Movin' and Shakin'

So a lot of things are happening around my neck of the woods right now... Life is buzzin' for sure thanks to the arrival of Jane of course... and I am almost 30 and excited about that... and the three hundred other things that Jen and I have managed to walk from unscathed this past year rolled up with some laughs and consistent reminders of who we are and what we are capable of as people.

(If sentiments make you sick, then just skip the next paragraph as the following paragraph basically just talks about going to the gym and taking Jane to her first UFC fight)

So today was the first time I really saw my parents' jobs from a different angle, due to becoming a parent myself of course. They did a wonderful job with me, seriously... a good job - I can't think of any complaints I have on anything they did as parents except for holding back on some of their funniest stories because I was 7... Today I had my "first as a parent" somewhat heartfelt chat with my mom about just life (and all the madness of the past few months) and the year for her... especially since her mother/my grandmother passed away before Jane's birth... and I realized for the first time in 29 years that the conversation she just had with me was the best part of her day (as it was mine) and the #1 priority on her list is me... (yes Linda, my wonderful sister, you and I share that same spot) ;) I always "knew" that in the past but I never "understood" it til Jane...

But now I know how it feels to be on the other end of that... I have realized being back at work that if Jen sends me a text and says "Jane's bottom just blew out again and she shit on her nipples" that for that moment that's the best shit that has ever occurred in my life; it doesn't matter that it's about shit, it's that it's Jane and that's a helluva feeling... and my goodness does she love to shit ;)

With that, we are all doing well. Jane's been home for about 11 days and she is doing great and sleeping a bit better at night. She keeps us entertained when she is awake and she is developing just like every other baby... by as much as she wants and makes effort to talk (I wonder where that came from) - it looks like she will say her first word in the next few days or so; we will keep you and the Guinness book of World Records posted... Jen and I are hoping for "burrito" but will settle on anything that's understandable, or English, or Spanish since I can speak it like a 2ND grader... or pig Latin.

What if the first thing she said was burrito? Who knows... I'd probably be too hungry to notice... ;)

Ryan, Jen, and Jane.

Jane in the NICU - Still Smiling!

Here's a quick video of Jane doing what she does... listen to the nurses in the background... we love it!

"Tug"

“TUG”
So I started this blog in order to really get a handle on my thoughts and feeling about the process of growing into a father and being able to share them with those that know our family, and even some that don’t. The process of actually having a child has been a really powerful thing... It's fun and exciting and challenging and I love the “unknowns”... what will she look like, what will her voice sound like, and is she gonna put us in a home, or maybe attempt to take care of us while I’m relishing in being an old man that can’t control his temper let alone his bowels... ;)

So for the parents that read the above statement, I’m sure every one of you can relate with what it's like becoming a parent and yet, our experience is completely unnatural and completely different then a “normal” birth that most go through... but the fundamental aspect of what it feels like and means to be a parent is still the same. I just think that’s pretty cool and that it's something I feel a lot of people lose sight of as life starts getting in the way. Anywho enough rambling on that...

Jane had her first surgery on November 6th. The procedure that was done was called a Damus Kaye Stansel, or as we called it: ”Plumbing” They basically did some things to the heart to allow her to grow and eat and progress until the next surgery sometime next spring...

She did great, man she is tough... tougher than Jen and I that’s for sure! The recovery is going great, we had a little hiccup on Sunday that really wore on Jen and I, but Jane has bounced back heavily from that also (like she seems to do with everything). I guess due to the heart surgery, there was a little bit of blood in her brain that caused her to have some mild seizures where she would basically hold her breath and not stop holding her breath... The docs said that there is no worry of any long time effects so that’s good.

Jane is still everyone in the NICU’s favorite baby, she has quite a fan club from nurses and doctors... it doesn’t hurt that she smiles at everyone she makes eye contact with! She is recovering well and we should have her home again soon which will be awesome!

Also the NICU has been great, Jen managed to get into a little scuffle with a nurse that I think was Grateful Dead’s tour nurse because her skin looked like something that would hang between moccasins and leather purses, her hair looked like Dumbledore’s, and she smelled like she slept with the Marlboro man. Jen took care of it very professionally with a “Do you want to feed her or are you going to let me feed my child?!” It was very warranted on Jen’s part and any of us would have done the same... of course they waited to exchange words while I was washing my hands, but they gave us a new nurse so that was great.

