An update, a post, what next!?!?!?! :)

Though you may not have realized it, the heartbeat of Horton Hollow is still strong. That is to say, I'm still kicking. My posts have been sporadic I realize but my heart remains, to write for those that will read my virtualized scrawlings. I'm still getting my feet under me, not being one that adapts quickly to large, sweeping changes in the schedule.

I am ramping up to start back on this blog as well as starting on a business blog of my own. Additionally, I'm beginning a joint-venture business blog wherein some partners and I will be sharing some things about business-building, investing, technology, etc.

It's an exciting time for me! But busy too. Horton Hollow is where my heart is, where I can be "me" and let my (remaining) hair down and write about whatever we like. Before I sign off, let me share some updates:

• Weight loss: still a struggle but I've plenty of fight in me and I'm far too stubborn to quit.
• Business: well see above you silly-head! :) I've lots to share there and things are going well.
• Our out-building: honestly I tried to break this deal and not get it after all. Turns out though, even though I "could" get out of it, I think it's prudent to go through with it. So things are moving there. We have some plans
• Isabella and Josh: well I'm sure you'd not recognize either of them. Josh has quickly become a young man, no longer a child to be sure. And our little Isabella is crawling and trying her darndest to say something we can all understand. She turned 10 months yesterday. The times, they do be a flyin!

You guys are all awesome! Thanks for reading! Keep up the CPR with comments, it helps the writing heartbeat stronger!

Sleep I don't need it ... OR ... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Yes it's a shameless repost of a link from my wife's blog .. so sue me :) You'll forgive me though since it contains baby-cuteness.

November already ... OR .. Vote early, vote often! :)

Vote for our kiddo here :)

Vote for me in this contest!

Contest details

The Castle is Back to Normal ... OR ... We Miss our Mamas!

Well Castle Horton has undergone a recent transformation.

We are once again alone. Tis just us four here now. Well and Storm (the canine), and Mercy and Blue (the felines).

My mom headed back to her own castle today. Thus marks the end of our official help since Bella has been born.

Up until now one of our moms has been staying with us to to help out. Heather has been able to catch up on her rest because of them doing this. And we both appreciate it so, so much and have repeatedly hugged them and told them so.

When each grandma had to go back to her own home, it was a tearful farewell for each one. They love us and we them, and they love in particular this shiny new grand-daughter of theirs.

You see, Isabella represents the last grand-child in the family and the ONLY grand-daughter. Bella is kind of a big deal.

So it was hard for the grandparents to leave her/us.

I will admit there is a dual-feeling here of "its nice to have our Castle back to just us" versus the feeling of "we miss having them around to talk to and hang out with".

They helped us with way more than the cooking/cleaning and Bella changing.

They were HERE. Their presence itself was a comfort. The moral support as we got our baby-parenting legs under us again was priceless.

So as I said it's just us again.

But it has been so much fun. Again thank you moms for helping us, for supporting us, for the gifts for Bella, for cooking, for cleaning, for diaper changing, for doing laundry, for doing dishes, for grocery store trips, for talking to us, and just for listening to us too.

Also, lest I forget ...

Thanks to everybody who has been there for us as we got going with this whole having a baby deal. I have friends that I know read this blog but don't usually leave comments ... so to you all as well, thanks so much for your kind words, your encouragements, the things you got for Bella, and well just for being friends.

We've had a lot of help. None of it we deserve to be sure and we feel so blessed to have you all in our lives.

Whew, there are so many to thank and we appreciate you all!

Well, now that everybody has given us a good push-start, well shoot, I guess the next 18-20 years are up to us.

Ready?
Set?
Go!

BYOB ... OR ... Birth Your Own Baby

Wow where to begin.

Describe where babies come from? Nah that'll take too long.

Describe Bella's conception? Nah that post would be too short.

Let's just talk about the birth, from my unique point of view shall we? Harumph!

I'm sitting here starting this post, watching my wife nurse/burp Isabella. The good stuff is coming in, big time, to feed our new bundle. In fact Bella just pulled off a bit early and there was a wardrobe malfunction involving milk. Ah good times. There are some things you forget about over the years. But a new kiddo brings them "flooding" back.

But back to the birth.

In the aftermath, after the after birth, we calculated in our very tired brains that Heather labored for a little over 20 hours.

