Jackson Paul Wisk

We started this blog three years ago now and I just can't believe all that has happened in that time. The goal was for this journal to serve a dual purpose. First, we are fortunate to have friends and family from New England to North Carolina and it's great to give them a glimpse of how our family is growing and even some day-to-day life in the Maryland Wisk House. Second, and what may prove to be most important will be the opportunity for our children and hopefully even grandchildren to read about how they grew up.I'm not a photo guy...I'm definitely not a video guy. We have this awesome video camera that we don't use near enough! One thing that I've always done well and even somewhat enjoyed was writing. I think I'm pretty decent at it and one day this journal can be my gift to my children and hopefully, their children.So here we sit, on Sunday, May first with our five-day-old little man, Jackson. Born at 9:09 a.m. on April 26, 2011, he was twenty inches long and eight pounds two ounces. Naming this child was perhaps the toughest task that Courtney and I have taken on together thus far in our almost six years of marriage! I would say that Jack was pushing an hour old before he "officially" had a name. In fact, I was asked twice what his name was and actually had to reply, "I'm not sure".
I believe that there should be significance in names. Julia Elizabeth has significance in both of her names and now so does Jackson. Courtney's grandfather was named Jack and her father is Paul. That means that our son is named after two guys that are both about 6'5"...now I just need to tie his right hand behind his back and work on that nasty change-up!!!
It was kind of ironic that the doctor that performed JP's c-section was a Duke fan...given his Kemba nickname! I couldn't help but talk a little smack to her during the surgery, telling her that the only thing that would have made Uconn's championship sweeter this year would have been if they went through Duke to win it!

This may end up being my longest post ever. So much happened over four days in the hospital, but one thing was different than the last time. This time I was completely relaxed. Last time I had no idea which end was up, why she was crying or what I was supposed to do. This time both Courtney and I had far less anxiety. We just did what we needed to do.

I was caught off guard by the whole boy thing. Just like with Julia, I had the "pleasure" of changing the first diaper. Only thing was this time, he got the better of me. I forgot about all the warnings about boys peeing all over everything! He got me, he got his mom, he even got himself. He actually got his mom first. The first thing that he did upon delivery was relieve himself on his mom!Julia has been AWESOME with her little brother! She still refuses to hold him...I think she's afraid to hurt him, but that will come. She gives him lots of kisses and holds his hand. She spent a couple days with Grandmom and Pop and seemed to behave so well! They brought her to visit mommy a couple time and she was so well behaved in our small hospital room for 3 and 4 hours at a time that it was incredible! She is a pretty special little girl!
Through this whole experience, we have been so blessed with such giving family and friends! Clearly Grandmom and Pop went above and beyond in caring for Julia, but so many others sent gifts, food and most importantly to me, came to visit. Four days in the hospital is a long time...I don't care why you're there. I think that Courtney would agree that having visitors meant a lot!

So I had a couple mornings at home with Julia to get her ready for school and they were hysterical! The first time, we went downstairs and I put on one of her favorite shows, Super Why, to hold her attention while I went to shower. I told her that when I got out of my shower we would have breakfast.
I walk down the stairs after showering and I Jules greets me with a big "Hi Daddy". Then she says, "Look, I already ate breakfast!" There she was sitting on her Dora couch, covered and surrounded by powdered sugar! She definitely thought she was doing me a favor by going to the kitchen and helping herself to the bag of powdered donuts that were on the counter!

A couple days later, after we had gotten home, I wake up to some distant crying. I come down stairs to see Julia sitting on the floor in the kitchen with a box of cupcakes and cookies beside her. She was crying her eyes out because Mia had vomited and Julia was upset because "Mia's belly was hurting!" Apparently, our little helper came down, fed the cat and then started to feed herself when Mia got sick.

She's such a good kid, such a BIG helper and so much fun. But something tells me that the fun is just beginning as I can't wait to see how she and her brother grow together. My only hope is that she and Jackson are fortunate to have a relationship like my sister and I have. Sure...we drive each other nuts, but we have always made a pretty good team and always look out for each other!

So now I sit here, completing a post that has taken three different sessions to write...interruptions are frequent these days...reflecting on my family. Some call it the perfect family (one boy, one girl). Perfect or not, a couple things are certain, I have the perfect bride and partner, who continues to amaze me. In return, I do my best to drive her nuts! We are both all in and committed to raise these kids the best way that we can. These may be the most stressful days of our lives...certainly thus far, but these will be the best days of our lives!
-Andy

The Return of LBJ...It's All Downhill from Here!