Well all in all she is doing well, we appreciate the love and support and I will update everyone when she comes home!

PS – We call her “Tug” because every time we walk up she smiles and Jen said it “tugs” on her heart...

-The Mulligans.

Surgery 1 - Accomplished

So today Jane had her first surgery, and everything went as planned! This is short as we are exhausted, and enjoy the video of Jane at home in her elements!

-Ryan, Jen, and Jane

19 Days

Wow.

What a great/crazy/stressful/love filled/crazy/great/stressful 19 days...

So Jane is here thank goodness and she is absolutely adorable and yes, I am biased. This update might be a bit long since I am going to bring everyone up to speed with Lil Jane and all her doings...

So the birth was great, it was super interesting for me and definitely a once in a lifetime experience... For those of you new to the whole C-section experience, it's pretty wild and happens really really fast... When they took Jen to put the spinal in and prep her, they put me in the longest hospital hallway/corridor I've ever seen. I'm not sure what separates a hallway from a corridor, but if a corridor is a 100+foot hallway with one chair in the middle of it and only doors on each end then I was in a corridor. So I sat in this corridor for about 15 minutes or 3 days... I realized that my sense of pre-birth timing is way off, but either way the 4ft 6in nurse came and got me and actually asked, "Excuse me sir, are you the father?" Considering she put me in this hallway with no one else I was thrown back by the question but went with her anyway. The whole process of Jen being strapped to a cross and Jane being pulled out of her was a fast one, but odd... They really did have Jen on a cross-like table with her hands straight out to the sides and one bright light illuminating her belly area, or the workbench as I called it... So moral of this story: with the light illuminating the birth and Jen being strapped to a cross just proves the point that Jen birthed the Lord...

Thank goodness Lil Jane had some fluid in their lungs that made the doctors want to check her out further. All her pre/post birth vitals were perfect and if they would not have recommended a trip to the NICU to see if there were fluids in her lungs or not, we would have gone home with a baby that seemed perfectly normal... So they took her to the NICU to run some tests and called us down about 11pm that night to get Jane so we could take her back to the room... again thinking all was good. But when we got down there to get her she sat up and her face turned a bit dusky blue (I love blue but after seeing dusky blue not so much a fan) then the PA decided to keep her overnight and ordered a chest x-ray which led to an echocardiogram to see the happenings with her heart... The next morning this is what we found out:

Jane's heart (a list of what is wrong, not all of them need to be fixed as Jane built her heart to make up for a lot of the issues, I'll list the surgeries after the issues)

1. Tricuspid Atresia
2. Dextrocardia
3. Mod to non restrictive VSD
4. Transposition of Great Arteries
5. Right Aortic Arch
6. Left Juxtaposed Atrial Appendages
7. Hypoplatic RV
8. Small PDA, PFO, and Left Superior Vena Cava.

Surgeries...

1. - Bidirectinal Glenn Superior Vena Cava to Pulmonary Artery
(to be done between 3 and 6 months of age, 2 week recovery time)

2. - Fontan
(to be done at 3 years of age, 3 week recovery time.

Day to Day:

We are to just monitor Jane consistently and fatten her up, all the while we need to watch to see if her vitals dip or her color changes to wonderful dusky blue... but other than that we are getting the routine down and enjoying out time with her.

As for Jane, for those that have yet to meet her... she is adorable... extremely independent, stubborn as can be and extremely happy she smiles and laughs like crazy...

Mom and I are doing really well, it's been great to go through all this with Jen as she is unbelievable... we are both very future focused in this situation and just want our little girl to get better. Jen and I are maintaining the positivity that has gotten us where we are today, and we can definitely tell that Jane has it as well.

Thanks to everyone, I cannot even list the people that have helped, loved, and supported us through this. Eset (my work) has been phenomenal... the entire Grandparent Gang has been unbelievable as well - all 7 of them helping out in every way they can... Our friends have been unbelievable and I do need to give a special shout out to Karina for being so awesome during all this and really taking care of Jen and I.

Other than that I am back to weekly updates on the blog... I love doing it, and I love sharing Jane's life with everyone and thank you all again.

Talk to you next week.

