6.5 months - Daddy Speaks!

So you have heard from the beautiful mother-to-be about all that has been happening....now, as Paul Harvey says....for the rest of the story!

1) She eats at least 5 times a day....and I love it! Not because I get to eat too, but because it goes against all of her normal household eating policies.

2) She is such a great mom-to-be. I can't tell you how much she does to ensure this little one comes out glowing with a flax-seed and vitamin filled smile!

3) She hasn't been sick or moody at all (ok 50% is true) Honestly, she (we) have been very fortunate to this point for a smooth 6.5 months - knock on wood.

4) Her biggest concern is how she is going to love our child as much as she loves our godson Jack...which is a heckuvalot!

5) We have finally come to terms on names....she just doesn't know it yet. What is the capital of Texas?? (god bless Texas!)

6) It sure is hard to name anyone with the second half of that name being STIFF (sorry Dad, Ben Stiff just can't be repeated.....you're a shoe-in for a male middle name (he would agree)).

7) I have read most of the books on my mandatory reading list.

8) I still have little to no idea what I am doing!

9) We are currently subscribed to every single baby magazine on the face of this planet....even ones that are published in Thailand - not sure how we got on their list (do you speak Thai? Jack talk Thai....Jack talk Thail reallll good.....yes, this is my shout out to Jack!)

10) This will likely be the last time I am allowed to blog, so let me finish by saying - my wife is amazing, smart, beautiful, fearless.....and I love her!

PS - our registry is listed on this blog - just in case anyone wanted to know :-)


Those are new pants - it would be wise if you complemented her on them! (thanks)

It's Jack....

A little treat on a Tuesday afternoon - Jack at 4.5 months.

24 weeks.....Still pregnant

A few shots from week 24. We have another doctor appointment on Thursday so hopefully a few more updates after that. The baby has really been moving around lately, especially at night - lots of kicking and/or punching. Same with Grant.

22 weeks and growing!

I was gone for 5 days last weekend in St. Louis and when I got home Grant was a bit shocked by how much the belly has popped in such a short amount of time. Not only did I grow a bit while out of town, but I came down with a nasty head cold that is slowly getting better. You'll have to ignore the red, puffy eyes in the picture.



Being back in St. Louis was great, despite not feeling so well. My lovely mother took care of me (as my father graciously opened his wallet) and my sister flew into town as well. We were able to 'steal' our little nephew Jack from his very gracious parents. I don't think the little guy went the whole weekend without somebody holding him. Here are a few pics of the most precious baby ever at just over 3 months old.

Just because he's so precious....

This is our little godson, Jack, who couldn't be cuter if he tried. He is now 3 months old and I'm sure excited to have a cousin in a few months to pal around with. Don't you just want to

eat him alive???

Bonus Photos!

We are adding one more ultrasound photo from the other day. For those of you who keep trying to guess the sex of the baby and spoil the surprise (Peg), shame on you. If you can tell from any of these photos, you deserve a doctorate.

Halfway there!

We just had our 20 week ultra-sound appointment today. Although technically the baby is 19 weeks, two days old. All is well with little Stiffler! He/she is healthy and while the doctor looked for a number of possible oddities with the ultrasound, he couldn't find any. Our baby is growing as he/she should and the heart, brain, heartbeat, etc. were all strong. The baby had the hiccups during the test which was pretty precious to watch the little body jumping around. Little Stiffler is about 6.5 inches (crown to rump) and 10 ounces. Our Doctor now knows the sex of our little baby, but we have elected to keep it a surprise.

You'll see our little guy/gal is already highly intellectual (just like mom) and perhaps contemplating the results of Super Tuesday with the hand to the chin.

And, we're throwing in a belly shot for good measure, against better judgement.