Cha..Cha...Changes

Yet another long gap in blogging. I am still around. Honest. Here's the rundown on the last few months. I'll keep them brief with the plan to post more on each later.

1. Here's the big, big news. We're having another baby! That's right. Number Three is due in early November. Our oldest was born in late November 2006. If you do your math and Baby Three is reasonably on time, we'll have three kids under the age of three for about a month. Yikes!
2. Denisa and I went on vacation. We spent a few days in Michigan's Beach Towns while the boys stayed with my parents. Everyone had a blast. And we very much appreciated the time.
3. I'm constructing built-in bookcases to surround our fireplace. The first (of two) is nearly complete. I'm in the middle of working on the second. I hope to have everything except the doors done by the end of the September (of 2009).
4. I have a couple other creative projects in the works. Some writing. Some woodworking. Some artwork. A lot of general awesomeness.
5. Speaking of awesome, I wrote a Mission Statement. Here's the short version: Bring the Awesome. I'm debating whether or not to post the longer one.
6. I'm doing a six-week study at church based on Raising a Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis. I read the book awhile ago. The study has been a good supplement.
7. I started running again. Not a lot but I'm steadily able to run longer, faster, and with less pain.
8. I've been reading some good stuff:

• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis
• The Silver Chair by CS Lewis
• The Last Battle by CS Lewis
• Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer
• Story by Robert McKee
• The Luck Factor by Richard Wiseman
• Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
• The 39 Steps by John Buchan
• Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser
• Diamonds are Forever by Ian Fleming
• The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
• Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias

Welcome Home, Jonah! Part 2.

My previous post was a quick one to get the announcement of our new arrival posted. I did want to post a few more details regarding our past several weeks.

It all started early Thursday morning (05/22/2008) when my wife woke up during the night with some contractions. This wasn't really all that out of the ordinary and she was able to get back to sleep without too much difficulty. Once she woke up, the contractions did get stronger but they still weren't too bad. Like I said, contractions weren't all that uncommon so we weren't getting our hopes up, fully expecting them to pass and nothing to happen. We actually had our weekly Dr. appointment scheduled for 10:30 that morning so we figured we'd just wait and see what the doctor had to say...again, fully expecting to find out they were normal Braxton Hicks contractions.

I was at work and the plan was for me to meet my wife at the doctor's office while Jesse stayed home. Knowing we were getting close to the due date and that we have an 18-month-old to keep up with, my Mother-in-Law had already planned to visit and stay with Jesse while we were at the appointment. I got a phone call mid-morning from my wife saying the contractions were getting worse. Well, by 10:00, the contractions were hard enough that my Mother-in-Law had to drive my wife to the appointment.

Still not expecting a lot, we were surprised to find that my wife was already dilated to 4 or 5 centimeters. My wife must be pretty tough because she was still smiling through the contractions. Anyway, the doctor said it was time and called the hospital. Soon, we were racing to the hospital.

Late-morning/Early-afternoon was pretty uneventful at the hospital. The contractions got stronger and more frequent. And my wife got pumped with fluids to get ready for the birth. Eventually, the epidural was administered and that smoothed out the contractions. My wife could still feel the contractions but they weren't painful.

So we waited and waited some more.

By 4:00 in the afternoon, we were getting close. By around 4:15/4:20, it was time to start pushing. Not that I had a lot to do with it, but it seemed to go pretty smoothly. By 4:53, we had a new little baby boy.

The doctors did have to rush Jonah to the room's baby alcove to clean out his lungs (he had a stool mishap in the womb). That was a little stressful...not getting to hold him right away. But, we were told ahead of time about the situation and we knew what to expect. We were very grateful for the warning.

We spent two days in the hospital and everyone recovered well from the birth. We had a few visitors but not so many that it was crowded or stressful. We appreciated the peace and quiet. The doctors and the nurses were awesome. We especially liked the night nurses. All were incredibly helpful, patient, and knowledgeable.