:)

Jane Eve

Jane Eve

So for those that know me (which is probably the majority of you reading this blog): I love music. Music is one of the few things that the majority of people on this earth have in common. Sometimes music can just say it better, sometimes music can just show it better, and sometimes it can just help us take a step back for a minute and help us change our perspective… You are probably wondering what this has to do with Jane - well it’s important for me to translate my and Jen’s love of music to her, I mean music has been more a part of who Jen and I are than almost anything and it’s important for us to make sure Jane has music around her.

So, one thing our parents didn’t have in the delivery room was the ability to bring in a cassette tape player - or I’m sure I would have been born to Smokey Mountain Rain or Tennessee River, but I wasn’t. I was just born to silence and odd noises. I love that with technology where it is today we can bring an iPod into the delivery room and have our own personal soundtracks.

Below is a copy of the playlist that we will be playing for Jane’s arrival… Now I do have to say that not all of the songs are directly related to Jane only; they are a combination of songs that have changed my life, Jen’s life, and our lives together. So feel free to check out the list, and even check out the songs if you have never heard of them… there are some good ones on here! ☺

I’ve always said my music collection is slower than most… it’s evident below….
About 24 hours to go, and we are excited!
-Ryan

Jane’s Delivery Room Playlist
1. One Day Like This – Elbow
2. Thank You Too – My Morning Jacket
3. As – Stevie Wonder
4. Save Room – John Legend
5. Make You Feel My Love – Adele
6. And I Love Her – The Beatles
7. Weather to Fly – Elbow
8. Why was I Born? - Billie Holiday
9. First Day of My Life – Bright Eyes
10. The Bones of You – Elbow
11. Sometime Around Midnight – The Airborne Toxic Event
12. You Are the Best Thing – Ray Lamontagne
13. The Very Thought of You – Frank Sinatra
14. Extraordinary Machine – Fiona Apple
15. Mykonos – Fleet Foxes
16. She’s Got A Way - Billy Joel
17. You are My Face – Wilco
18. Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley
19. I Can Hold You In My Arms Tonight
20. The Blower’s Daughter – Damien Rice
21. Something You Got – Harry Connick, Jr.
22. Silver Lining – Rilo Kiley
23. Wonderwall – Ryan Adams
24. I’m Amazed - My Morning Jacket
25. Evergreen – Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
26. Run – Snow Patrol
27. Family Tree – TV on the Radio
28. What Light – Wilco

48 Hours...WOW!!

Now we are really close!(Phew) We are both getting excited of course, and all the family is starting to arrive which is great! Jen's mother made the trip from across the pond on Saturday and it's nice to have her in town for sure! Jen is ready for the baby to be out and a margarita (me too). So, Thursday at 4:30 is when Jane is expected to arrive and I will definitely be making sure that everyone is in the loop as soon as she shows up. I attached a picture taken a week ago of Jen in the final stretch...man she looks great!

I showed up to work yesterday, you know to plan my week and get things ready like I do every work week, and when I arrived at work and opened my Outlook calendar to see what I had going on, I realized that this work week is a bit different...On Thursday instead of the usual conference call and the gathering by the coffee maker, my calendar says that at 4:30 it will be Jane's arrival. Well as soon as I read that I did what ever other expecting father should do and closed my calendar...took a deep breath...and completely mentally checked out of work.

If you need me, Ill be the guy at my desk crouched in front of my computer screen reading news sites and looking over my shoulder for another warranted distraction..

-Ryan.

8 Days a Week.

8 Days a week.

Kind of fitting that a Beatles song about love being a privilege is the title of this blog, as Jane’s arrival is in 8 days. It’s pretty crazy how fast it goes...again this is a blog from my point of view (I can hear all the ladies saying in unison, “went by fast for you, you’re not pregnant.”) Again for me it went fast...for Jen, not so much but I do think it’s been quicker than she expected...

So a whole lot has happened in the span of 8 months and 3 weeks. We have gone from jobless and having nothing to being overly worked ;) and extremely content...all the while awaiting the arrival of our newest family member Jane....

This past week we have spent relaxing and spending as much quality time together as possible and it’s been a blast! We finished the baby room finally, and I attached a pic to see what everyone thinks, it’s a bit different than your average baby room, but hey so are we...