In another post I said Heather is super-woman. I meant it. All moms are ... but I think I'm married to the most amazing, brave, strong and giving woman ever. She daily pours out her life to fill ours with her love, her caring, and her selflessness. I love her very much.

And I'm so glad to have her still here with me.

You see Isabella's birth wasn't like Josh's birth. Pretty much the only thing they have in common is that a kid was born. Other than that things were not the same.

Different hospital.
Different experience. Muchly different.

Heather and I both went into this birth thinking that it would be much like what the birth for Thing One was like. We were surprised.

With Josh there was no particular pain. With this there was a lot. With Josh there were no particular difficulties. With this birth we got scared.

The baby pics are included in this post at the bottom. If you'd like to scroll down to check them out, go ahead. Then come back here and read about our journey to have her.

Taps foot and waits ...
Whistles ...
Checks watch ...

Hey you're back! Cute ain't she? Yep momma done good.

Well in order to get this cuteness Heather really had to go through a bit of hell.

During this time I felt pretty inadequate as a 'coach' too. Guys are "fixers". We see a situation that's broken for our wives and we love to solve the problem for them. Usually this works out pretty well. But when it comes to situations that are beyond our ability to control ... well ... we feel helpless at times.

Well the party all started early Thursday morning. I woke up for work, and began to groan about needing to be up and get ready. Heather hit me with, "I wouldn't worry about going to work. I think I'm going to have this baby today."

Since my work is giving me off 3 days for the baby, I immediately thought, "Score! Five day weekend!"

See how sappy I am sometimes?

So instead of rushing to the hospital, forgetting everything important just like in the movies ... we calmly gathered our neatly organized things, fed the dog, double-checked our things and calmly strolled to the door. We mounted our gold steed .. one Honda Odyssey and rode away into the gleaming morning, leaving Castle Horton in the capable paws of Storm.

Once at the hospital we made our way inside. Heather's mom and dad were with us, thank God, in addition to Thing One. ALL of us had bags to carry too. We looked like some Hollywood star's entourage. Well a Hollywood star in labor.

We hung around the hospital until sometime later that afternoon when the docs talked us into starting the pitocin drip to help the contractions along. This is something we wanted to avoid, wanting to go as natural as possible but it ended up being necessary.

So they started Heather on a very low dose. The nurses even hinted at the dose was so low they may as well not even mess with it. See they were used to women who come in, get knocked out, get jacked up on drugs and basically have the baby shot out of them. It's pretty much how they put it to us.

And no judgment here from us for those that choose that. I mean wear whatcha dig, right? Heather and I wanted to do things as natural as possible. Call us crazy.

So as the night went on the pitocin level was raised until it got to ten. Although contractions were coming stronger and more regular, things still weren't progressing as we wanted.

Thursday turned into Friday. Heather was up pretty much all night. I got a little sleep.

Later on but still very early Friday morning the contractions picked up. And unlike with Josh, they began to hurt her. Heather started making noises which I'd never heard her make before.

Sometime that morning her regular doctor had to go home; Friday was her day off.

Lovely I thought. We get to do this without the doc Heather trusts most. Sigh.

But between 5 and 6 that morning (Friday) we were pretty convinced that Bella was on her way and coming fast. So Doc Lindsey was called back in. I was thankful that she came back on her day off.

Soon after that Heather was feeling as though she could push. The doc wasn't in the room with us at the time but nurse Igor (Martha ... but thats not much better right) was told to ask the doc to see if Heather could push.

The word came back that she could try.

And then the real work began.

I've skipped SO much on this though honestly. By this point we were already both stressed beyond our wildest dreams. Some of the nurses, Igor in particular, seemed to have no respect for our Birth Plan of which we had provided them copies.

Being geeks that we are this ticked us off. This being our last pregnancy and the fact that medical service providers were not giving us much in the way of 'service' it really bothered us.

Igor was a pain the pahtooty. I nearly threw her out. I'm not kidding. The old bat got on my nerves big time.

Heather was soooooo out of it, she could no longer really speak up for herself when Igor decided to unceremoniously shove her hand into Heather to repeatedly and often "check her" ... which ... was something we had requested in our birth plan to NOT be done.

Sigh. Again.

So I've not painted a very good picture of our stress at all. I'm still beat and Heather is beat about 1000 times worse.

