It's Nursery Time!

The past few weekends it has felt like Laura and I had been doing nothing, but searching for the perfect crib for our newborn, well, unborn child. It feels like we have been to every baby furniture store in the Atlanta area! We had been to Babies-R-Us, and Target, USA Baby and Georgia Baby & Kids, etc… Why the city-wide search you ask? Well, we have a piece of reddish-cherry antique furniture that we are trying to match and the only place that matched it, perfectly, was Georgia Baby & Kids! Although, the name of the color we got was “papirika!” Go figure…

Carol & Bill, Laura’s mom and dad, wanted to come out to see the furniture we picked out before making the final decision. So, last Saturday we finally worked out all our schedules so that we could meet at GBK’s. (Please note that I will be using these initials due to the fact that retyping GA Baby & Kids seems like a daunting task). We had picked out the crib, but at the last minute changed our mind to a different one, same color, different style. (Oh, I know how this sounds so exciting and I will probably elaborate and tell this very story at different social events throughout the season, so stay tuned!) Then, unbeknownst to us, we were asked by the sales clerk…

“What about a mattress?”

“What about a mattress?” I said. “Do we need a mattress you mean?”

“Yes!” the clerk said in a surprised voice, which is a pretty stupid question if you ask me, but I guess I could assume that he thought we might already have one… blah blah blah, but we told him this was our first time buying baby furniture! Oh well…

“Yes” Laura and I replied, in unison. “I think we need a mattress.”

He strolled over to the area where about five different mattress, all wrapped up in their zipped-up glory, laying propped up on various beds and cribs.

“Now this one…” he began… “is great!”

I quickly interjected, and jokingly asked “Do they have a temperpedic baby mattress?”

“Well,” he said, “they do have something that has memory foam, sorta like a temperpedic!”

Laura looked at me with eyes of “I cannot believe you just asked him that!”

I can usually read both Laura’s tone and look… and this time it was the look of “please don’t say something crazy…”
Because I am known to ask crazy questions… but I will get to that at a later time.

“This mattress is water resistant and can…” I pretty much lost him at this point and had already chosen this mattress in my head… so the rest of what he said was all said in a Charlie Brown teacher voice…”Whaaa whaa whaaa whaa whaa wha…”

You get the idea.

So, we picked out a crib, changing table and a mattress… is there more to it? Yes, but, for some reason I wasn’t aware of it!
Laura went on to ask for all the gadgets and rails that you need on down-the-road for when the crib converts into a big person bed. Yes, this crib converts… I never can picture the bed turning into a real bed until I see pictures of it. My imagination just won’t work that way, I guess. But, as soon as I saw the picture I thought…

“Oh, okay, that is what it will look like, great!” also in the back of my mind thinking… “I dread that day because 1. the instructions will be no where to be found as well as all the nuts, bolts, etc… and me, put stuff together…” I laugh, laugh, I do!
Do you hear me laughing? Picture the count from Seasame Street! “Ah Ah ah!”

Anyway, we go to the front, the papers are signed and we have purchased Baby Furniture! Wha la!

Now, having it delivered is a different story… they are suppose to come in and assemble it. Yes, we will see…
Let’s hope it isn’t like “Rooms-to-go” assembles things…

“Here you go!” said the fat, sweaty delivery man.

“Thank you, but wait! Where are you going?”

“That’s it”

“But, the table is in the box! Aren’t you going to put it together?”

“We don’t do that, Sir.”

Until next time!

A Frisky Parental Pair

I thought it might be fun to see how Laura and I come out when you plug in our astrological signs...

Eric = Aries / Laura = Gemini

Here is what http://www.babycenter.com/ thinks...

*Please note* This is for entertainment & superficial reasons only... please do not take any of the following very seriously*

Together you two make a dynamic and energetic parenting team, but you may struggle to provide the regularity and stability your family needs, since these aren't qualities that come easily to either of you. Your dedication and devotion isn't in question, and you share a youthfulness that your children will enjoy. But keeping to a regular meal or bedtime schedule, for instance, could prove a challenge.

The Aries parent is more forceful and dynamic -- the natural leader of the family. The Gemini mom or dad is playful and communicative, with a curiosity and love of learning your children will naturally want to emulate. You both need a certain amount of freedom, so give each other room for your individual activities. Then you'll both be more available to meet the needs of your children and each other.

Found at http://www.babycenter.com/

Poop, don't pee!

Not a whole lot has transpired since my lastest blog entry, so basically that is why I haven’t posted until now.