Also the entire baby room was incident free...well almost, minus the moment that I walk into the room and Jen is standing on a chair reaching as high as she can to paint part of the wall... while 8.5 months pregnant... That didn’t make me too happy, but the mental picture of her reaching up pregnant on a rickety chair was funny (especially since she did not hurt herself).

So eight days to go till I am a father, and I am the responsible male figure in Jane’s life...it’s crazy how this whole situation arrived in our lives at the time it did...both of us unemployed, and without any time or money to raise a child...yet here it is..Not much time has passed and we are more ready than either of us ever imagined... So before all this craziness that is Jane arrives, I want to take a minute, on behalf of both Jen and I, to thank our parents, step parents, and grandparents for the ability to translate life, love, laughter, and direction to both us all the while allowing us to grow as individuals and prepare us for this new adventure......again parents and grandparents.....thank you a ton.

And thank you ahead of time for the babysitting.

36 weeks, 1 day, and a Swimming Pool

36 Weeks 1 day...

So where to begin...we have been a little under the radar the past couple of weeks attempting to get in some downtime before Jane gets here, and it has definitely been some much needed relaxing....

And now for some updates...first thing is that Jane will be delivered by C-Section on October 1st at 4:30 pm. Since I’m new to this I’m comparing it to the dentist for now....We set an appointment, we get there, they do something uncomfortable to Jen and instead of leaving with a toothbrush, we get to bring home a baby!

So I have a little riddle for everyone...what do you get when you mix a swimming pool, unsupervised children with water guns, and a woman that’s 8 months pregnant? I’ll tell you the answer...you get a scene, which is exactly what we had on Saturday.

We decided that it would be a good idea to have some of our friends over for a nice relaxing day at the pool. Everyone came over, we had a great setup at the pool where everyone is relaxing and enjoying the day when 2-3 kids about 10 years old get into the pool with water guns. Jen is sitting on the steps, I’m about 200 feet away sitting in the cabana, and I notice Jen and the girls asking the kids to please stop spraying them with water (yes they asked nicely). So the kids did what you would expect a kid to do and kept spraying them...after Jen asked a 3rd time if they would stop, she decided it would be time to find the parents so she asks louder, “please stop and where are your parents?” Mind you, I’m 200 feet away and I heard her, so I know the parents heard her...well nothing was done and the kids sprayed Jen again. Jen is sitting on the 1st step so no one can tell she is pregnant since her belly is under the water... She asks the kid again, he doesn’t stop so she starts trudging through the water to take away his water gun... A scuffle ensues between 8 month pregnant Jen and the 10 year old...NOW the parents are aware (it’s about time) and Dad starts sprinting from his seat yelling at Jen to get away from his son... So Jen starts trudging towards the steps, and I start running over to stop the Dad from getting to close to Jen, not for Jen’s sake but for the Father of course... he would have got killed! Well the shock of the day was when Jen actually stepped out of the water and the father and the entire swimming pool area realized that Jen was pregnant. The dad’s tone changed a bit (thank god) when he saw she was pregnant combined with the earful that Jen gave him (man I love her when she does that). After that it all calmed down a bit and we ended up packing up and heading back home. The father came over and apologized to Jen later but it was quite an entertaining moment for everyone involved...well except for the 10 year old, who for the rest of his life will have a crazy fear of Pregnant women.

The moral of the story is this: We are ready to be parents...both of us are, we know that it won’t be easy, we know that it’s going to be filled with unexpected surprises, but we also know that we are going to love the crap out of Jane, and instill the family and social values that we cherish so much. Jen may be 8 months pregnant and picking warranted fights with 10 year olds, but everyone knows you can’t blame the child...you have to blame the people that are here to look after them and make sure they make good decisions and are respectable to the rest of the world.... It was a good time for us to see this lesson in action, because as future parents, it gives us a reminder of the influence our character will have on our children...

Well sorry it was so long, but it was a pretty funny story, and I wish all of you could have seen Jen marching up the steps and over to that Dad, with her big ol belly full of Jane, handling her business, demanding respect, standing up for herself and rubbing her tummy the whole time.

Jane is one of the luckiest girls in the world by having Jen as her Mother, and I can’t wait to see them grow up together, well at least until she is about 13...Then I probably will be looking for some quiet time..

Talk to everyone soon...3 weeks away and we will have something that hopefully looks like a human.

