Alright.

Baby Doctor Appointment Alert!

Sorry. I worked a lot last week and, as a result, did not have the time nor the inclination to write. Also, Jake has become addicted to his Webkin and has slowly taken all of the prime computer time away. And then the computer was doing some weird stall thingy. But that's all fixed now. So let's move on.

I've taken to post from the dead soldier-guy down. It was pointed out to me that it was depressing, and had nothing to do with Project Zambrano. I hope those of you that took the time to read it found it as compelling as I did.

I got to hear the heartbeat today! Jess lost the baby, again. He (or she) finally revealed him(her)self, and the most beautiful little heartbeat was heard! What an outstandingly great sound it is! I'm getting so excited now, I cannot wait! Then we read baby magazines, and worked on the birthing plan. Jess says we can't give it to our doctor due to references to random Mexicans and a profound love of epidurals, but I'm pretty sure that I can sneak it past her.
Mom Bizzarro has intimated that she'd like to buy a crib for baby, so we spent a portion of yesterday long-distance websurfing with each other. It really impressed on me the space issues we're gonna deal with here, but hey, it can only make us a closer family. Right? I hope so, cuz' we don't have much of a choice. It also impressed on me the sincere excitement that Mom is feeling. I'm really excited to see her with her grandchild. I'm excited to introduce our baby to my Dad. Really, I want to introduce him (or her) to all of the awesome people in my family that I've been telling him (or her) about.
Jess says that when I put my hand on her belly, the baby moves to my hand. Neat, huh? I never would've thought that that happens, but it sure is amazing to know. I can't feel the kicks yet. I can encourage them, however!
One last tasty morsel. We have finally decided on names for the baby. The girl name was easy and kind of came together very easily. Grace Marie. Grace is Jess's mother's middle name and is the name of one of my favorite Cubs (Mark Grace, if you're taking notes.) Marie is my gramma's name and has always been my choice for a baby girl. It is also my mother's middle name and Jess's. So the baby will be named after four of the most intelligent, generous, strong, esteemed, funny, influential, and loved women in my life. And one first baseman with 2,445 hits. After much deliberation, a boy's name has been chosen. Jess didn't like most of my familial names and I thought her names were very...bad. Not to mention the fact that we had to make sure the name goes with Zambrano as a middle name. Xavier was out immediately. Reed was a strong possibility, but was quickly tossed aside. Jonny was a very strong contender, down to the last few, but languished in a disagreement as to whether it should be Jonny or Johnathon. I don't much care for Johnathon but really like Jonny. There was some strong lobbying for Jonny (preferably spelled Johnie), but I had to block the outside interests. (you know who you are) Keith was bandied about. I had my heart set on Henry or Hank. Michael, Christopher, Benjamin, Ethan (yuk!), Harold (I fought for you, Dad!), Merle (in deference to Haggard, in memory of my grandfather), and countless other names made lists, were crossed off of lists, added back on, ruminated on, thought about, or tossed in the pot. Then I came upon an name that I loved; that really struck me as being right for my son (if it's a boy, that is!). It's alliterative properties probably took me first. The fact that it seems like a common name but isn't, struck me next. It is a strong and confident name. It's reminiscent of a friend of long ago. It feels right, much in the way Grace Marie felt right. And Jess agreed. So...it's Bennet.

Madame Zaritska's reading

Madame Zaritska, our resident clairvoyant, wants to help you prepare for the arrival of your child. Here she does her best to predict certain aspects of your labor and birth experience.
What she senses for you: The day you deliver, outside will be overcast. Your baby will arrive in the evening.
After a labor lasting approximately 19 hours, your child, a girl, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 7 pounds, 2 ounces, and will be 20 inches long. This child will have light brown eyes and some very fine hair.
But there is more. I know you imagine your baby often. You wonder if your baby is safe and healthy. Why don't you go listen to a baby's heartbeat and think soothing thoughts about your own child.

I found this on some website that claims to be able to predict stuff about the baby, due to your preferences for the smell of lavender, the last animal you saw, amongst other odd information. Jess'll be MAD to read the twenty hour labor part. MAD! But, she'll probably be alright with the seven pound, two ounce thing; since these other two were gigantors.

