the due date is here. where is the baby?

Baby Marcus is due today.

Kirsten has started her maternity leave, but so far there's nobody to maternitize.

Aunt Barbara suggests that 6/7/08 would be a cool birthday. We agree, although if she wants to come sooner that would be cool too!

married one year

Sunrise...sunset. Sunrise...sunset. Today is our first anniversary. After twelve months of marriage, I'm happy to say that Kirsten, bulging with the promise of new life, looks even more beautiful than on our wedding day.

As we eat our defrosted wedding cake, we reminisce on the past year. We had our dream Asia honeymoon, a "second honeymoon" in the Adirondacks, the excitement of a positive pregnancy test, a Rocky Mountain New Years Eve, a "third honeymoon" in Miami Beach and now the nervous anticipation of Baby Marcus' imminent arrival.

Meanwhile, one friend after another has joined us in the transition from couple to family. Two weeks ago, Brian Collins made the jump, marrying his adventurous British girlfriend and preparing to raise their impending child in Oxford. It was a stunningly unique and personal wedding. This is Brian's cousin, serenading the newlyweds with a South African wedding song.



We're off to enjoy a day that is remarkably sunnier than the misty May 18th of last year. Kirsten is drinking raspberry leaf tea, hoping to coax Baby Marcus out on this most romantic and auspicious of days. I have a feeling we have a little longer to wait.

locked and loaded

It's about 3 weeks from Baby Marcus' due date. Dr. DelPrete has confirmed what Kirsten and I have been feeling for awhile...she's in the vertex position, head down, butt up, feet to the side and ready to launch.

Thanks to the generosity of Kirsten's friends at last Saturday's baby shower, our apartment is filled with the necessary accoutrements of parenting. Now the only thing missing is the baby. Any day now...

Kirsten so far

I made this slide show of Kirsten's life for her baby shower last Saturday. Hope you enjoy!

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."

our pre-parenthood spring break

Miami was awesome. We enjoyed our last pre-parenthood vacation relaxing in the sunshine infused party land that is South Beach. Baby Marcus enjoyed (presumably) the surreal experience of swimming in Kirsten's belly as Kirsten swam in the Atlantic. Perhaps for some brief moment they were both doing the backstroke.

Our first day we spent soaking up sunshine after a long winter drought. Unfortunately, uneven application of sunscreen led to ridiculous and embarrassing patches of sunburn. Don't worry, though, Kirsten's belly was well-protected.

Day 2 we retreated to our hotel pool, which was a great environment for relaxing and meditating on our hypnobirthing techniques. We also worked through a fantastic book Kirsten bought on neuroplasticity. Between the guided visualization and breathing techniques from hypnobirthing plus the neuroplastic concepts of learning, we were able to have horizon-broadening travel without sacrificing any creature comforts.

Day 3 we encountered alligators in the everglades. Most were lounging lazily in the sunshine, however we spied one baby alligator shyly hiding in the grass. Here is a video:



Now it's Day 4. We spent the morning catching our last few precious rays of Florida sunshine. After lunch at what's become our favorite Ocean Drive eatery, News Cafe, we drove off in our rented PT Cruiser for the airport. Five minutes later, a tropical deluge swept over the beach, but the sun gods had kept us dry.

Very relaxed, and a little wistful, we await our flight home.

Miami!

Kirsten and I are off to Miami today. We're taking a last minute getaway while Kirsten can still fly. It will likely be our last trip as a couple for a long time. We dream of palm trees and Ocean Drive and long hours on the beach. Our flight can't leave soon enough!