-Ryan (Baby Daddy)

34 weeks - Where to begin?

Where to begin?

So first off, I would like to extend a huge amount of thanks to the 135,412 of you that provided gifts to us so that Jane has a good beginning to her life by having EVERYTHING that they make for a baby.
In all seriousness we appreciate the gifts a ton, and are so happy to have such great supportive friends and family and we are looking forward to the challenge of helping Jane not be too spoiled. ;) ***

So on to some updates...we had baby shower #2 this past Saturday and it was quite an interesting group of girls! I’m pretty sure everyone had a good time - and I judged this not on the amount of laughter or chatter when I walked in the door but the 337 bottles of champagne that adorned the trash cans... All the ladies made onesies for Jane and there were some really good ones, I’m sure we will get use out of each one! A quick shout out to Jill and the ladies of the Mango Mansion (Lindsay and Karisa) for putting it all together, you guys did a great job so thank you!

Saturday night we had some dinner with the family in Little Italy, and Jen had her gelato. Then Sunday we had our hospital tour, which was informative and entertaining, especially to see Jen sweat a little bit when the lady put the foot holders (stirrups?) up on the bed; Jen went pale and she won’t even be using them. I also found out they have an entire store at the hospital devoted to breast feeding... I never saw that one coming... I guess if you're into breast pumps and feeding bras then it’s probably heaven to some... I wonder if they work on commission???

Well as we wrap up week 34 Jen is still doing great although she has recently been handicapped by "Jane's" Wii, which we recently acquired with the HDTV (for Jane of course) . The game is called World of Goo and in the credits it should say that the game was specifically designed for Jen - I think she played for about 4 hours straight yesterday, and who knows for how long today. It’s a logic based puzzle game as well which to me just doesn’t make sense but she loves it, and we know Jane loves it...

Tomorrow is the official “your baby should live without complications if it were to be born from this point forward”

So we got that going for us ;)

*** - All bold statements in this post are for the grandparents.

33 Weeks, a quick glimpse into our lives

So I can’t wait to meet Jane...

I had a dream last night that Jen and Jane were walking in front of me in the parking lot holding hands and she had Jens laugh and lil snort... I couldn’t see a face but she had dark hair... When I heard her laugh in my dream, and recognized it as Jens, it became lucid for a minute where I knew I was in a dream and I just wanted to see what Jane looked like... I was just in the process of catching up to them....

Then our wonderful cat Monster had to relieve herself in the litter box and woke me up meowing and scratching on the walls...

i don't think she likes Jane already.

32 weeks 4 days

Well it has been quite an eventful past couple of weeks to say the least! Jen has been running around all over Northern California for the last 3 weeks directing Mulan jr. with about 60 kids ages 9-14. I went up there the last 2 weekends to see everyone as well... 2 weekends ago when I was up there, we had the opportunity to do some shopping (haggling) in China Town for costumes for the play, and we decided to take Jane along (as if she had a choice). It turns out China Town is just Tijuana with a different language...and minus the drug killings and dirty ice of course. I learned how many bags of clothing and plastic swords I could carry at one time (60 kids in the play remember) and Jane learned that she likes Dim Sum (thanks Theresa!) so overall it was a busy and very eventful weekend and I didn't even talk about what we did Saturday at the family picnic!

Then this past weekend I was up there to support Jen during the performances of the play and man she did an amazing job directing these kids. The stage was great, the acting was great, they sang in harmonies and they learned how to do it all in a matter of 3 weeks! Jen worked so hard that she actually lost a pound even though Jane gained a pound, don't worry the Doc says it's all good.

Seeing these 9-14 year old kids sing this weekend made me think of something...I wonder if Jane will be able to sing, well actually at this point I'm hoping she actually can speak normal but if she can, what will her voice sound like? I'll tell you this...she BETTER get her mom's or my dad's voice - well you get the idea. I don't want her to sing for the first time and hear my dad's voice that would be just weird, but I hope she can actually hold a note since her dad (me) has no singing ability whatsoever... I have to be the most tone deaf musician alive, like a no-armed bowler...

So this morning we had our Dr. appt and Momma came down to check out the sonogram...we confirmed again that we are having a girl and not a boy, or a baby with both kibbles and bits ;) Jane now weighs 4lbs and is about 18in long. My mom (Momma) got to see the sonogram which was cool. Everything is right on track - the first shower is down and the second one is this weekend. We already have so much stuff and we are looking forward to getting more, just not quite sure where to put it all!

