll keep you updated with the progress (or lack thereof) of the repairs.