Preggo Pics - 17 Weeks

Yes folks, they are here! More highly anticipated than NFL's first perfect season and the Nevada caucus combined. Without further adieu, here are the pictures of my beautiful bride with child. Grady is growing and so is the belly. You can't help but look at these pictures and be struck with amazement thinking about how beautiful our child is going to be... coming from a mother like this, I mean! (And not to mention the other handsome half of his paternal pair.)

We'll be back soon to tell you about Grady's flutters and umbilical jump rope/somersault skills.













~A

Baby Name Wizard

Now that we know BabyMac is indeed a boy, it is entrusted to us as parents to come up with a name for this child. A name no doubt that will be unique enough to make him stand out in a crowd and yet not so much so that he curses the day he was born and the parents that bore him.

There is this crazy phenomenon I have experienced during the past few months in regard to realizations. What I have found is that there are a couple stages that you go through. The first stage is titled, "I understand that at some point this is going to happen." It is in this stage that you work up a number of scenarios about the decision you will make, the emotions you will feel, and the words you will say at a particular time. Then there is stage two entitled, "This is for real... wait, is this really happening?" At this time, you kind of cock your head to the side like a dog when he hears you say something familiar, almost as if it just hit you that the moment you've imagined has now arrived. Then all the decisions you had made with your inexperienced brain come into question.

Such was the case with the name that we had picked out for our son, Grady. We had discussed that we both liked the name. In fact, about a year ago Jen and I were talking about what we wanted to name our kids and she mentioned Grady without even knowing that it was my Grandfather's name. From that point on, we were pretty much sold. But then, when the moment came last Thursday to pin the name our prized child, it was a little weird for me. The second realization had come. "Man, are we sure? This is a really big deal! Grady? Is there some cruel nickname that a Jr. High bully could make out of this? We are making a life-altering decision right here and now by giving this kid a name. This is for real!"

Even later on that day I wasn't sure if I was ready to broadcast it to the world, but not to worry, my good sister-in-law and Kim and her CIO Kelly did that for us :) Love you gals.

So Baby Mac's official name is Grady. As for a middle name, well we'll have to consult my new favorite page-turner, "The Baby Name Wizard".

~A

P.S. No seriously, it's my favorite! I would reccommend it to anyone, pregnant or not.

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails...

...that's what little boys are made of!:)

That's right...Baby Mac was confirmed all boy today! Aubrey was excited that the underdog won in the poll results. I sortof felt like it was a boy all along and I guess I was right!

First headshot...a profile which I was scared looked like a "Who" until Aubrey informed me that it was his hand in front of his face!:)

Hi Mom!

Definitely a Boy!

stay tuned!

~jen

Technical Stuff

This Thursday we are going upstairs at the doctor's office for an ultrasound that may tell us what we're having. Yes, we do want to find out. We're pretty sure there will be enough to take in on BabyMac's B-day. Oh, and yes, I said "upstairs" because apparently they have an ultra-mega-powerful-magic8ball sonogram that will give us a better chance of finding out. It was really weird, when Jen called up there though. They questioned her like she was a criminal; as if she was some pregnant lady trying to scam a free sonogram off them. I wanted to tell them, "Listen here! Our Doc told us to call you so apparently he wants us to have one! So shut-up and stop pestering my emotionally volatile pregnant wife with technical questions that she doesn't have the answer to!!!" Post-interrogation we were able to secure an appointment.

In my pre-pregnancy mind, it seemed like people didn't find out what they were having, even if they wanted to, until much later. But people find out between 15 and 20 weeks on a regular basis. This is going really fast!

You know, well-intentioned people often tell us "Life as you know it is over!" But I'm kind of glad. Don't get me wrong, I love life as we know it. But this life - pregnancy, Baby Mac, parenthood - is even better!

We'll see Dr. Garner (a.k.a. The Fast-talking Lady Dr.) on Friday. So as soon as we have news we'll let you guys know. In the meantime, that means you only have a couple more days to vote in our poll while it still matters. Your baby predicting reputation is on the line...

Can't wait,

~A

Put those people on a leash!

This year already holds the promise of being a milestone in the McGowan family history books. Sometimes we go into a year with enormous expectation for what is to come while other years we have no clue what is about to happen. 2008 looks to be a year for both of these. At the same time we feel so much excitement for BabyMac's arrival, we also feel anticipation for all of the unknowns.


During the past few months and as we continue through the next 5 1/2, there have been and will continue to be rapidly increasing waves of reality that soak in more deeply as time passes. Now, even on the verge of week 15, Jen was saying that sometimes it still feels like we're just pretending. Of course, during the first 12 weeks, the frequent nausea served as a subtle reminder of "Hey, you're pregnant."


There is also the recurring reality that we are going to be parents; a role for which there are no prequalifiers. There are applications for jobs at McDonalds and 7-11, but not for parenthood. You have to take a test and actually pass it to get your driver's license, but there are no tests required by law to have a baby, although we may need to talk to our legislators about that. It's actually quite the dichotomy. On one hand it is rather hilarious (and comforting might I add) to see some of the crazy people that are having kids. Some are celebrities while others are just regular everyday kooky people whose paths you have the privilege of crossing. The other side is that it's really quite sad that their progeny will have to be raised by such crazies! From the outside, these people aren't any more ready to have kids than a couple of caged lab rats. OK, that's mean... but you understand what I'm sayin'... wait, you thought that I was referring to you... Oh no... Of course not... You're not a crazy parent... You're just protective... Hey look out! I think that leash is on too tight... no really his face is blue... no, not your dog...


Sincerely,


Baby Mac's Crazy Daddy

P.S. Happy New Year!!