celebration of and disillusionment with humanity

Babies everywhere! From J-Lo and Jessica Alba to our friends and ourselves, procreation is in the air. On Tuesday another friend gave birth to a stunning baby boy. Privileged with holding him, I was shocked that he felt exactly the same way that Kirsten's belly feels as Baby Marcus squirms. She has become big enough that even when she's not moving, we can feel her rear sticking out and her feet pushing.

Shockingly, while our friends were delivering their baby, their neighbors were robbing their house. Boldly leaning a ladder against the front of the house, they climbed in a second floor window and proceeded to carry garbage bags full of valuables back to their own house, two doors down. Fortunately, another neighbor was home and called the police, who arrived as our friends' flat screen TV was being unbolted from their wall. A chase ensued through the neighborhood and dogs were brought in to eventually subdue the neighbors, I mean burglars, I mean...who the heck robs a house while the mom's at the hospital giving birth?! This crime is far more disheartening than our own brush with shopping cart thievery at IKEA.

Luckily, our friends are taking it in stride. The mom says, "If it weren't for the baby, I would be very upset right now. He helps keep things in perspective."

Baby Stuff

Hovering on the cusp of the third trimester, we have begun preparations for the arrival of Baby Marcus. Last night we attended an eye-opening class with a "lactation consultant". My notes...

• Breast feeding is very, very good
• The first few weeks may freak us out
  

The weekend before we purchased the Cadillac of strollers, the Bugaboo Cameleon. See their silly promo video:



Or, for something truly disturbing, check out the Bugaboo Bee's interpretive stroller dance:



I was attracted to the Cameleon's powerful functionality and off-roading capabilities. Kirsten claims this is what sold her too, but I suspect she was swayed by its hip NYC urban fashion. Three cheers for craigslist, which enabled us to get the stroller plus accoutrements for half price!

You'll also notice I've redecorated the sidebar to make it obscenely baby focused. Enjoy the photos, which will be updated as our girl progresses from ultrasound to infant to teenager to contestant on American Gladiators 2030. If you're so inclined, visit our baby registry and help her on her way!

All hail the coming of Braelyn

Our friends David and Sahra just had a little girl. Kirsten and I saw her the other night and she is impressively tiny and cute. Now we're more eager than ever to meet our own. Four months to go!

was there something in the wine?

Congrats to Dave and Sahra, Philipp and Helen & Thor and Ewa...three couples who were at our wedding and are currently expecting kids. Our little Marcus-ette should have plenty of playmates!

It's a girl!

Shortly before our second trimester screening today, I flipped a coin. Heads and we would have a boy, tails and we would have a girl. The coin came up heads. Add to that some old wives' tale analysis of belly position and kicking frequency and we were pretty sure a son was on the way. As such, we were genuinely surprised when the ultrasound tech showed us our little daughter.

Kirsten and I are still adjusting to the new reality. Will our house be filled with pink? Will I have to intimidate future boyfriends? Will my own flesh and blood go shopping for fun?!

I may not know a lot about girls or how they function or what motivates them or...OK, anything at all. But I'm still excited about our little Kirsten-David supergirl. I mean, a little boy who can climb trees and do wilderness survival is rambunctious. A little girl who can do these things will be quite the hard core kick butt rock and roller. A vision of the future Marcus-ette is forming.

Bun in oven

In a miracle of biology, Kirsten DNA has combined with David DNA to produce an incredible Kirsten-David superchild. This child has been growing and forming for the past three months. We have six more months until we're formally introduced. Kirsten and I can hardly wait.

Knowing very little about pregnancy or babies, we've been studying hard and learning a lot. What to Expect when You're Expecting has been a great handbook. We've picked up baby sign language bit by bit. Hopefully our childrearing skills will be trained to a kung fu-like agility by the time our child arrives.

Also, we must sing the awesome praises of ultrasound technlogy. The ultrasounds have been an eye-popping way to visit our forming child and preview its incredible profile. We've watched it swim and kick and bounce within its watery home. We had no idea our kid could be so animated at this early stage. The ultrasound can't yet tell us if we're having a boy or girl...that'll come in mid-January.

We expect to introduce Junior to the world this June.