A Plethora of Goodness

After taking some time off to enjoy the holidays and the various and sundry activities that come with them, I have returned to the blogosphere! I know my peeps have been clamoring for updates, and I try to be one to not disappoint. Ok. Really, it was Johnie that clamored.
So much excessively awesome stuff has happened since my last posting, but I wanted to focus on a couple-three.
The baby kicked Jess! Well, who else would he or she kick? As Jess reached for the remote last week, she was startled by a tinsey baby kick. I was texteded at work to be informed that our baby was being abusive. Good for you, baby!
Secondly, notes on occurrence that occurred just this morningly. I felt the baby move! This is seriously the best, most double amazing thing that I've ever felt. I had my hand on Jess's belly and felt the baby move repeatedly. Right now, it feels like a flutter against Jess's tummy. Almost like localized gas, except it's the COOLEST LOCALIZED GAS FEELING FLUTTER EVER!
And lastfully, Saturday was my grandmother's 90th birthday party. All of my cousins and aunts and uncles were in attendance. What great fun it was to see so many happy people celebrating the life of such a wonderful woman. Grandma has always been a large presence in so many of our lives, in so many different ways. For me, it's always been Tang flavored drink in the closet and a ready batch of oatmeal raisin cookies along with all the tangential warmness that attaches itself so readily. Looking around the room, it was easy to see that Grandma Marie will live on in the easy smiles and laugh-ready demeanor of her four children, eighteen grandchildren, and twenty (for now) great-grandchildren. And the amount of dimples that came from her are too many to count! Also, my mother had a few shots. She decided that Jess would really enjoy the party favors. So she collected some on her own. She then enlisted poor Jakey into her life of crime, and made him sneak around the room snatching them. And apparently, she was heard loudly saying, "These stupid Polacks will just throw them away!" referring to the banquet servers. She remembers none of this. Sounds about right. I hope to have another opportunity to visit with my cousins (and second cousins) at a happy occasion again in the next twenty years or so! The conversations about hereditary migrational body hair, notwithstanding, fun was had by all. And to Grandma's friend Gertie, Jess thinks your leopard print top and hat are outstanding.
More to come in the coming days, as the holiday breaks are over!

Doctor Visit Alert!

The child is already showing signs of personality. Jess had an appointment today (which you may have guess, by the title of this here entry). Nothing special, just a routine how-do-you-do type meetin' with the doctor. However, the nurse couldn't find the baby's heart beat. She told Jess not to worry, which, of course, made Jess worry. The nurse got the doctor to check for the heartbeat. She couldn't find it either. So, Jess worried more. They made a hasty retreat to the ultrasound room (located in the basement of the office, it's kind of creepy, especially when Weird-Ultrasound-Operator Gary is your guide). After some poking and prodding, the baby was found. Doctor said that it's moving around like crazy in there, and she had to chase it around to keep track of the heartbeat. A whirling dervish, the baby is! My theory is that the baby realized that it was late decorating for christmas, and decided that it had to make up time. I'm sure that it was pretty drab in there before the decorating. Best part of it all, I can take solace in knowing that I was not the first one to lose track of the baby! Jess already lost her (or him) once! I always win that argument from now on!

Good Fun!

Haven't written much, lately, because there hasn't been much to tell. Also, I've spent lots of time studying for my skill-out of training (and playing interweb poker). I'm now official at my job. I'm out of training and stationed at the store that I'll be at on a permanent basis. Hallelujah, ten minute drives to work! The day after a snow storm, even! Refreshingly awesome, it is. It's a little bit intimidating with all the new faces and personalities and all, but it seems that I'm seeking those types of situations lately!

Since Jess will be 12 weeks (12 weeks bringing an outstanding reduction of any chance of miscarriage, knock on wood y'all) tomorrow, she decided that it'd be alright to tell the kiddies. I've been SOOOOOO excited for this time to come around, because I really want the midgets to share in our excitement and be able to be involved in the process. So, I'll set the scene.

We sat down to eat dinner. Jess told the kids that I had something to tell them. Sara got happy and really wanted to know what it was. Jake acted decidedly uninterested. So, I feigned not wanting to tell them due to an unacceptable level of excitedness. Sara played along and became even more animated. Jake kinda stared at the bowl of food in front of him. (An aside, he gave himself a big knot on his head during gym class yesterday. Apparently, he went to the washroom. After he was done washing his hands, a big mean wall jumped up behind him. Jake didn't see said wall. He ran, obviously, head first into the wall. He then had to explain the situation to his teacher. She didn't believe that he had knotted himself so good. Jess heard the story and immediately assured the teacher that this was, in fact, quite probable with our son.) So, I pretended that I'd then tell only Sara. While pretending to whisper in Sara's ear, Jake apparently got interested in the secret. As the words, "Mommy's pregnant" left my mouth, Jake-y called out "No, She's not!" in a started and excited tone. Once he was sufficiently assured that we were not joking, he smiled broadly and proudly upon the realization that he'd get to be the biggest brother! Sara was understandably upset that we are not prepared since we do not have diapers. While I'm sure that this hasn't truly set in with Jake (he's running around singing "I'm a soul man" repeatedly) yet, I'm just as sure that Sara doesn't fully comprehend the magnitude of the lil' dude (or dudette) about to join us. She did tell Jess that since this is number three, she'd expect numbers four and five in rapid succession though. The kibosh was squarely and severely placed upon that idea!

Oh. Another thing. We got to play in the snow during Tuesday's snow storm. It was undoubtedly outstanding seeing the joy on my family's faces as we made snow angels, threw snow balls at each other, and made the world's smallest, most patheticist snowman(but he was our snowman, and we loved him for it). To those with kids, this is just a reminder to take the opportunity to be kids with them. It's an amazing experience that we sometimes lose track of in the hustle and bustle of trying to make it to the next paycheck. To those without kids (in life, or in the house anymore), try having a snowball fight with your significant other or building a snowman. I'd wager that the joy it'd bring to your hearts and the childlike excitement that it would elicit will, most definitely, be worth the wet clothes, messy mud rooms, and cold limbs. And to everyone: Don't forget how good hot chocolate (with little marshmallows in it) is!