We are slowly introducing Monster and Tiddles to Jane's things... Oh yeah those are our cats that are 18lbs and 24lbs respectively! Tiddles just wants to sleep on her clothes, and Monster just wants to eat and could care less about her things... We will see how they change once Jane gets here!

I'm sure this was long enough and most of you probably gave up reading by now, but if you didn't then I'm sorry for fooling you into my ramblings. Take care and we will update you in the next few weeks.

31 weeks and where is my Baby Mama!

So Jane is now hitting the 31 week mark, which is crazy... It keeps moving faster and faster. How's Jen you ask? I'm not sure...over the telephone she said that she is doing well, getting a little hot, and ready to meet her daughter! Jen has been in San Francisco for the past two weeks working on a play, which she loves annnnnnd she just had her first baby shower on Sunday! (loot)! Thanks to everyone who provided us with gifts to assist Lil' Jane when she gets here...the next few weeks my time will be divided amongst living my life, P90X (man its hard) and putting together anything baby related...from 0 to handyman in about 6 weeks.

Soooooo the challenge for this week, since we have Halloween pretty much figured out, is.... What should we do for a Holiday card? If you know Jen and I, chances are we are probably going to aim for something funny/nicely offensive.... I would like to somehow incorporate a onesie for Jane that says "Now that I am safe, I am pro choice" but that might be a bit much ;)

Oh yeah...the garden update: Jane currently is about the size of 4 naval oranges...about 16in long and about 3.3lbs...man she is already bigger than I was when I was born...I hope she has a normal sized head though, for Jen's sake at least....

Hope everyone is well!!!

Jane Mustafa - 29 weeks

So I used to always poke fun at people that counted their babies age in weeks…till I was about to have a baby. My goodness, every website, every person you speak with, everything baby related is a week long process so this week, is week 29! Maybe it’s because parents realize that their babies grow constantly day in and day out and it’s a better way to manage all the changes…who knows but I’m slowly getting used to it.

Jen this week is feeling great, I’m bummed because she will be in San Francisco for the next 3 weeks, man I’m getting separation anxiety just writing this… I’m not that much of a fan of her being gone at 29 weeks pregnant. (See, I count in weeks) It will be great for her though and I will definitely be making a few trips up there to visit, someone has to continue to whisper Jane’s hopeful first word of “burrito” into Jen’s belly!

Speaking of Jen, we have been having a lot of conversations lately about what we think little Jane will look like…(I’m praying anything close to Jen, and hopefully she won’t look like cabbage, which is how big she is this week) We share no similar features so it’s kind of a crap shoot, a baby crap shoot. Jane could have a round face with great big sparkling eyes like Jen or a pointy nose, sunken small eyes and a strict jaw line like me….So for your viewing pleasure we took a 100% accurate morphing picture of the two of us, you know just see the possibilities and after our results we have now learned that we are having a terrorist. Does Jane mean Mustafa in terrorist? Hmmmm well check the pictures and see for yourself….

Week 27 - An English Hothouse Cucumber

So I have a quick question before I start this new update....Why do the "baby" sites always compare the baby to a fruit or vegetable so that you can get an idea of how big the baby is...

This week it looks like we are growing a cucumber. So I googled some pics of English Hothouse Cucumbers and again they look nothing like a baby. Now is the vegetable supposed to tell us how big the baby is? I don't know about you but I have seen small cucumbers and large cucumbers and neither of them ever reminded me of a baby... Any who maybes its because I don't enjoy fruit and vegetables that much as it is, that I am completely confused by the baby comparisons to them...

OK now that I am done with that its time for some real updates:

Jen is doing well still, we had a fantastic weekend meeting a lot of the family in Washington which I truly enjoyed. Jane is going to have an amazing extended family and we are super lucky for that. Jen hung in there good and only had to use ice a few times, but she can't wait to have Jane so that she can get back to her RA medicine! I can't wait either since its a bit tough sometimes seeing her in pain and pregnant and not being able to do anything about it.