But trust me when I say that by the time the pushing began Heather looked and seemed already spent of strength. Her eyes looked tired. Her whole being looked weary. And in her eyes I saw fear. And inside me something began to hurt in a way it never had before. I was worried for her and scared as to how things might turn out.

Heather is going to write more and more details on her blog but for now I will skip ahead to about 6 hours later (maybe more).

Lets just say that Heather pushed a LONG time. Likely 2-3 hours. Her dilation just wasn't changing very much though. Changing positions (other than flat of her back) didn't help things either. You see, her lying flat of her back wasn't part of the birth plan either ... neither was holding her breath to push.

ALL things that Igor thought highly of and continually and LOUDLY expressed her opinions of said items. Like I said I nearly threw her out.

Aaaaaanyway. I got word that Doc Lindsey had to go ... again. I thought ... OMG. We're alone with Igor and docs which we don't know very well.

Why couldn't we have had one of the other umpteen nurses we DID like? They had been to our rooms. There was Jennifer, Sherri, Vicki, even Mercedes would have been better that Martha/Igor. Personally I was rooting for Sherri to come back cause she was funny and respected our wishes but it was not to be.

It wasn't long after noon, maybe 1pm, that Igor noticed (as did I) that Bella's heartbeat was dropping when Heather would have a contraction. Then it would spike way, way up. Heather looked like she wasn't even there anymore. I barely recognized her eyes. And Bella was struggling. Things were getting scary.

Igor went to get the "house doc". Basically what I thought here was that we were getting the lowest common denominator. Know what they call the guy that graduates at the bottom of his class in med-school? Doctor. I was SO sure we were getting THAT guy.

He showed up about the time I was thinking C-section. And he looked worried. Against our birth plan but with perfect presentation he calmly suggested that Heather try lying back and let us lift her legs so she could try pushing from that position.

So Igor took one leg and I took the other. The doc got into the catcher's stance and Heather pushed. Bella was WAY up in the birth canal when this push began. She just wouldn't come down. But as the doc checked after the next three pushes were over, she had come down all the way.

The entire atmosphere of the room suddenly changed.

It went from the depressing one of "we have to tell these folks they have to have a c-section" to "this baby is coming out NOW and the doc isn't ready".

It was quite a mood swing. You could tell another woman was entering the room right Bella? Ahem :) Had to kid you sweetheart.

So the head showed up .. whammo!

And the doc said, "Hold it right there for a minute". Pretty sure Heather was as surprised by those instructions as I was. Cause I was looking at my daughter's head while out of the corner of my eye, I could see the doc with his hand caught in his sleeve while the assistant nurse (Andrea) tried to put a glove on it.

It was right about then I was thinking I'd have to catch my daughter lest she hit the floor. Oh crap.

But Heather held on. And the doc got dressed just in time. He asked for another push. Heather had new reserves of strength since she knew her daughter was so, so close.

She pushed.

And Bella came out ALL at once. It was very fast. When her head cleared the rest of her came sliding out with no hesitation at all.

The doc held her out and put her directly on Heather's belly to let her warm. No warmers for us crazy natural birth folks. When the umbilical cord stopped pulsing I got to cut it.

And then Bella was with us. We ALL cried.

So when I look over like now and I see her hiccuping, while grandma Asher and Heather laugh, it makes me happy inside.

I'm glad my daughter is here. And I'm glad we're all safe back inside Castle Horton.


Yeah Bella that's your very own first sign in this world.


Us geeks don't go to even a birth without our tech. Though cell phones didn't work too hot in this particular room. Crudskie.


Josh and I got to shared this non-comfy couch and chair on which to sorta sleep Friday night after Bella arrived.


Bella in her first cradle ... yes it was totally not as cool as what Daddy made for you dear.


That's Jennifer, Bella and Heather going through a checkup for Bella on Saturday morning.












My two favorite chicks on the planet. The one with the longer hair is pretty much my hero and I kinda love her a lot.


My two dears asleep after all their hard work together.




A quiet little moment with me and my lovely daughter.




That brother of hers loves his little sister.


I love this picture.




I was really happy with how Bella caught the sunshine here. She's pretty than the sunshine though.


This is Doctor Hill. He's the guy who stepped in and saved our bacon.


Heather, Bella and Doc Lindsey. The doc is very cool! I like her a lot!