Driving home today, Julia and I had a conversation about snow. She was remembering a recent trip up to Connecticut when we went sledding with Ben and Luke. This was Julia's first time on a sled and I fear that after it, she'll never want to do it again!
As she recounted to me in the car tonight, "It was fast and the snow got all in my face and it was cold!" In hindsight, I probably should have shielded her better!Now Luke had a blast. He must have gone down that hill about seventy times! Meanwhile, after giving a try to the sledding thing, Ben and Julia were more content to just sit at the top of the hill and make snow angels!The entire weekend was such a blast! We literally played all weekend...sledding, setback, air hockey, bowling and even castles and dragons (and who knew Jules would be so fond of dragons!).

After a thorough air hockey a$$ whooping that I received from Courtney, Julia and Benjamin wanted to play. We let them and this may have been the funniest thing that I have ever seen in my life! They could barely see over the table. The game was actually moving in slow motion!
They say that having a child can age you...I disagree! I have never felt so young. I find that Julia and our nieces and nephews inspire me to just be a kid for even a moment! While we were sledding, I felt like I was twelve again! They don't age you! They add years to your life!
Now when I woke up the day after sledding, I felt sixty!

-Andy

Another Year Passes

It's official...Jules is two! She's on her way to being a little heartbreaker and in preparation, Daddy has been shopping for firearms. I figure I won't buy any bullets. That way I can scare the crap out of boys without being tempted to use it!

She had a doctor's appointment last week and the doc says that she is likely to be tall and slender. So allow me to add this all up...my little girl already has beautiful BIG blue eyes. She's shifting to her mother's darker complexion and she's going to be tall and slender. Maybe I ought to look into bullets too!

I'm kidding (sort of)...but seriously, the last year has been amazing. Literally it feels like she grows everyday in some way. We are spending the weekend this weekend working on potty training. By we I mean Mommy. There are certain things that Daddy really has a tough time with and cleaning up accidents is one of them. Don't know what I'd do without Courtney!

We had another summer BBQ for Julia's birthday last weekend. No ponies, bounce houses or clowns, just lots of friends, family and food. Where I come from, that's how its done. It's just a few hours to come together to celebrate a special little girl's birthday. Plus, I fear setting a ridiculous birthday precedent...don't want to have to top it every year!

It was great to have everyone over and fun to spend a few days with LBJ (Luke, Ben, Julia) reunited. The three of them together emit so much energy that you really should wear sunscreen around them. The best was the early mornings. Benny tossing toys into Julia's crib and all three of them doing their best to get Uncle Andy out of bed.

It was also cool to have Nana and Papa spend some good time with Jules. They definitely don't get to see her enough, but I know that Julia knows them and is always excited to see them.

Last year for her first birthday, I did a post with a top ten list about the previous year. In the interest of starting a tradition, here's my top ten list of year two experiences and happenings:

1. Communication - Love that she can tell us what she wants! Raising children would be easy if they would just speak up and tell people what they want!...and then were reasonable enough to understand and deal with "no"!
2. Throwing Arm - Once after watching Julia, Pop said "if it's in her right hand, she's throwing it!" Well that's the truth. She's got quite an arm and to be honest, most of the time her form is perfect. She even usually steps with the correct foot!
3. Kiddie Pool - No better way to cool off!
4. Vacation - If I may quote Uncle Ben, "the Outer Banks is the greatest place on earth".
5. Papa and Uncle Louie - Without them, the bathroom remodel would still be a dream! By the way...should have a completion post coming soon!
6. SNOW! - A winter of epic proportions! When I was growing up there were so many stories about the blizzard of '78. Now I can share similar stories with Julia. But when we get our next once in 30 year winter, her husband better come dig me out!
7. Tax Deductions - With a kid and paying loads of interest on your home, doing taxes is fun!
8. Peace, Love & BBQ - A book that Courtney got me for Christmas that is expanded my enthusiasm for BBQ. I've also learned a few key tricks from is and feel like I'm improving in the craft.
9. Friends and Family - Even though we are separated from family, it has been much easier to raise Julia because of all the help that we get from our friends and family. We're just waiting for some friends to expand their families so that we can return the favor.
10. My Girls - Always at the top of the list! No matter how rough it gets, we're in it together and just a smile can turn your day around!