I was fortunate to be able to take two weeks of vacation with the birth. Memorial Day even fell in there so I got an extra day off. The time off was terrific. It was, of course, a lot of work. It continues to be a lot of work. But, still, it's an amazing blessing. I can't wait to go home at night.

Welcome Home, Jonah!

This will be a quick post. I know I disappeared for a couple weeks but those of you that read this blog probably already knew why...we had our second little boy!

Jonah Benjamin was born 05/22/2008 at 4:53pm. He weigh 7 pounds 6 ounces and measured an even 21 inches. He just had his two week appointment with the doctor this morning and everything is looking great.

My wonderful, lovely wife is also recovering well. She's handled the last two weeks in stride. Brig brother, Jesse, is fascinated with the new addition, "Jo-doh".

Here are some initial pictures. Maybe I'll post more details in the near future.

Baby Dos: Week 38

Size Comparison: Green Machine Ride-on toy

We're well into the single digits with our pregnancy countdown. Officially, Baby Dos is due to join the outside world one week from tomorrow. Yow! Our weekly appointments are going well. The baby's heartbeat is strong and my wife's blood pressure is great. The only issues involve the discomfort that you would expect with being 8.5+ months pregnant. We've been fortunate to have a pretty cool spring so the heat hasn't been too bad. Still, sleeping is difficult, muscles are sore, and there's an ever-growing baby that's quickly running out of space. My beautiful wife is amazing though. Through it all, she manages to keep up with our increasingly fast eighteen-month-old son. How she does it, I'll never know.

When will Baby Dos make their debut...who knows? Things could change at any minute but, as of yesterday, the doctor didn't feel like the baby was coming any time soon. Jesse was a week late when my wife was induced and our doctors are saying history tends to repeat itself.

As for the size comparison, I never had a Green Machine. My impression is that they're a Big Wheel with a twist. You still pedal with the front wheel but steering is with the back wheels...so the potential for sweet spinouts is excellent. I'm happy to see you can still get these. I even saw them at Target the other day. An adult-sized Green Machine is on my to-do list.

Baby Dos: Week 35

Size Comparison: Betamax VCR

Our due date is May 24th which, you know, is exactly a month from today. So we're officially scheduling appointments with the doctor weekly now. Wow! The last appointment went well. The baby is still positioned head down...mostly. The baby is a little more sideways but still generally head down. It sounds like that's not out of the ordinary. It's gotten a lot warmer here in central Indiana which, for me, is a welcome change from what seemed like a really long winter. Of course, I'm not carrying around an extra person. My wife is definitely felling the heat. Let's hope things don't get too uncomfortable.

I grew up with Betamax VCR. Not only that, it was Hi-Fi. In all seriousness, it was a great VCR. I would say it had far better picture and sound quality than our current VHS. Granted, our VHS is pretty cheap and I bet the Beta wasn't but, still, that says a lot about Beta quality for, what, 1982 or so. Sadly, the Beta got fried when our house was struck by lightening. So sad.

Baby Dos: Week 33

Size Comparison: Jarts/Lawn Darts

Man, this pregnancy thing...it's like there's no stopping it. We had another doctor appointment this week and everything is looking great. The baby's heartbeat is nice and strong and he/she is still situated head down. The baby's heartbeat is a little faster (around 150 beats/minute) than Jesse's ever was (usually 140 beats/minute), whatever that means. We have another appointment in about a week and a half. I'm guessing we'll be moving to weekly appointments after that.

The baby's room did get painted this past week though we have a little stenciling yet to do. I'll post some pictures when it's really, really done. We also worked on our list of baby names. We sliced and diced the girl's name list down to just two possibilities. The boy's name list is still around six or seven options but even that is a big drop from the twenty or so we originally had. The naming is a difficult thing with so many things to think about. Do the initials spell anything? If we pick another J-name, will indicate a planned trend? What sounds good if you yell "Jesse, [fill in blank], dinner's ready!"? And once you start reading name books, it gets even more interesting. Fortunately, it's actually a lot of fun. Some of the published subjective evaluations of names are especially entertaining. For instance, the book, The Baby Name Wizard, says the name "Jesse" is "Timelessly, Lawlessly Cool". I also enjoy the Baby Name Voyager. It's a good way to check name popularity over the years. It's especially useful when you're looking for something that's not overly popular.

