The Fetal FAQ

Having a baby changes everything, so people have lots of questions. Here are the answers to most frequently asked questions we've had the past week.

When are you due?

June 23rd.

How far along are you?

A whopping 6 weeks.

How long were you trying? Was it an 'oops'?

Not an oops; quite intentional. Though we only tried for a total of one month.

Do you want a boy or a girl?

Neither one of us has any strong feelings. We wanted a girl both times with Jordan and Carter, so you see how well wishful thinking works. Now that we've been specializing in boys for 7 years, I'm very worried about relearning how to parent a girl, not to mention the extra expenses that girls create over their lifetime.

Does this mean you're buying a house?

No. Still can't afford it. We're getting close though; one or two more stable years should do it. We will have to move from our tiny apartment though. Hooray!

Why so long in between kids? Were you planning on raising separate families?

First of all, I don't think a five year interval is that long. We neither prevented or tried to have kids the past 5 years. I guess it just wasn't time. Cynthia finally got baby hungry enough that I couldn't ignore it any longer.

Any names picked out?

We've had a boy name picked out for years now, but Jordan told us that he thinks it sounds "evil". Hmmpf. As for a girly name, no...we haven't found one we both like.

Does TLC (The Lovely Cynthia) have more marathon plans?

Heh. No. I think a half was enough for her.

Half Marathon, Plus.

I am so proud of my wife! She ran a half marathon yesterday, but this wasn't JUST a half marathon...

I got Friday afternoon off of work so we could all head to Hermiston, OR to pick up Cynthia's race packet before the 5 pm deadline. The trip was uneventful and blazingly fast (85ish MPH). Upon reaching Hermiston, I pulled out the directions to get to the conference center. Long story short, I was so focused on the directions that I didn't see the speed limit of 25 in an area (right by a high school) that really should have been 35. Ergo, I got a ticket for going 40 in a 25. That's my first ticket in 14 years. $190.

Eventually we got the packet and traveled 30 mins to Kennewick were we were staying with the Jakemans. Thanks again, guys. We talked, we ate carbo-licious spaghetti, we played games...and then we went to bed at a perfectly respectable 10:30.

The kids however, had a different plan. Our boys were still awake playing with Calan when I went to bed. Sierra woke up at 4 am and wanted some food. That's when Cynthia woke up and she didn't catch any more winks until after the race. Then Carter, who I have named "Pipes" after our last long-distance drive, lived up to his name by puking at 5 am...and many times thereafter. This caused us to leave the house late and get to the race 6 minutes late. Going the wrong way didn't help either.

Needless to say, Cynthia was extremely nervous.

But she did it. She really, really did it! Four months of preparing, and she stuck through it all.

As soon as we got to the finish line to cheer her on, everything seemed to go right. She felt great, Pipes wasn't sick, and I...didn't get any more speeding tickets... It was a great day. But the real reason this was no ordinary half marathon and I'm incredibly proud of her is because....

She did it while pregnant!

Kids Say the Darndest Things, Part III

Whenever we collect 12 or more sidebar quotes from the boys, the oldest ten are archived into a post. You can find the previous editions in the following links:  Part I  Part II


Carter - "Guys! Guys! Mount Hood is so snowy. If you're going you should bring a snow ball thrower!"
It's amazing how quickly kids learn strategic negotiations and manipulations. Carter saw a snow ball launcher at REI just a few days before our trip to Mt Hood. He wanted it but we politely told him that there's never enough snow in Portland to warrant a snow ball launcher. Once we got to Mt Hood and saw glaciers, he knew there was a way to argue his point. Still not buying it though, kiddo.


Carter - "The moon is a tall glass of water."
Most people would say that the full moon is rather large, but Carter loves expressions. ...We love the way he misuses expressions.

Jordan - "Mommy, did you know if you believe in Santa he really is real?! You should try."
So Jordan asked us upfront last Christmas if Santa was real. Not one to lie to her kids, Cynthia told him the truth. Ever since then, Jordan has been telling us evidences of Santa's veracity. It's pretty cute.

Carter - "Mom, it's taking a long time for me to get old. I've just been waiting for it ALL DAY!"
It's cute how much Carter wants to grow up. He's asked us to measure his height twice in one day and he loves showing his 'strong arm' (right arm) off to anyone who will listen.

Carter - "Blow out the candle and we could put it on again and it will say ' I'm Alive!' "
There's a cartoon on Animaniacs that stars the tiny candle flame Thomas Jefferson used while writing the Declaration of Independence. At one point the flame is blown out but then comes back to life saying the above line. So Carter thought it would be fun if our dinner table candles did the same thing. By the way, how cool is it that my kids know Animaniacs cartoons by heart?

Jordan - "Carter, guess what Daddy is the leader of - the whole family. And Mommy is the leader of the whole family. And guess what I'm the leader of? YOU!" Carter - "I like you, Jordan"
Jordan the power-monger. Carter the brown-noser.
  
Carter - "But seals eat fish. They eat big fish without even mixing it."
Amazing what you learn at the zoo!

Jordan- "Wow! I've never seen the rain, Rain so much!"
This was right after we moved to Portland. He does have a point...
  
Mommy - "Carter are you still hot? " Carter- " Ummm ... mmhh! But the hot is hiding on my back."
Carter, sitting in his car seat, was right in the sunlight during a long trip. We got the sun out of his eyes and inquired of his status a few minutes later.

Carter- "I really liked my batman fishing pole, but my batman fishing pole was killed. So I just got another one." (said sadly)
By 'killed' he means that he dropped his pole in the lake. Carter prefers the spearing method of fishing over the traditional line method. Sheesh.

Then and Now

October 2007

 

The more things change...

 September 2010

...the more they stay the same.

The Disney Store had a sale on pajamas, and we couldn't resist. You know, I already miss the days when our kids were that young. I wonder how many years it will be before they completely outgrow Toy Story.

Magnificent 7

Jordan turned seven! ...Hold the phone... I have a seven-year-old? I swear I'm not mature enough for this.

We decided last year to have a family-only party every other year and so this was the first birthday just for the fam. Jordan asked us to compensate for the lack of friends by buying him an extra present and catering to his every whim (he's a great negotiator).

Jordan's favorite color is green and his second-bestest color is blue, so the whole party was based on the above color palette.

The big gifts of the night were the Lego Star Wars sets. Now he not only has a Lego Star Wars t-shirt and computer game, he also has the mucho expensive lego sets as well. I hate to admit it, but I had a blast building those darn things. Legos are so much cooler than when I was a kid.

Here's the cake that Jordan chose. He wanted a 'blueberry cake with blueberries in it with blue frosting, green frosting numbers (1-6), a number 7 candle, and blueberries on top" (we put the blueberries on later). The cake was from scratch (as always) and though I've never attempted a blueberry cake before, it was divine...like a giant blueberry muffin.

I just can't believe how fast he's grown. We're very proud of him and how far he's come - it's been a long time since he was our little "Squishy". Happy birthday, Jordan.