We have also spent a bit of time thinking about what kind of fun we are going to have with Jane, and since she is due in October (by C-section, which the doctor is recommending) we began brainstorming on Halloween costumes that we can dress her up in. Hey until she is old enough to decide for herself we will use this holiday as a form of entertainment for us... Some of the ideas we have so far are below and I encourage any of you to let us know of any others!

Jane and Co. Halloween Costume Ideas:

1. Siegfried AND Roy, Jen and I will dress up as white tigers
2. A cop, Jen and I will be the prisoners
3. A Pirate Captain, Jen and I will be just regular pirates...(baby's in eye patches...that's funny)
4. Lion Tamer, Jen and I will be lions

Please let us know if you have any costume ideas and make sure they are funny ;)

Other than that, all is well on our end and we are getting more and more excited everyday. We are both gaining weight still, her more than I thank god and we can't wait to see what this little girl that we created is gonna be all about...

I'm secretly hoping that shes a stand up comic, we can dream can't we?

Week 25 - Mother is ready!

So here we are, progressing into this crazy thing called parenthood. This week we received a good test as to if we are ready for Jane Ellen or not...guess what, we are! (Jen = slightly more than I) ;)

Jen's friends and their wonderful 2 month old stayed over at our place this past week. It was great having little Jack around and to really take note that babies at that age basically just eat, sleep, and dirty up diapers... it's wonderful... sounds slightly like my dream life! I also learned that babies like guitar. I think this little secret will help us immensely when it comes to getting lil Jane to stop crying... or to at least entertain myself while she is.

The question came up this weekend, "So Ryan would you like to change Jack's diaper, it would be good for you to get some practice." Normally I would jump at the opportunity to change the lil guy's diaper but then my practical mind came into play... I responded with a polite "No, thank you" and let them know that the reason is this: I have never changed a diaper in my life, and I am actually holding out for Jane. I think our daughter should be the first diaper I change... I made it this far why not wait a little longer? Plus, I'm pretty sure I will get enough practice at it since I noticed that the diaper changing happens about, oh, 4-100 times per day...

Mother is doing well, keeping herself busy and not resting enough is starting to become a habit... Her RA flares up here and there, but overall she is a trooper and doesn't complain at all, although the "What are we eating next?" meal planning is getting intense. All meals need to be planned out at the beginning of each day, otherwise she can't focus on anything else until the planning is done. Another example as to why I need to plan all workouts to coincide with all meals...

Other than that, Jane is supposedly the size of an average rutabaga; which would mean so much more to me if I have actually ever seen one, or knew what it was. It sounds like a late model Chevy. I googled and it's a turnip... I am still puzzled... maybe I'll have it figured out by the next time I write an update.

:)

Week 23 - It's really in there

So this is my first post.... I figured I would wait till 23 weeks of this crazy thing to start blogging about it. Why, you ask? No big reason except now there is something in her belly now, slightly resembling an actual human....which is as weird as hell in its own right but pretty cool nonetheless...

Mother is fantastic of course. She has barely put on any weight ( I would normally divulge the actual statistics to you, but as of the writing of the blog, approval from the source has yet to be received.) Therefore, please at this point think of a weight, then subtract 10, she looks normal from behind and just a little round belly in the front its adorable... I can't lie...

I had no idea that pregnancy meant that the mother to be learns how to be a Chef. I sometimes think that Giada de Laurentis is actually our personal chef, and a friend of ours. I have never eaten as well as I have since Jen's been pregnant, I think its trickery on her part... Either way, my doctor would probably be worried about me! Ok to really give you some information, it's amazing. If Jane can cook half as good as her mother on a bad night this world would be a better place. Everything is always made like its on TV, and perfect...at some point I pray that when Jane comes, this new found and newly explored love of Jen's never leaves...She could have a TV show, a pregnant cooking motherly glow cooking show, and i'll eat the food she makes and probably say something to the likes of, "This ones my favorite." "No seriously it is."

Well thats the updates for us so far, Ill get back everyweek till Jane arrives for the family... because if our friends have any desire to continually read this, well then we will know which ones are thinking about having some of their own.)

In summary:
Jane - Good I think, not sure how to tell but she moves, then stops after Jen eats. (yep, she's related)
Mother - Fantastic, can't sit still. Nesting wonderfully. Beautiful, Larger than when we met. Beautiful.
Me - Fantastic. I wanna build something...Thats normal right?