I wanted to tell you all about what happened this past weekend on Saturday. Let me set the story up for you: My sister, Mandy and my hardworking-never-put-down-the-phone mom came down to Kennesaw for the day to do some shopping and we had agreed, on Friday, if they brought Everett we would be happy to watch him while they frolicked around the town buying this and that… Laura and I were certainly happy to oblige because Everett is a fun-loving little boy who is easy to take care of. This was the first day for me to take a little boy to the bathroom in a public place. Quite a fun run-through for what is about to come. We were in a store called “USA Baby,” which is basically a condensed and more personal version of Babies-R-Us. Laura and I were walking around looking at the various things we may want to register for and after looking at bottles, bibs, strollers & diaper bags Mandy asked Everett the dun-dun-dun question.

“Do you need to go potty?”

“No.” Everett replied with a coy smile.

“Why doesn’t uncle Eric take you to pee pee?”

Everett continues to smile and shake his head no, which means in child talk, “I do need to go but I don’t wanna go right now.”

I am learning more and more I hang out with kids the in’s and out’s, although I think I am pretty far from father-to-be of the year.

So, I proceeded to pick Everett up and strut back toward the bathroom.

“I want mommy, I want mommy to do it,” Everett says in a ever-so sad and whining voice.

I thought to myself, “Do I risk a child yelling for his mommy from the bathroom in a public place or should I just take him back and hope for the best?”

I went ahead and took him back and he did his thing and everything was hunky dory, this time.

Fast forward, a few hours, Laura and I take Everett home to play with Andy and Logan, and while there Annagrace and Jenn came over for a quick and pleasantly surprised play-date, complete with bubbles! We all went outside and sat on the deck to watch the kids play with the dogs and their bubbles and that is when it was suggested to take Everett inside to "use the potty." Now, please understand we do not have one of those "little baby potties" so when I took him into the downstairs bathroom I had to hold him on the seat so he would not fall in!

"Okay Everett, time to poop," I said to him.

He just looked at me with a deteremined look on his face and low and behold he starts to............ pee!!!! No, not poop, pee! Pee went all over me, him, the floor and potty!

"No!!! Everett No! Laura, Laura help!" I couldn't help, but laugh at the situation because I knew if I looked upset it would make Everett upset and I did not want him to cry! Thankfully, Laura came running the rescue with some wips, Jenn, so conveniently, had in Annagrace's diaper bag, and some clean clothes, minus new socks let me add. Everett has a thing about wearing shoes sans socks. But, this time it was okay. (Thank God!)

"I'm sorry, Everett, but you're okay, right?"

""Yah, I'm okay," he said..."but your floor is dirty! Why don't you clean?!"

"I'm not sure, Everett, I will work on that okay?"

"Okay," he said.

With Everett all clean after the shower of pee, I asked him if he was done and he immediatly said...

"Yes, I wanna go outside!"

We went outside and the crisis of the "I wanna go home call" was averted, yet again!!!

So, moral of the story... Always have a little boy stand up and pee before he tries to poop and have some extra clothes and clean socks, just in case!

All has been permanetly burned into my subcranium... What is my next lesson? Don't know, but lets hope it is a little more sanitary!

This week has just started and I am all ready to begin the weekend… Until next time!

Baby Skates

I cannot seem to make out anything, but here is the first look at "Baby Skates!"

Gender Prediction

I went to six different websites that predicts the gender of your child…

At the moment the charts are in favor of a girl… four out of the six charts say “It’s A Girl!”

Only time will tell or an ultrasound! :)

1.http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/PredictSex.htm

Boy!
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2. http://www.obfocus.com/calculators/gender.htm

Girl!

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3. http://www.webwomb.com/chinesechart.htm

Girl

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4. http://pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnancy/baby/Chinese-conception-gender-chart-9.htm

Boy

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5. http://www.baby-parenting.co.uk/baby/predictor.html?

Girl

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6. http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/family/174482/Chinese-birth-predictor--Baby-boy-or-girl

Girl

Cupcakes & Nausea

This past Friday we did not think we had a lot going on, but Laura and I seem to always find ourselves with something to do. Honestly, Friday was a kind of laid-back day and didn’t have a ton of stuff to do at work, so I came home pretty excited about the events that were about to unfold before us. After we surprised Laura’s mom with her “possible” birthday present (I will discuss this at a later date) we called Terri, our friend I met a couple of summer’s ago in Dr. Gao’s Maymester class at KSU. Let me set up Terri in my story. She is quite a character and I think that is why we love her so much. She is not only a wonderful friend, but she is so much fun, very nice and loves two things... movies & cupcakes.We called Terri to come over and hang out and she was unsure about this because it was so last minute.

Side note: Unfortunately, I left my cell phone at home on Friday, making me feel “impotent and out-of-control!”

(10 points if you can guess what movie this is from!)

To make a very long story short, I had about six voice mails on my phone when I finally got home at 5pm, and as you may have guessed, one was from Terri. She was curious as to if we were busy and wanted to know if we wanted to hang out. Hence, me calling her and asking her to come play with us! She was hesitant because, because it was already 6:30pm!

