3 Years Later

Happy Anniversary babe.  I have a feeling this is one we won't forget.  

I love you.

Pictures of Child Rapidly Outnumbering Pictures of Cat

With hands at 10 & 2 and checking his blind spot, it was clear from an early point in Owen's life that he was a safe child.

Pretty cute to have a baby wrapped up like a burrito hanging out in a doughnut with a monkey.

  

And his first car ride.  Pretty benign, but exciting for us none the less.  

First Family Photo

Well, here is the first photo of the three of us.  This was taken right before we were discharged today.  Owen is nice and secure in his 5 point harness.  Carrie and I are really, really happy to be outside of a 10 x 10 room.  This is the first time Carrie will have been outside the hospital in about 5 days.  It was really weird to be in the outside world with him.  We became the authorities on the little guy, which is scary because all we really know is that he likes to eat, sleep and poop.  Also, changing diapers - not that bad. 

P.S. Picture in background... totally Scottsdale.

The Little Man Is Here

Owen Andrew Wilhelme is here!

Born April 22nd, 2008 at 10:31 pm (Earth Day Baby!)

9 pounds, 5 ounces and 22 inches long (Huge!)

Brownish, blond hair and blue eyes (for now)

Chubbiest cheeks ever and little old man face (an old soul)

We love him! More posts later. We promise.

We're Close

We're closer than this.  This picture has no relevance to proximity.  Instead, this is the unofficial flag of Earth Day.  Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd.  April 22nd is what we're close to.  Another interesting thing that's happening tomorrow is that we're going to be inducing labor.  Carrie is going to to begin labor tomorrow at 10:00 AM and with any luck we'll have a baby in the late afternoon.  Actually, that's about as late as we expect things to happen.  Carrie is having contractions today and they're a little sporadic, but they're about 20 mins apart, so it could be sooner.  It's very crazy.  Wish us luck. 

We're Not Really Kid People

A reoccurring fear of mine is that I'm not really going to like having a kid around.  I know that everyone says that it's so great being a parent, but all of the positives seem intangible whereas all of the negatives seem very tangible.  Example: Pro: you're going to feel good nurturing another human being; Con: you have to clean up poop, a lot of poop, all the time.  This was getting me a little down, but then I realized it probably is going to happen that I do form an irrational bond with my child resulting in my willingness to clean up all sorts of crazy poop, vomit, spittle, etc.  

To put this in perspective, I channelled my feelings about the cat.  Before we got her I was not really a cat person.  Now, however, we have like 200 pictures of the cat, we really like her, and I find myself telling stupid stories about the cat that I'm sure are less interesting to the recipients of said stories than to me.  That's parenthood, right? Replace "the cat" with "the baby" and you have the legacy of generations of irrational attachments to screaming, pooping, helpless beings.  My fears have been assuaged. 

(I'm crazy cat beard man, give me some candy!)

Graduating with a Baby in Tow

Carrie and I went into Tempe today to pick out the outfit that Owen will wear to my graduation.  I have to admit, it's pretty cool that my son is going to be able to attend my graduation from college.  I don't know if it's the different stages of life slightly overlapping that is bringing the enormity of the next few weeks into focus, but I really feel as if my entire life is going to change overnight.  The mental image of holding my son while wearing my cap and gown has been a real inspiration to me over the last few weeks of school where the grind tends to create a lackluster sensation of school. 

There is an episode of The Simpsons where Homer covers up a plaque in his office that says "Don't forget you're here forever" with pictures of Maggie, the baby of the family.  The pictures block letters in a fashion that makes the plaque read "Do it for her."  I know that's a little bit of a sappy comparison, but I feel like there is an inspirational quality to having Owen coming into my life.  I want to set a good example for him by putting my effort into everything I do. 

On a lighter note, we also found Nala an outfit to wear to my graduation.  As you can tell from the photo, she loves it. 

Leaving Some Skin on the Kickball Field

Yeah that's me on third.  I'm about ready to score.  It's also where I earned this:

You may not think it's all that cool, but let me tell you...

Doug thinks it's cool.

Gots Me a Bad-Ass Tattoo

Our buddy Susan and I decided the other night to get some wicked tattoos.  Hers is a Japanese symbol that means... well they said it meant water, but it probably means easy or something like that.  Mine on the other hand is unmistakably a bull.  I'm a taurus, my dad's a taurus, and with any luck Owen will be a taurus.  

Signs of Denial Reemerge

I'm sure some of you heard about the 6 pregnancy tests we took to get our minds around this pregnancy thing.  We have made a lot of progress since then, but the other night Carrie showed signs of regression.

We were having our carpets done and, unfortunately, the cat got stuck in the closet all day.  We put up this sign for the carpet cleaners and  I couldn't resist this photo.

12 Inches of Hot Tubular Beef

We went to the M's game this Saturday.  Sadly, this was the first and only game for me this pre-season and the second one for Carrie.  Peoria has this grill that has the best hot dogs in all of MLB, I swear.  I look forward to these dogs almost as much as the games themselves.  The M's lost this one, but clearly there was at least one winner in the park this day (in addition, of course, to the good people affiliated with the Texas Rangers organization).

T-Minus One Month and Counting

Well, we're getting pretty close these days.  One month is really messing with us because we can relate to that kind of timeframe so easily. I mean that's 2 paychecks, 4 Saturdays, next month's rent, a bender in Mexico; however you want to cut it up, it is very close to home.  On the plus side, Carrie isn't going to be preggers in the dead of summer, which in itself is something on the shiny side of fortunate.  

(Interesting side note: I graduate in 3 paychecks, 6 saturdays or 1.5 benders in Mexico)

More Nursery Photos

I think we are about done with the room as we are beginning to run out of space.  We bought the puzzle bookshelf at Costco (our happy place) and are filling it up with books along with the happiest crab stuffed animal we've ever seen.   It's fun to look around at the nursery.   Most of what you see in the photos is proof of how lucky we are and what a lucky baby Owen is. The glider is from my mom, the boppy from Ed's cousins, the crib from a co-worker, rug from an aunt, books, stuffed animals, pictures, hand-made blankets... all from people we care about and who already care so much about Owen.   Raising a child is definitely a group effort and the kid isn't even here yet.  Thank you.  

Cute Shoes, Not So Cute Ed

We got some Chuck Taylors and they are so cute and tiny.  Carrie thought it would be a good idea for us to take a picture for scale.  This is what I came up with.  We're hoping Owen doesn't get that gene.

Lions and Mushrooms and Bears, Oh My!

We have slowly begun to finish Owen's room.  Since we love monkeys we decided to go with a mild jungle theme.   We don't own yet so we couldn't paint the walls but we think the room is turning out.  It is fast becoming our favorite place in the house.  You really can't be grumpy when you are standing in your baby's nursery.