-Andy

Wisk Family Christmas 2009

Actually our family Christmas this year took place in 2010, but we were indeed celebrating the 2009 Holiday. It worked out pretty well this year as it was close enough to Christmas to enable the tree to still be standing (although it's health was debatable). It actually almost still felt like Christmas.

We hosted this year on Johnson Lake and went with what turned out to be a pretty Polish menu. Liz brought and prepared pierogis. Papa brought his "special mushrooms" and we made an awesome mushroom soup and I made some kielbasa and sauerkraut. It was really awesome! We grazed for what seemed to be a full day on that food and there was still leftovers for the next day.

One thing that my alter-ego Steffan wanted to mention. You would think that frying pierogis is a pretty elementary process, but I would beg to differ. Somehow, I feel like Liz's taste a bit different and better than I can do...and mind you that this is not easy for Steffan to admit. Perhaps its the exorbitant amount of butter that she uses, but my point is that they are DELICIOUS!

Being in Maryland, Liz, Nate and the boys had to make their second trip down here in just 8 days! A part of me thinks that they are nuts. The other part of me just really appreciates them doing that, especially since we haven't been up there in a while. The way our jobs go, November through March are really challenging for Courtney and I. We barely get a meal together, let alone a trip to CT.

The kids picked up right where they left off on the last visit. They are quite a trio. Most times they are nauseating balls of energy, but they get along so well and really seem to enjoy their time together. I think that even Nana had her fill of the super-trio LBJ! Here are some of the calmer pictures of them hanging out.



Liz and I...now that's another story. Here we are settling a dispute with a little Wii Boxing!


Clearly the highlight of the holiday was our present to the boys. Almost from the moment that I found out that Liz was pregnant with Luke (I think that was in a room at the Hampton Inn in Salisbury) I've wanted to do one thing...buy him a drum set! Well now it is twice as good because I know Benny will love it too! He's a little young, but he'll grow into them.


I can hear Luke's first single now...titled "Uncle Andy is the Best"! Everyone seemed surprised when they opened the box and actually saw them. I don't know why. They all knew it was coming. I think Papa's comment summed it all up..."Andrew, you should be tortured and killed!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

-Andy

Time...the only thing that they're not making more of!

Since Courtney re-awakened the blog last night, I figured that I should make a contribution too! There are so many things that I could post about that I don't even know where to begin.

Here are some Julia highlights of late:

Playing XBOX with Daddy!




Playing chess with Ben!




Playing Rock Band at Auntie Liz and Uncle Nate's!


Rock Climbing!


The truth is that it's all happening so fast! And I know that at least half of the people who read this blog have warned me about that. The other half are experiencing it with us. I feel like as I approach my 33rd birthday, I'm just starting to truly understand the concept of time.

When I was young, time was when the Muppets or the Dukes of Hazard came on TV. As a teenager, time was how late you could stay out without truly getting in trouble. In your twenties, time is when the bar closes...Oh how I miss those days!!!

Now, time is 8-12 hours of work per day...not enough to get everything done. Time is 90 minutes a day with Julia after work and before bed. And time is only about 2 waking hours a day with my soul mate and wife...nowhere near enough.

The good news is that I'm starting to really believe that life pays you back for the time it takes. If you invest time and work hard as a parent and professional, you get things like vacations and memories, retirement and grandchildren and you get to call you child when he or she is in their 30's and say "did you see what the Sox did today?"

I got that call from my father this summer, just as so much was heating up at work at Julia was as challenging as ever. I responded that I barely have time to breathe and that's when it hit me. Until that moment, I could never understand why my father seemed to never have time for things like that when I asked the questions.

This was just one more lesson to learn from him. Life makes time for a little of everything and it all comes full circle. We get the good with the bad, fun and stress, a career and then grandchildren. You just have to make sure that you make time to keep up with the Red Sox!

When I sat down to post this blog, I had no idea what I would write. I had no idea that I would go in this direction. I'm glad I did. For me this blog is not just about what Julia is up to. I know...that drives hits. People want to see cute pictures of her, not listen to me! I'm writing this blog to give Julia and any siblings that she might end up with insight into our lives and just who her mother and father really are.

By the way, speaking of siblings...Courtney keeps asking Julia if she wants a baby or a puppy...I don't know what that means but Julia answers baby almost every time!

-Andy

I'm Walkin'!