“Come on Terri, it’ll be fun!” I said.

“Oh, I don’t know, I was gonna make some cupcakes.”

“Okay great! Come over and make them here!”

Terri, agreed, but very hesitant because I have a feeling she doesn’t like giving her secret recipes out! So, fast forward, Terri comes over at about 7:45 PM and we begin the process of cup cake making. Laura, starting feeling nauseated for some odd reason, oh yeah, she’s pregnant!

“I think I am gonna go lay down,” said Laura. “I don’t feel good.”

Laura lays down on the couch and watches the time delayed opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Laura loves watching the Olympics. Who knew?!

So, as Terri cracks eggs and pours milk and I show her where the bowls are to do all of the fun things it takes to make perfect cupcakes. This is the extent of my cooking and/or culinary abilities!

After they came out of the oven, looking perfect I might add... I ate a couple to test and make sure they were okay for others to consume. Oh, they were good... trust me... I ate a total of probably eight when all was said and done.

Although, I did a pretty good job at applying said sprinkles. Laura and I may have spinkles in the cracks of our kitchen table for about the next 30 years. Hint: Don't buy party favors that can get stunk in between couch cusions. You may find them many, many years from when you first used them. But, that is a story for another day.

To make a long story short, the cup cakes came out perfect and tasting ever-so scrumptious.

Now, if you need to take a breather because this BLOG is so freakin' exciting I will totally understand. LOL! Until next time... enjoy your week.

Maternity Clothes by Abercrombie & Fitch???

As Laura and I walked through Town Center Mall this weekend I had a fleeting thought that made me question myself… What was I thinking? How could I even think such a horrible prospect, but then I came to realize it was due to the gritty truth that the youth of America have come to have me realize. We are living in some kind of “different world” now then when we were 16 years old. What was it I was thinking about, you ask? Well, since Laura has been pregnant we have been on the lookout for her some maternity clothes… so it made me think of all the teens in the news today who are having kids! (I am not judging, just noticing…) Just think, Abercrombie & Fitch has ads that are basically nude models with no clothing, which actually is ironic that it is a store to sell clothing! A&F basically promotes sex in their ads which lead our youngins to the youthful promiscuity of today. Do you think A&F will ever produce maternity clothes? I mean they basically promote the act, so shouldn’t they provide clothes for the after effects? Gap and Old Navy have stretched out to the idea, pun intended. Will there be a demand for torn jeans, tube tops and tiny little shorts with expandable bellies for pregnant girls? If we keep having girls in the media ala, JamieLynn Spears, Ashlee Simpson and Nicole Richie, it is inevitable that the more “trendy” stores will begin to carry these types of clothing. Perhaps we should look to the Teen ‘pregnancy pact’ in Massachusetts or even the movie Juno, who did not glamorize the idea, but more like gave a blue print of how to give up a child with little or no repercussions. I am not on my soap box to preach, but more to look as I am a father-to-be and possibly to a young girl. I am just curious… Guess we will all just wait and see!?!?

***I know this is a touchy subject, but please no hate mail! Thanks!***

Sooner or later? I choose sooner!

The weekend is upon us and I, for one, am really excited because I am ready for the weekend to be here… I bet if there was a poll of everyone’s favorite day, Friday and Saturday would win by a landslide… Monday’s wouldn’t stand a chance! Kind of like what’s your favorite, oatmeal cookie or chocolate chip?! No brainer…

I am in a really good mood today…Why am I in such a good mood you wonder? One of the biggest reasons is because I got to thinking to myself! I thought “self, how in the world are we going to wait until December to find out what sex the baby will be?” Then I thought some more, as I tend to over-think a lot of things… and I wondered “how did we come up with the date of December anyway?” I am sure whenever Laura reads this she will look at me and say “I don’t know!” Anyway, I read on babycenter.com that you can actually find out the sex of your unborn child as early as 15 weeks! Yep, 15 weeks… but most likely it will be 18-20 weeks when we will find out.

The article on the website said:

"Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")"

Yes, there is a possibility it may be hidden, but I would like the chance to see!!! Wouldn't you?! Why in the world are we waiting so long to find out…? I am sure a lot of you are parents out there, and thus have had a child before! Why didn’t you mention to me “you don’t have to wait that long?” Mean people. Mean, mean, mean. Bottom line, October will be one fun and exciting month!

So, to update you on what’s upcoming…

Well, next week, August 13^th @ 2pm, Laura and I have our second doctor’s visit when we will get the first picture of “Baby Skates!” Then not much to do, but wait…we will have to wait until the middle of October when we will finally find out is “Baby Skates” a girl or a boy?

Excitement abounds… stay tuned!

Welcome to Unisex Babyland!

To quote Robin Williams...

"This is beyond obsession!"