So, jarts...were these things ever safe. I know my family had a set though I don't remember ever playing it regularly. I do remember tossing around the target rings but those were just hollow plastic and not heavy, pointed steel. I have a friend who said he and his brother would position themselves with one in the front yard and one in the back. They would then throw jarts over their house into the other's yard. Yikes.

It's like the baby's really there!

Many thanks to my friend, James, for letting me know about 3D Pregnancy and the brilliant little widget at the right of this blog. Very, very cool

Baby Dos: Week 32

Size Comparison: Tomy Omnibot

I've been lax in posting about the pregnancy. For that, I apologize. The good news, though, is that the baby continues to grow as it should. The pregnancy has been relatively easy and that's been a tremendous blessing. The baby is moving a lot and seems to have hiccups on a fairly regular basis. During the last appointment, the doctor kind of mapped out how the baby was positioned. We were happy to find that the baby is currently upside down. It was good to hear the baby is in the standard delivery position. Of course, that's also a good reminder that the baby will be arriving soon and we have a lot to get done first. Hard to believe there's only eight weeks until the expected due date.

We're working on getting ready for the baby. I'm painted the bedroom this weekend. Once that's done, we'll probably really get into setting the room up. At some point, you know, the baby will need some place to sleep and we have yet to get a crib. I did, finally, wrap up my list of potential baby names. We still need to combine our individual lists and run through the selection process. We started during our weekend getaway but my list was so deplorably short at the time that little was accomplished. This time, though, I'm coming to play.

Anyway, the Tomy Omnibot. The eighties were an interesting period for robots. There was certainly a fascination with robots as they were an integral part of pop culture. I mean, Knight Rider's K.I.T.T. was essentially a robot with a wicked Trans Am shell. Number 5 of Short Circuit represented the classic robot turned friend scenario. Bubo from Clash of the Titans portrayed the ever-popular robot as a friendly owl character. And who can forget that orange robot, what's-his-name , from Riptide? Naturally, robot toys were a hit. Long before the Robosapien, the Tomy Omnibot was the servent/friend robot of choice. I never had one. I remember thinking they looked pretty cool but, for some reason, it never really struck a cord with me. Maybe if it looked more like a Trans Am...

Want more robots? Check out The Old Robot's Web Site.

Loveseats and Zeppelins

My lovely wife and I just got back from what many people call a "Baby-moon." We took a long weekend to enjoy some time together before Baby Dos moves in this May. It was a the fun and relaxing few days we both needed. Here's how it went down:

Friday afternoon: We dropped Jesse and our dog, Maggie, off at my in-laws and headed out to Cincinnati. We arrived at our hotel, a SpringHill Suites, right around dinner time. We scoped out the local area, had dinner, and relaxed at the hotel that evening. We don't go out of town often but, when we do, we've really liked the suite-type hotels. They usually feel a little more spacious with multiple rooms and often have things like microwave ovens, small refrigerators, and better-than-average breakfasts. And they really don't cost much more than a non-suite hotel.

Saturday: We drove up to Dayton to the National Museum of the USAF and spent the day there. I'll try to write more information on this in the near future. I first need to see if any of the pictures taken in the various hanger buildings are actually worth posting. I will tell you this...the place is awesome. We went a few years ago and they've since expanded significantly. Really, we were there from 10am - 4pm and still managed to miss a lot. We saw the aircraft stored inside but we didn't get a chance to read all the historical data or see the outside planes (it was raining). And finding time for the Presidential Gallery or the Research and Development Gallery was out of the question. Another trip is definitely in order.

Sunday, we hit the new IKEA in West Chester, OH. It opened just last week so we expected it to be a complete madhouse. We were right about the madhouse thing but it was certainly tolerable. The place is well designed and, despite the sheer number of people, it didn't feel claustrophobic. We picked up a few things: shelves for Jesse's and Baby Dos' room, one of those kiddy-tunnel things, place mats, curtain rods, and a step stool). Anyway, we didn't exactly spend a lot of money and that's perfectly fine. The best things we took home were ideas for future decorating. And the nice thing about this IKEA is that it's only a couple hours away so a quick day-trip isn't out of the question if/when we start thinking about remodeling projects.