It seems that every time Julia spends time with Luke and Ben that she comes away with some new skill. Well, lately she's been teetering on walking...taking a step here, a few steps there. Well we just got back from an awesome visit to Connecticut and Julia will never be the same.

It seems that she's earned a new nickname...Ms. Rita at daycare calls her Frankenstein...because of what she looks like when she's walking! It is too funny. I'd show you a video, but they're too large to post. I'm going to have to figure this thing out.

We had a great time up north. Although I'm still a little upset with myself that I fell short in the Whiffle Ball Home Run Derby at Liz & Nate's Memorial Day Party, it was a great time. We managed to visit a few folks, although there's not enough time to get to see everyone when you're only there for a couple days.

Julia got along great with her cousins. I think Luke really likes her. She definitely lights up when he's around...good thing we don't live in West Virginia.

The car ride was even pleasant. Traffic was light in both directions (relatively speaking), so I guess we'll think about heading up there again next Memorial Day. Besides...I need another shot at the title!

-Andy

Return to Normalcy

Sometimes when the holidays are over, the best way to describe them is to say that you survived them. On the surface, I wouldn't say that this year. I really enjoyed every moment of the holidays. Being Julia's first, they were probably more special to Courtney and I then they have ever been. But the reality is that in reflecting about everything that we've done over the last 3 weeks, surviving is the best description.

We had a quiet Christmas Eve dinner consisting of a beef loin roast, twice baked potatoes and asparagus, followed by Christmas lunch at the Jones'. And I must say that the lunch was a great idea. You see, Ma Jones is a heck of a cook (just look at pictures of me from when Courtney and I started dating) and when we are there for dinner, you always overeat and that ride home gets rough. With lunch, I still overate, but there was time to relax and let it settle before getting in the car.

All the cousins on Courtney's side of the family love them some Julia. Little Emma (excuse me, BIG...sorry Emma) is always talking to her and playing with her and every time you turn around it seems that either Ellie or Anna are holding her. Julia seems to love them all and never seems to fuss with any of them.

And there were lots of presents for all the kids...big and small...to be opened. I'm not sure whose idea it was, but it was decided to open gifts one by one this year. I thought it was great to see the looks on the kids faces as they opened all their gifts. In years past, everyone opened at once and while it was over quickly, I think the new way works better now that the kids are getting a bit older and are more responsive to the gifts they get. All except Julia...she's got a few years to go before anyone should have to watch her open gifts. Now give her a bow and you'll see a big ol' smile!

After Christmas, we reunited LBJ (click here if you don't know what LBJ is)...FOR A WEEK! Boy was that fun! The ear infection that seemed to plague Ben during his last visit a couple weeks prior (yes Julia, Auntie Liz is clinically insane) has been cured and his spirits were up. Luke was Luke...simply one of the coolest little kids I've ever met...in moderation. You see, you reach a point with Luke that he will drive you nuts if you can't hand him off for a bit (this might explain Auntie Liz's insanity). And Julia has taken to those two boys so well.

She'll sit on the floor and play with Ben and she thinks Luke is hysterical. We had Luke sleep in the spare room off of Julia's bedroom. One morning I wake up to the sound of little running footsteps and Julia's laughter. When I opened the door to the room I saw Luke who had just run across the room and done a belly flop onto the air mattress looking at me with Julia in her crib, propped up on all fours (as if to get a better look at Luke's stunts) laughing hysterically at everything Luke did.

Unfortunately I did have to work a little during the week. This time of year is important budget and planning time (and the office is quiet to get things done) and I was still involved a little bit with the holiday basketball tournament. I've handed off most duties, but the tournament is one of the largest in the country and I felt I should be there to show support...and referee a couple games!

But work didn't stop us from spending some real quality time with the CT family. Liz and Courtney brought the kids to some games of the tournament and tried to teach Luke the defense chant. This is a skill that he will have to master later in life.

Then we reached Liz's birthday. The girls decided that they would play a mean trick on the guys and dump the kids on us for a day and go shopping. Nate and I immediately called in reinforcements...codename Uncle Louie (Mr. Richardson to Nate's boys). Little did the girls know that the joke was on them. All three kids slept for about 95% of the time that the girls were gone! So the guys sat around playing rock band 2.

And that brings us to this week. Julia has returned to daycare and Courtney and I are back to work...life is normal again. As fun as the holidays were, it feels good to spend a rainy night blogging after putting my little princess to bed and having a nice quiet dinner with my sweetheart.