It's a bouncing baby Bella .. OR .. The Princess has landed ...

I trust you dear follower-philes that you, in your benevolent readership, will overlook any grammatical errors and/or should I ramble off into parts unknown, I have faith in your patience with me.

I've had three hours (or less) of sleep. But I'm not complaining. Heather has had it far worse and I'm in no position to gripe. Heather is super-woman. Hear her roar.

If you were listening closely, perhaps with you ear turned toward St Peters, MO at around 2:15pm today - you may have heard her roar too.

Ok, I'll stop teasing it.

Bella is here. And Bella is good. So is Heather.

After what I thought was a sure fire trip to the Guinness Book of World Records for labor, Heather managed to overcome her exhaustion, her stress, and general pain to deliver Bella to us.

Bella is 7lbs 6oz and is 20 1/2 inches long. She's perfect of course. She immediately latched on and fed for 45 minutes too. See? Perfect. I mean how fast did YOU latch on right after YOU were born? Right. I rest my case. :)

Ok, we are all pooped. I promise more stuff later. We may be couped up in this hospital till Sunday. We're trying to get a pass on that but we may be stuck here. More to come.

But nothing's wrong. Everything and everybody is all right. First night with Bella is upcoming.

Final touches on the cradle .. OR .. How much Wood could a Rob-chuck chuck?

Well this three-day weekend has been a blur. That blur could be caused by the air being filled with sawdust; I'm not sure. However the cradle in it's entirety is finally completed.

I designed a frame to hold the cradle suspended so we could use the cradle either in the floor or hang it from the frame at night for rocky-rocky time. Plus I wanted a way to store the removable rocker base when it was not in use. And so this is the result and it's my first time really designing a piece of furniture. I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

Here are a few pics of it which I snapped about an hour ago or so. This frame is made from the same wood (pine) as the rest of the cradle. I wanted a design which was graceful but still strong. The arcs and curves in this do pretty well for gracefulness and for strength, well my son can hang from the crossbar. So I think from a functionality standpoint, it was a success.

There are lots of things I'd do differently if I did this again. When I look at this project I see tons of things I could do better. However, this was a great learning experience plus I got to make something that works well in our home and that is functional - always a big plus.

The wife got a little misty when she saw how it came out. She's happy with it. However it could have been a mild contraction - you never know!

Twas the night before the due date .. OR .. Sweatin with the Oldies

Well here we are, the night before the due date. Josh was born on his due date. No serious warning signs, just bammo, time for baby. We're expecting this to go the same way.

People keep asking me, "Oh I bet you're so excited" .. "Aren't you nervous?". And I always smile and say "oh sure" or "nah not too nervous". I never know how to respond to those questions really. At times like these I sort of disconnect from extreme emotion.

You see, in situations like this I don't really become excited or nervous. Instead I become intent and focused. It doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the event or anything. Its not that I'm not fun to be around. And I think (for the most part) I seem the same to everyone else.

But on the inside I'm just very intense. Very focused. I'll stay this way until Bella is here. Until everybody heads back home from visiting with us. I won't really relax until I see it's "just us" again and we're all safe and sound. I suppose it's part of my protective instinct as a guy.

And I think that is (at least partially) why I relate to our German Shepherd so much. She and I see the world in much the same way I think. We're watchful, naturally aloof around new folks, but once you get to know us, we're loyal to the end no matter what.

So here we are. Waiting on the kiddo. Waiting is not my thing. With how I've explained that I feel on the inside, waiting makes me tired because I feel like I'm holding up a great weight.

So am I nervous? Am I dreading the sleepless nights? Do I dread the change of pace?

Um no.

I welcome all that actually. I'm looking forward to it all. Cause then, although sure it will change things and be more work, things will be normal again.

I like normal.

I'm weird that way.

The Visitation .. OR .. Friends for a Snack

A rare thing happened here at Castle Horton over the weekend. We got to receive some company at our home. Lord and Lady Herm and their young Prince came out for a visit. And they came bearing gifts for our soon to be born Bella. It was good to see all of them. Mr. Herm and Company didn't get to stay very long but we had a great time visiting and just hanging out in the yard.

Also Fred was willing to work with Storm a bit with me and I very much appreciated that. She isn't the best in the world with visitors, taking awhile to warm up to folks, since we live out in the boonies. So every time we get a chance we try and talk people into becoming human sacrifices, ahem, help us socialize our dog. I suppose some folks wouldn't get this or have much patience with it. But Fred came outside with me to offer himself up as a snack meet the puppy.