Is it just me or when people say “when you have a baby nothing will be the same” just kind of sound stupid and sort of like a “here’s your sign” kind of remark? Of freakin’ course your lives will never be the same… because you are basically deciding to alter your lifestyle by compromising everything you've ever done or thought of doing, up until now, that is.

Picture it like you are getting a roommate, but this roommate doesn’t pay for anything… he or she is a very small, tempermental, needy, whiny roommate that you will love with every fiber of your being.

Laura and I got married in June and for two years we basically thought about our upcoming wedding… well now, it’s baby-time! As Franc from “Father of the Bride 2” would say “Welcome to Babyland.” Now that we have broken the news to everyone we will surely go out and do the inevitable Baby Register… and for those of you who do not know…(and if you are reading this I am pretty sure you are on an educational level where you know what a Baby Registry is…) I digress, so beyond online registries we will go to Babies-R-Us, the break-off store of Toys-R-Us, the place you used to scream and kick to go to just so you could see all those toys in one place all at the same time! After having a kid for a while, you will most surely end up going back, but not for yourself. Okay, sorry, where was I, the Baby Registry, right? Laura and I have visited this store on several occasions and I will not divulge to you the amount because you will revert back to the aforementioned quote at the beginning of this blog. It seems having a child is quite the pricy quest… everything we have thought about registering for or have been told we “need” is atleast $150-$250… a travel system, high chair, bouner thingy, gliders, not to mention breast pumps, car seats, baby furniture, etc… it honestly adds up really quick!!! I, however, am not going to worry about this because if I do, I may die. It’s as simple as that!

Moving on, I think books are a great source of knowledge, (between us we have four, I think) but I think experience is the best thing to have, so we appreciate all the advice everyone has had for us as newlywed parents. This is going to be a whole new world for us and we are so lucky to have such an amazing support system behind us.

We are slowly starting the process of turning our spare room into “Babyland,” and our spare bathroom into “Babyland jungle,” (we are doing jungle because the room is already green and we do NOT want to repaint!)but not even sure where to begin… although, we cannot truly do much until December when we know the sex of Baby Skates! Speaking of, if you haven’t done so, be sure to vote on the sex of Baby Skates on the poll to your right! Well, sadly, until December everything will be unisex colors, yellow & green… Or, we could do what my mom and sister are doing… which is buying girl stuff & boy stuff and getting gift receipts, but I see that as a lot of work, so until the time comes we are gonna be (the word that is hardly ever uttered out of my mouth) patient!

Stay tuned…

Dr. Scott!

No, I am not talking about Dr. Scott from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," but about the doctor we saw today at the Kennestone Hospital today in Marietta.

Yes, in the last post I had mentioned that our first doctor's appointment is not until August 13th, but when do things ever go as planned? Well, honestly, I didn't lie because we still have our appointment on August 13th, but now we are assured to have an ultrasound!! Cool huh?

Now you ask, "What were you guys doing at the doctor?" Well, that is kind of complicated, but lets just say it all started with Laura having a dream about flying in a spaceship and her tummy hurting... (NOTE: We watched "Revenge of the Sith" before we went to bed...) well, how does that lead to going to the doctor??? Maternal worries... :) No, seriously, she started having cramps, for real, during the early morning and so we felt the only way to procure our sanity was to call and try to make an appointment with the doctor just to make sure the baby was alright!

Yes, we worry, so shoot us!

Anyway, stay tuned for pictures of, as Mandy now so sweetly calls it, "Baby Skates!"

In less than 2 weeks...

Okay, it is almost here, but at the same time so far away.

Laura’s first doctor’s appointment is in less than two weeks, on August 13^th. I am actually taking a ½ day off from work so we can go and find out how our baby is doing. I’m sure everything is fine, but this is where the “worry” sets in and I am afraid something is wrong. But, statistically, everything is great and there are no problems, right? I guess I need some reassurance. I mean, I, myself, have never gone through this before… I mean, yes, so many people in both our families have had healthy babies, but when it is actually you going through the process it is a little, I dunno scarier!

Sadly, we won’t know what the sex of the baby is until December! Can you believe we are all going to have to wait until December to know if it is a boy or a girl? “That’s madness”, as Phoebe from Friends used to say! (You have to insert her freaky arm movements to get the full effect!) In the meantime, I guess all we can do is wait! I cannot believe I am telling myself this… someone who has the patience of a one-year old!!! Oh well, I guess that is just the way it goes!

Eventually, we are going to go over to this place in Towne Lake (Woodstock) where they can do the 3D/4D baby pictures… you know taking the pictures of the baby in the womb that makes it look like clay… I remember when my sister was pregnant with Everett we had to go all the way over to Alpharetta and now it is basically right down the road. Oh how times change… Well, here’s to waiting for two weeks!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!