I'll never forget Julia's first Christmas and maybe with the help of this blog, she won't either!

Reunited (with the blog) and It Feels SO Good!

I don't even know where to begin! So much time has passed and so much has happened since our computer died that I know I'm going to miss quite a bit! Here's a try at some headlines that would almost certainly have elicited a blog post when they happened.

Julia switches to (almost) real food!

No! I don't do leaves Daddy!

Go Shorebirds!

The Becks come to visit!

Go Cobras!

Mommy gets the date of the Christmas Program wrong!

True story! For weeks we have been preparing to survive our first day care Christmas Program. Apparently even the infants have a part. I was thinking that in their version of the story, Mary gives birth to sextuplets and names them all Jesus...kind of like the Foreman family. That has got to be the only way that an infant can have a viable contribution to a Christmas Program.

Anyhow, at Mom's instruction, I clear my calendar for tonight and pump myself up for what is sure to be an awesome theatrical spectacle, only to find out earlier in the week that Mom had the date wrong and the program was actually on Tuesday. Looks like Mary only had five.

A Surprise Visit!

Last Thursday, our phone rings at a little after 2 a.m. I get up to answer it thinking that either someone has died or one of Julia's little friends is playing around. At the other end of the line is my mother, claiming that she and my sister are in our driveway and asking me to come down and let them in.

I hang up the phone and Courtney asked what was that? I believe my exact response was "I fear that my mother and sister are in our driveway".

They drove all the way down from Connecticut to surprise me for my birthday and boy was it a surprise. The only problem was that I wasn't ready for it!

You see, for weeks I had been psyching myself up for a nice long, quiet birthday weekend. I've been so busy for the last few months that I was just looking forward to decompressing. As it turns out, Julia was teething, Ben had an ear infection and Luke was just being himself.

It put me in an irritable mood and I really regret that because their visit was the best birthday gift that I could have gotten. I just wish that I knew it was coming!

By the way, moving forward I will be referring to Luke in this Blog as "The Great Negotiator". The kid negotiates everything. Here's an example:

"Can I have a cookie?"

"Yes, after you finish your lunch."

"But if I finish half my lunch, can I have half a cookie?"

"No, you need to finish your lunch to get a cookie."

"But if I'm full and can't finish my lunch, can I have a cookie?"

And on it goes...the kid is a riot!!!

It's good to be back!

-Andy

Luke, Ben, Julia, Rock Band and Orthopaedics

A couple weeks ago now, Julia made her first trek up north to visit family and friends. Thank goodness that she is not yet at the age where you get hysterical stories about car rides. See Liz's blog if that's what you're looking for.

No, pretty much she just slept and slept and then slept some more. The drive was pleasant. Well...except for the CT traffic. I could really complain about that, but I won't.

It was great to see a lot of family and friends, but the highlight had to be the surprise party for Nana. We got her good! She had no idea that the surprise was coming. The girls and Ben went shopping in the morning (Ben...when you get older, we won't let you get sucked into that) and came back to a visit at Dawn's house, where everyone was waiting.

I think she was really surprised and I hope everyone had a great time. Nana just needs to remember that when the time comes for retribution, the entire thing was Julia's idea!

Now one of the highlights of a visit up there is my man Lucas. He is just SO fun right now. I really can't wait for Julia to ge to that age...just ask Court. His day is comprised of three activities. 1) Playing Ball. 2) "Nackling" People 3) Chasing anyone around the house.

The little guy wore me out! And then, during one of Luke's monster nackles, I felt something weird in my knee, but really didn't think anything of it. We keep playing and later that afternoon, Nate asks Liz if he can go buy rock band. Much to his surprise, she agrees.

The four of us proceed to spend the next 4 days playing rock band in between feeding and changing diapers! You really need to stand up to play guitar well and I spent a lot of time on my feet. So my knee starts feeling worse and worse and worse. By the time we get home, it hurts so badly that it's keeping me up at night. It hurt so bad that I agreed to schedule a doctor's appointment!!!

Then mysteriously, under the care of my fantastic Athletic Trainer and wife, the pain went away. So I cancelled the appointment and everything has been normal since.

But I haven't thrown away the doctor's number. Upon returning home, we bought rock band. Inevitably, one of these nights after Julia goes to bed, we'll rock out hard enough to put me in the hospital!!!

