Wednesday, September 30, 2009

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

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

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.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

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.

Friday, September 11, 2009

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)