Its Her Birthday!!!

Today is Charissa's birthday. She turns....well I am not supposed to say. But it rhymes with 30. We are going out for breakfast and then we are going to the Baby Doctor. Great thing to do on a celebratory day. Then off to live it up with a lunch together at a restaurant of Charissa's choosing. Which means, sadly, it won't be Arby's. :(

But throughout the day we will pamper and love the one who is so dear to me.




Now on to less mushy stuff. We had a leak in our air conditioner up in the attic. We had a crew come and fix it but they stepped through our ceiling. We have a contractor fixing it. It is in our master bedroom of all places. So all of our furniture is now proportioned throughout the house. Best news of all: CAMPING. We moved our mattress to the nursery where we are camped out. Charissa likes being in the "pretty room" but getting up from the mattress is not as fun as I declare it to be. I will let you know how this CAMPING trip went in the future.

We are going this weekend to see my Dad on his birthday. Then stay with them for Christmas. I have the day after off, which is great, and am looking forward to the break. Charissa is out for two weeks from work for Christmas break. She has been on vacation two days and is loving it.

You are now updated. If you want more info, keep checking back....

What will she do?

According to the Department of Labor, here are the top 10 paying jobs for women in 2004 and the median weekly earnings.

1. Pharmacists: $1,432
2. Chief Executives: $1,310
3. Lawyers: $1,255
4. Computer & Information Systems Managers: $1,228
5. Computer Software Engineers: $1,149
6. Computer Programmers: $1,006
7. Physicians & Surgeons: $978
8. Human Resources Managers: $958
9. Purchasing Managers: $946
10. Medical & Health Services Managers: $943

Now my favorite is not on there: Own a professional football team. Maybe when she owns the Dallas Cowboys it will crack the top ten. But I am not going to go out of my way to make her a boy. Just a great business woman who can buy the Cowboys for her old man for Christmas one year.

Perhaps she will grow up and invent something simple but cool; like velcro. Or maybe she will discover the cure for the common cold in a familiar source we have had all along. Whatever she does, it is fine with me.......if I get my professional football team.

9 Weeks to Go

Charissa's random gasps are very entertaining. While talking to me after work she interrupts herself to let out a creative noise to announce the movement of our little girl. Our baby has had movements that you can feel are hard on the side of Charissa and now she is beginning to actually jut out. I guess its cooler to me than Charissa, but I hope to record a creative gasp for all of our amusement. :)

Speaking of our dancing baby....

By now the baby's lungs and digestive tract are nearly mature. Your baby's irises can now dilate and contract in response to light. Due to the deposits of white fat underneath the skin your baby's skin is no longer red, but is now the wonderful newborn pink color. Her fingernails may reach the end of the hands, too. Your baby is now a little over 3 pounds and is 16 inches long.

I can feel myself slowly turning into a parent. I worry allot more now. Wonderment about society, people driving too fast, my habits and temperament, finances, and projects around the house. The answers are not fast coming but a budding maturity is growing. My acceptance of humility is probably the aspect I am holding strong to now. I don't know how to be a dad. However, I am truly excited to learn along side Charissa to be good parents. For soon our prayer, turned miracle, and soon real life baby in our arms; that is motivation to trust in God and celebrate the creation of life.

I love them both

Countdown to Parenthood: 10 weeks left

Wow the countdown is on. The past few months have gone by so quickly. I feel like I should prepare more, do more and learn more before she arrives. But they all say you are never fully ready. Which means I am now ready I guess.

This month we put up our tree and decorated for Christmas. Actually we did it last month. 3 to 3 1/2 hours after we arrived home from Thanksgiving we had our house decorated. Don't you feel like a lazy bum? We both enjoy this season and were excited to do it. The house does look beautiful. And our tree has a button on the floor that scooter has found and managed to turn the tree on twice by himself. I don't know if he realizes his power to control light or not.

I have been sick for 8 days now. Its been a pain to be sick for so long. Please be in prayer for my health and for Charissa dealing with a sick man for so long.

And as with every update, I will include the growth of our baby. I am really getting excited.

Grow, girl, grow!!


By 30 weeks pregnant your baby weighs almost 3 pounds and is just about 17 inches long! Your baby’s permanent teeth have developed and are “waiting” in her gums. At this point, your baby may be practicing nursing as she sucks her thumb. Also, she has a grip so strong it is capable of gripping onto your finger.

Now how cool is that?!

Back by popular demand....

More crib close ups and added changing table pics.....

...... you're welcome.....

The Crib is Ready

This weekend I put the crib together. It was a great experience. I have heard many guys talk about this tasks. They describe it like it as if it were a proud war story they had survived. For me, it was a little different. I put each piece together with giddiness. The excitement was seen on my smile. A joyous and tear jerking experience.

Charissa came in and cried as well. The guest room now looked like a nursery. You can see from the pics below what a great job Charissa did in making the bed skirt and bumper pads. I think they are awesome. She is so talented.

(Click on pictures to enlarge and see more detail)