-Andy

Birth Control

We have been truly blessed in adding Julia to our family and I think that Auntie Liz would say the same about Luke and Ben. But after this past weekend, I think that Auntie Liz would also agree that any fleeting thought about future family additions is securely on hold. That's right, last weekend was the our first chance to unite what I am now calling the "Trio of Terror" or L.B.J. (Luke, Ben & Julia...not just a President anymore!).

These little munchkins lived up to the billing. Two infants and a toddler under one roof is far too much for me to handle! At times, it was pure unadulterated insanity!!! We (and by we I mean mostly Liz and Courtney...I was pretty frightened most of the weekend) would feed one and another poops himself. Then while cleaning up the poop, another starts crying. While you're settling down the crying one, the one you just fed spits up all over herself and the swing that she was sitting in. It was crazy!!!

It wasn't all bad though and I really think that Liz, Nate, Courtney and I will have quite a few fun memories in the future, whenever we get L.B.J together. Liz has posted some really entertaining stories about her trip (Luke is priceless!) on her blog. Click here to read her saga!

One of the best points of the weekend was our picnic on Saturday. It's rare, but great when we have the opportunity to be with both of our families at the same time and that is what we had here. It was great to get a chance to see everyone and spend good time together.

Let's all do it again soon!

-Andy

Weekend in New England

It was a short visit, but we were glad to get up there. Time really seems to fly lately and Benjamin is already at the ripe old age of three weeks. Before you know it, we'd miss his youth entirely and he'd be off to college! So we packed up the family truckster (10 pts if you can name that movie) and headed up to CT for what amounted to a one day visit.

We hadn't seen Lucas in a few weeks either and he's up to about 6'4" and really getting good at dunking the basketball. I'm serious here folks. Nate's got him watching too much Sports Center because now when we play hoops in the living room, all he does is throw 'em down and hang on the rim! So we decided to take him outside and see what he could do on a more challenging hoop.

Then there was little Benjamin, who has clearly mastered three of the most important things in life...eating, sleeping and pooping. Giving Courtney and I a short glimpse into what we are headed straight into, this was a pretty enlightening weekend. We need to be ready to provide total care all the time.

One thing that I paid attention to and found fascinating was how Lucas related to Benjamin. Luke seemed to barely recognize that he was there. I don't think this is malicious, more just an out of sight, out of mind thing. Ben is obviously not very active and has yet to develop a personality, so Ben really doesn't affect Luke on Luke's level. It should be interesting when Ben starts to make his mark.

Luke, on the other hand is Mr. Personality. The kid is hysterical. He does not stop talking (except for when Toy Story is on). He loves to flirt, whether it's with Auntie Courtney or the waitress at breakfast. He breaks into spontaneous song and as Nate says, has an entire song set ready for Randy, Paula and Simon in his season 21 audition. Songs in that set include The ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider and some duck song that he sang at breakfast today that I really didn't recognize. I can just here Randy now..."Lucas, man...you brought that Itsy Bitsy Spider and you rocked it out! Yeah Dog!!!! Let's just say that if Benjamin develops 1/2 the ham-factor that Lucas has, Liz and Nate shouldn't stop laughing for about the next 20 years.

So after a short visit full of playing ball, shooting hoops, mowing the lawn (we brought Lucas a bubble mower and I think he and I mowed the entire 3/4 of an acre at least 6 times on Saturday) and Town and Country (I'll have to craft an entire post devoted to T & C sometime...it's that good!), Courtney and I got home this afternoon, picked a movie on demand and promptly passed out! I guess only time will tell how we will keep up with one of our own!

Here are a couple shots of Ben being held by Auntie Courtney and Uncle Andy. Note the Red Sox Booties...totally AWESOME!!!

-Andy

T Minus Two Months!!!

It seems like we're picking up speed! Like it was only yesterday that I stood in the living room with a dumbfounded look on my face after Courtney took that pregnancy test.

The amazing thing is that as nervous as I was when we first learned that she had a bun in the oven, I'm at least that excited now as "the day" nears.

Momma's excited too! Here she is imagining what it's going to be like to be able to lay her belly in that buggy and push it instead of haul it around. She has grown...a lot! Click here for a direct comparison. But she is so accepting and cute. I have yet to hear her complain once about anything...well except for my snoring.

As you can see, she's approaching Liz-worthy in size. We'll have to see what sphere we choose to paint her belly as, once she gets a little bigger!

This means we are down to eight or less burger nights, which is exactly where we are off to! Even though they are still not the same without the Becks!!!

-Andy