Things have been really crazy here recently. We have been to three baby classes all of which have been decent to great. We went to the coldest baseball game I have ever been to, a rainy 40 degrees. Baseball is awesome, but even its innate awesomeness could not overcome the weather, the old fashioned butt whupping that the Sox got, and worst of all for a pregnant cutie pie, the dude next to us launched his lunch all over the place. Yuck. We hung in there until around 10:30 when the temps plunged into the 30s. Then it was time to go.

Our little friend (no not the Tony Montana's little friend) has been doing a lot. It may just be me, but I swear that when he moves and I tap, he moves in response. We have a good thing going: move, tap, move; move, tap, move. I put a little pressure on where he moves and he moves again. It is pretty darn cool.

We are also getting the big rolls and movements now, like the visible ones. And that is pretty cool. Sometimes the lil' guy will be sitting funny and Bianca will lean to one side. And her belly button, much to my surprise, is still hanging on. It now only vaguely resembles a belly button, sort of like when you write a word on a rubber band and then STRETCH it. Its there but almost unrecognizable.

We had something of a crib disaster, which, when the kid isn't born yet, is far less serious. Our crib, which was a semi-custom color, was stuck in transit. You'd think, since it was coming from Europe, that it was the Icelandic ash cloud that was causing the problems, but no, it was just good old fashion ineptitude. It was in a Canadian port waiting to be unloaded. That reply strikes me as a bit of horse manure, but maybe it is true. A pregnant mommy meltdown was averted, and boy did she have a right to be sad, we have been waiting for 10 weeks, by a quick change in color. Now, it is supposedly on its way.

Emergency Edit. Everyone needs to go to Myles and Colby's site for the most HI LARIOUS picture ever. It is entitled Holy Static Electricity. Here is the site.

6 weeks and 6 days and counting.

There is little doubt about Bianca's status as a preggo. Yesterday while waiting to be seated at a restaurant, a woman saw Bianca standing and gave her husband a look. He then gave the universal male signal that he had no idea what she was talking about (it is sort of like a combination shrug and "Hey!" face). A quick jab to the ribs and a point at Bianca's belly and the guy offered to give up his seat. We had been sitting the entire day at the baby class so Bianca Rose declined.

The baby class was quite the experience. The person that led the class was a nurse who had worked in delivery for 17 years. She was great. There were 9 couples there--2 boys, 6 girls, and one unknown. There was also a guy in the class who was a total jerk. Despite the walls of the hospital being plastered with signs to the contrary, he was smoking up a storm--around pregnant ladies. He was also a loudmouth. At one point he went on this five minute tirade about how women should stop complaining because child birth is the most nature thing in the world. He was European and now I know why Europeans have a reputation for being incredibly rude. Here in America we call it psychopathy, in Europe it is called expressing yourself. Seriously, had the thin veil of civilization fallen, even for a minute, a la Lord of the Flies, the pregnant women and their husbands would have descended upon him like a wounded deer surrounded by wolves.

The class itself was great. It was a little freaky (okay A LOT freaky) to watch people give birth. I imagine if you are the kind of person that is willing to have your birth filmed by a film crew, then you are already more on the exhibitionist side of the spectrum, but some of these ladies were COMPLETELY in the buff pushing out kids. It was really weird. Then there was the birth itself which is kinda unappetizing.

I have to admit--Bianca going through that much pain and suffering is perhaps my worst nightmare. I know she will be able to handle it--she is super strong, determined, and she has always had an abundance of endurance. I also know that we will have this great kid on the other side of it, but like a lot of big, discrete moments in life, the labor sort of blots out everything in the future. It is such a life changing event, such a shift that I can't begin to figure out what it will be like on the other side. We'll get through it and Bianca will be great. It is the fear of the unknown that is so complicated to deal with.

We have to go get some baby supplies. At the class Bianca was using an exercise ball and it really helped her back. She also had a few massage items that worked well. It was a real bonding experience to see the process. Oh and after the graphic videos Bianca could ask me to do just about anything and I would.

Peanut is 8 weeks and counting.

The first of the siren's songs: lightsabers, star fighters and Star Wars.

At Easter Myles and I sat down and watched the best parts of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (i.e. the starship battles and lightsaber duels). Little Anthony Manna had received a Star Wars package from Peter Cottontail and it included the movie. The movie is a bit intense, but Myles, without the aid of any adult saw the "flash swords" and became locked in a wide-eyed, mouth agape position. He loved the "rocket ships" and the "flash swords" a lot. Each time the lightsabers clashed he shook with giddy glee. I sat behind him watching him watch the movie. Even Blankie got to see. I realized based on his reaction and Anthony Manna's reaction that the love of Star Wars is innate in boys. It is seated in the brain right next to the Fight or Flight and motor neurons. Myles kept telling people who walked by that he "liked the movie though it was a little scary." I fast forwarded through all of the scary parts, any injuries or deaths, and all of the HORRENDOUS George Lucas dialog. The movie ended up being about 22 minutes long. But they were a good 22 minutes. If, one day, I...errr...Peanut happens to get a Force FX lightsaber (click on the link it is TOTALLY worth it) I think Myles would explode with excitement. And so would I. When Colby would crawl/drag himself over, Myles would let out a scream of "Colby Attack" and push him away. Even Colbeans was entranced by the flash swords. Hopefully there are no negative consequences of the viewing as Domenic told me that he has been waking up in the night. Call me if there is and I will explain how to Force Push the Boogie Man.

And then there was Opening Day. The second of the siren's songs.

I can't wait to explain the rules of baseball to Peanut and explain how great this game is. How it is better than football, basketball, hockey, soccer, racing, and everything else athletic in nature combined. I can't wait to explain to him the stats. I can't wait to explain to him all of the sayings (flyed out instead of flew out). I can't wait for him to listen to the games on the radio like I did, with a battery powered radio under his pillow to the soothing sounds of Marty Brennamen calling Ron Robinson's almost perfect game (click on that link too, Retrosheet is AWESOME). I can't wait to explain to him the thrill of catching a foul ball, especially after evading a fat guy coming out of the bathroom. Finally, I cannot wait, absolutely CANNOT WAIT to take Peanut to his first game where he is not just a baby blob.

Siren's songs await.