No baby pictures yet, since there’s no baby… yet. She’s still twitching in Kelly’s occasionally contracting uterus. We’ve got about a week until the due-date still, so she’s technically allowed can take her time, but we are (Kelly most of all) eager to move past pregnancy and officially become new parents.
Family
Labor-Watch
Kelly’s contractions increased, so we decided to… panic? Nah. We played video games until midnight and slept – the contractions were at 20 minutes apart and less than 30 seconds in duration, so no hospital run last night. This morning, they appear to be picking up intensity and pace a little, so it’s shaping up to be an interesting weekend.
I’m going downstairs to install the car-seat, and we’ll run some quick errands.
We’ll share news as it comes.
Grandpa Fritz
Sunday morning, Kelly’s mom called on Dad’s behalf to share the news of my grandfather’s passing. He was in town barely more than a month ago to see Mom, and even at 91 still the heartiest man I’ve ever known. Two weeks ago doctors diagnosed him with colon cancer after a visit for abdominal issues, and his response was something to the effect of “I’ve lived a full and happy life – open me up and take it out if you can, otherwise sew me up and let me be,” refusing a quality of life hit from chemo or radiation. Surgery removed a baseball-size tumor from the colon, but unfortunately recovery did not go as planned, and he did not make it out of the ICU.
His presence and support will be sorely missed as our family grows, and I hope pictures and shared stories of memories will keep his spirit and strength with us.
…
No words right now.
http://anotherdaywith-eetman.blogspot.com/2007/07/last-day.html
Moved In!
Thanks to many friends’ assistance, Kelly and I are officially moved into our condo in the redeveloped Ely Walker building in Downtown, St. Louis. Many thanks to Sean, Jim, Steve, Amanda, Hans, Kurt, Amy, Henry, and Kelly (you’re probably the only people reading this anyway). I hope you’re not too sore, because you made the move go awfully quickly, and it is much appreciated! You’ve got dibs on the 2nd bedroom if you need a place to crash if you’re near.
We’re still looking at plenty of boxes to unpack and much stuff to sort and put away, but we were happy to sleep here for the first time Friday night. As for continuing to be in a multi-unit building (180ish in Ely I think), it’s generally much quieter than our past apartment at Terrace Lofts, so we had to run a fan for some white noise. I think we still woke several times as the AC kicked on since it’s a different sound. I’m so far pleased with the soundproofing, as neighbors provided no distraction last night, though the lobby offered a few audible creaks and conversations.
We’re going to have to clean our floors again. I already went through with the janitor’s mop, pushing dirt and dust off the floor, but I think we’ll have to do it again with a wetter mop to really pick up the tiny debris left from deliveries and moving. My socks still darken from these wooden floors. I’ll have to get the Roomba in here soon so it can make it’s daily rounds.
We’re currently mooching weak and inconsistent wireless Internet until the Telco and COVAD complete the circuitry for moving our Speakeasy DSL over, but I hope that comes quickly.
We’ve got our couch set up against the wall by the giant windows, which has my new favorite lounging place, but I’ve got to stand up to watch the people on the street. Street noise is also noticeably quieter, which is nice, though if someone’s decided they want to make noise outside, they’re typically heard. So it goes living on the trendy street.
Our next steps include finishing assembly of our bedroom furniture so we have places to put clothes and sleeping bodies; obtaining blinds for the Washington Avenue facing windows; organizing the remaining 12 kitchen boxes into fewer kitchen cabinets; wiring the TV for audio and video games, with cable/satellite to be decided soon; and again giving everything a cleaning once it’s where it’s supposed to be.
With so much to do, I don’t expect unpacking and re-settling to be a fast process.
Dad’s Blogging
Sadly, the current subject is rough right now, but now you can follow along.
Baby’s First Post
The heart is racing at 160 beats per minute.
The baby’s too.
They say the head is on the right, and the light spot on the bottom is an arm, and I don’t really remember much else besides “everything looks really good.”
Just. Wow.
Vacation Recap
A quick rundown:
- Kelly’s dad went to the hospital
- We cancelled our trip to New York
- Kelly had to go to the doctor (everything is OK, details TBA)
- Several hospital visits in the county
- Couch time with the Internet
- Spontaneous trip to Lambert’s Cafe
- Only one small work interruption (I’ve still not opened work email all week)
- A few bike rides
- Kelly’s dad came back home, feeling much better, I got wasted with mother-in-law
- Rainy (but excellent) afternoon wandering around the Zoo
- Dinner with my parents who went to NYC without us, as I miss going a third time (at least they came back with gifts)