Finally, we came home Sunday afternoon. I took Monday and Tuesday off to recuperate and enjoy some non-committed, margin time. It was spent working on some drawings for a web comic idea, a nifty sculpture, and, most importantly, enjoying my family.

I also bought some new wiper blades (but not at IKEA).

Baby Dos: Week 28

Size Comparison: Lego Set #6951, The Space Series Robot Command Center. I loved this thing. Still do, actually. It's in a box in my bookcase and I keep meaning to get it out again. It had the core robot command center that featured robotic "arms", a huge missile, and some pretty sweet computer printed bricks. On top of that, it had a small rover, a small flying vehicle, and three minifigs.

Things are still lookin' good. Last week's appointment with the doctor went well and blood glucose/gestational diabetes test wasn't a problem. We're definitely feeling the new baby move a lot. And it's more than just kicks now and then. We can really feel solid movement as the baby shifts from one position to another. We're even able to make out real body parts. You know, that feels like a pointy elbow. That feels rounded. Cool stuff.

Jesse's room did get painted and we moved him back in last weekend. I'll be moving on to the baby's room shortly. We haven't officially picked colors for the room that that should be coming soon.

Baby Dos: Week 26

Size Comparison: a fondue pot. I know fondue pots are still around. For that matter, there are even fondue restaurants like The Melting Pot. Still, fondue pots always remind me of the avocado green pot my family had while I was growing up. Whenever birthdays came around, I'm pretty sure fondue was a pretty frequent celebratory dinner request. No doubt is was terrible for my parents to clean up but I remember that fondue sizzle with oil-splattering fondness. Besides, this was the week our pregnancy book likened the size of the baby to a 2-pound pot roast so the food comparison seemed appropriate.

Things are good. We have an appointment next week. This may be our last monthly appointment. I'm not sure on that. We'll be going down to every other week appointments shortly. We're busily trying to get ready for the new addition. I'm planning to paint Jesse's room this weekend. Once that's done, I'll move onto the baby's room. We're also pondering what to do about the whole stroller situation. Should we get a double stroller? Do we need one? We're also strongly considering a pouch carrier from Wallababy. We've heard very good things about them and the fact that they're made locally is another plus.

How about the other parents out there? How did you handle multiple kids and things like trips to the grocery store?

Baby Dos: Week 24

Size Comparison: A Capsela Kit. Ok, I never actually had Capsela. I leaned more towards Legos. But I had friends with Capsela and they always seemed interesting. Building toys have been big for a long, long time. They've grown increasingly more specialized which I find to be a bit of a bummer. Sure, the Star Wars themed Legos look cool but once you've built an X-Wing Fighter, what else do you do with all those special parts. Like Tinker Toys, Erector sets, and many Legos, Capsela was pretty open to design and redesign.

Baby Dos is growing. She's moving around a lot, too. It seems like her schedule syncs up well with ours, being more active in the evening but quieting down about the time we're going to bed. I hope the continues for, you know, the next several years.

Our appointment with the doctor went smoothly on Monday and it really was a quick checkup. The doctor listened to the heartbeat, asked if we had any questions, and confirmed that Denisa was feeling fine. All is well. The next appointment will iunclude the gestational diabetes test. As you can imagine, Denisa is really looking forward to that.

Baby Dos: Week 23

Size Comparison: A Mego Action Figure (Captain America, in this case). I never had the superhero-themed Mego figures but I was fortunate enough to have the Lone Ranger and Tonto figures. They were terrific. Their size made them a lot heftier to play with than a lot of the later action figure. They were kind of on the same scale as the original G.I. Joes. What's also great is that they came with real clothes. It's a good time to look through the eBay listings to see all the toys lacking the frequently lost items of clothing. It makes for some awkward but hilarious pictures. What? It's Captain Kirk, Spock, The Hulk, and Penguin all hanging out with no pants. Interesting. I missed that comic book.

It's hard to believe we're over half of the way through the pregnancy already. It's gone by with blinding speed. The baby is getting stronger each and every day and we're feeling her movements get stronger as well. Just the other day, I could actually see the baby kick. It was just a little blip but still...pretty amazing. The growth rate is hard to believe.

Anyway, we have an appointment with the doctor this coming Monday. I believe it's just the standard checkup and won't involve anything out of the ordinary (ultrasounds, glucose test, etc.) but, still, wish us luck.

And, yes, I did refer to the baby as her but that's not because we know the baby's gender. Using he/she makes it sound a lot more personal than always using it or the baby.

Baby Dos: Week 20

I don't have a size comparison this week. Instead, I have something even better...a picture from our ultrasound last Thursday. We were pleased to find that everything looks great. They measured bones, checked the heart, checked other organs, and did just about everything BUT inform us of the baby's gender. Again, we chose not to find out the baby's gender during the ultrasound, preferring to be surprised at the birth. I have a gut-feeling as to whether the baby is a boy or a girl so we'll see if that's right. On top of all that, Baby Dos was measuring within a couple days of what was expected so, in theory, our previous estimated due date of around May 23rd/24th should be about as close as can be expected.

If you're dying for a dose of retro, I did see a pretty nice Fiero on the drive to work. It was a white GT fastback model so it would've had the beefier V6 engine and, potentially, some beefier suspension components. It was also sporting a black set of classic Pontiac starburst wheels. I'm going to guess it was 1987 but I don't know for sure. It was pretty similar to the one found here. I tell you what, the Fiero is one of the most underrated vehicles made. It was always a good car for what it was intended...a commuter car for short trips around town. Unfortunately, the public expected a mid-engine, two seater to be, you know, a sports car. It's a shame the Fiero didn't evolve into a sports car (and a fine one, at that) until the public had already decided it would never be one. By then, it was too late. Sigh.

Baby Dos: Week 19

Size Comparison: Masters of the Universe Moss Man figure

I felt Baby Dos move the other night! That was the first time I've been able to feel the baby. Amazing! The pregnancy feels more and more real each week.

Ah, Moss Man...he's like a breath of fresh, moss-scented air. Seriously, the original Masters of the Universe Moss Man toy was scented. Really. You just don't find many scented action figures. A new version came out with the 2002 cartoon series but it was some kind of MOTU exclusive thing. You can pick one up on eBay or, if you can pick up a cheap Beast Man figure, you can customize your own. Me? I'll go with the latter at some point. It'll go well with my custom Faker figure.

Baby Dos: Week 17

Size Comparison: A Choose Your Own Adventure novel

Ok, I missed a week. I'm sorry. Relax. Anyway, everything is still looking good. I think Denisa is officially feeling the baby move. From what I've been told, it's a weird fluttering sensation. It'll be a few weeks before I can feel anything but this definitely psychs me up a bit. Denisa is doing well. She's at a point where it's no longer really safe to sleep on her back due to the circulation issues. That's not just her. That's all pregnancies at this stage.

We have the big ultrasound scheduled for early January. This will be the one with extra time spent measuring bones, checking organs, etc. This would also be the ultrasound where we could potentially find out the gender of Baby Dos. We don't want to know but, you know, if we did...

So, Choose Your Own Adventure. I enjoyed these though I don't think I ever had or read all that many of them. I did own "You are a shark" and I remember that being a good time. Specifically, I remember being a wombat in the story. A little obscure but I guess I learned some biology while reading about how I was about to be eaten by a leopard or something.

Baby Dos: Week 15

Size Comparison: Nearly full pouch of Big League Chew

We had an doctor appointment yesterday. Everything looks great. After some searching, the doctor found a good strong heartbeat. It’s a little disconcerting to NOT immediately hear a heartbeat on the little Doppler device. No matter how reassuring the doctor's words are, that period of concern is frightening. But, no, the baby was just a little lower than expected. No big deal. The doctor said the location wasn’t a problem…just a matter of logistics. Good news.

We’re working on cleaning up the new baby’s room. My wife has cleared just about all of her stuff out of there but I’ve still got a few boxes sitting around in there…mostly comic books, art supplies, and some random collectibles. I hope to have that taken care of by the end of the year so we can get started on painting the new nursery.

Big League Chew. Wow, bubble gum designed to look like chewing tobacco. Seriously, chewing tobacco. It was, of course, a big hit at the little league games. You know, kids cramming as much of it into their mouths as possible. I don’t think I ever bought that much of it but, when I did, I think I always opted for the grape flavor. I don’t remember the flavor lasting all that long and I don’t think it was great for blowing bubbles…too much of a grainy texture.

Baby Dos: Week 14

Size Comparison: a Schaper Stomper 4x4

The baby is a growin'! We'll have another appointment with the doctor next week so maybe we'll have more news then. There problem won't be another ultrasound unless, of course, it's like last month and the Doppler device doesn't zero in on the baby's heartbeat. NOT hearing the heartbeat made for some very nervous minutes. The ultrasound (image posted below) showed that everything was perfectly fine and moving around like crazy. Anyway, I'm guessing the heartbeat will be a little louder so maybe it'll be easier to hear. It was running at around 158 beats per minute last month...we'll see how it compares this time. Otherwise, we're wondering when Denisa will be able to feel the baby moving. Soon, if not already.

I had a few of the Schaper Stompers as a kid. Ok, I actually had them up through a couple month ago when I sold them on eBay. In any case, they were a blast. Actually pretty powerful for a single AA battery juicing four wheels. They'd climb just about anything and, believe me, I tried getting them to climb just about everything.

Baby Dos (dose): Week 13

Size Comparison: Shipwreck GI Joe Figure.

If you’re reading Retro Brett, we’ve really probably met. In fact, we’re probably reasonably close friends and/or family. Let’s face it, I’m not exactly getting a lot of strangers checking out the site. Anyway, if we’re that close, the fact that my wife and I are expecting our second child probably comes as no surprise to you.

I’ll be honest, finding out that we’re expecting a second child did come as a surprise to me. Don’t get me wrong, it was an incredibly happy surprise but, still, as surprise. After it took so long (close to two years) to get pregnant with Jesse, I wasn’t really anticipating a pregnancy after only one or two months of NOT trying not to have another child. When we found out, I actually thought it was funny. I genuinely laughed out loud. I’m still laughing about it. It’s extremely exciting. It’ll mean some big changes. And, even though it’s a little scary, I’m surprisingly unstressed about it. Watch out world!

Continuing the Retro Brett tradition of comparing the current size of our new baby to something retro and cool, Baby Dos is about the size of one of the GI Joe figures I remember from my early/mid eighties childhoods. I picked Shipwreck for the visual as he struck me as one of the most memorable characters from both the toy and the cartoon series. Really, he’s got a parrot? Seriously? Ok, maybe Snake-Eyes is more popular but he certainly not as colorful.

I’ll get an ultrasound picture posted shortly.

Lil’ G: WELCOME TO THE WORLD!

Yes! We have a baby! On 11/30/2006, our little Jesse was born. He was a healthy 7 lbs, 15 oz and a nice 21.5 inches long. The labor went easier (a mere 8.5 hours) than we expected and everyone is quite happy about that. Plus, we’re all healthy, sleeping reasonably well, and simply amazed at our new little boy. We are truly blessed and we are incredibly grateful for God’s generosity. It is and will continue to be a great responsibility and we pray we will raise our little man to be the big man God would have him to be.

It’s funny. At one point, I walked by the hospital nursery and Jesse was the only baby and there happened to be two nurses standing near him. I joke that I saw them mouth the words chosen one and prophecy. Seriously, though, we will do all we can to ensure he does have a terrific life.

It’s obviously taken me a while to get this posted but, you know, I’ve been busy. Here’s a photo…bask in the glory that is his handsomeness.