Things went really well.

Fred may not have thought so when Storm barked at him for awhile. But if only he could have seen how she used to be with folks. Saturday was a huge improvement. Fred and family joined us all in the shepherd containment facility front yard, and we got to watch Fred's son run around while Storm trotted alongside him. Storm saw them all as buddies before the Herms had to leave.

So it was a good visit for sure!

Thanks for coming out Mr Fred. It was good to see you and the fam! Thanks for having patience with us and our dog and thanks again for the cool stuff for Bella! You guys are always welcomed out this way!

Final Baby Pics .. OR .. The Last Tempation of Isabella

On Friday we went in for the last major ultrasound that Heather will have before the baby makes her way down the birth canal and out into the world of taxes, politics, overtime, and debt. Isabella honey, I'll try for as long as I may to tell you only of bunnies, daisies, hugs, and making silly faces.

I got to meet the lady who'd been doing the ultrasounds for some time. I have to say I wish I'd made it to more of them. Karen is really cool. She made the process fun. Honestly from what I remember, back when Josh was being bombarded with sound waves, seeing an ultrasound wasn't all that exciting. The tech we had back then sucked. But good ol Karen had been at this for 29 years ... not Bella's ultrasound only you understand, that number represents the accumulated experience of Karen.

Ok, enough about Karen right? She was cool. She makes this fun. And if you need scanned go see her. Moving on.

I entitled my post as I did because Bella has forever been camera shy. The techs have never gotten a spot on good picture of her yet really. She's always dodging. I choose to believe that because she's beautiful enough to stun us all, she also is in possession of such grace as to have the compassion to spare us the shock of wondering how we will deal with such an angel. That's daddy's story.

So no more good pics of the kids. She is in the "go" position though. That's good news. This girl is ready for launch. Also she is perfectly average in size and weight. More good news.

The little room we were in was very nice too. They dimmed the lights to see the computer screen better, always a plus for me, and it was just pleasant. Josh was sitting there, we were laughing and talking. Karen got Bella's heartbeat up on the monitor after she had made some other measurements. She cranked up the volume. I'd heard Bella's heart before.

But this time it was different.

Maybe I'm old. Maybe it's because the birth is only 3 weeks out. But I just got to thinking about that little heart.

I thought of many of the good things she'll see and many of the bad. I thought how that little heart which is beating now will at times beat for a little girl who will learn from me. Who will depend on me. At times she won't understand me or me her. We'll have ups and we'll have downs. I will protect her at all costs. Provide for her. Try to teach her as best I know how.

I thought of so many things which that (now tiny) heart will beat through.

And suddenly just like that, it all became real to me. A bond formed.

You might think I'm late to the party here. That my bond should have formed the moment I learned Heather was pregnant. And in a way it did. I loved Bella from that moment too. But on Friday things became more "solidified".

It's perhaps hard to convey. I think everyone has that moment wherein the concept/knowledge of having a child, which you love, becomes the realization of their life. Of their future. Hope for them is born. Plans are birthed before the physical birth even happens. You begin to truly dream for them. Expectations for their life arise. You begin to wonder what they will become someday, what interests they will have.

It all becomes real. All of that and more hit me in a moment.

And in closing, yes the room got a little blurry as I began to be thankful for the bond I now knew was there.

T-minus three weeks and counting.

Custom Geek Baby ... OR .. Early Parenting, How to Geek Out Your Kid Right Outta "The Gate"

The other day I was browsing through geek t-shirts, a favorite pastime of mine (Mr. Excitement, that's me). While hitting up some of the only sites I knew my favorite ones, I saw that many of them had baby clothes too. With the advent of Thing Two creating a horizon out of Mamma Horton's belly, I knew I just had to get something for the baby that was uniquely "from Dad". Needless to say I was all geeked out and excited.

I began my browsing. Some were good. Some were not. None of them struck me as "you have to have them" funny. I began to lose hope.

Then like the Grinch, when he realized what he must do in order to save Whooville's Christmas .. okay poor example but it's all I had to represent "inspiration" at this point ... an idea occured to me.

I designed my own phrase instead.
Then by crackey I found me a site to package it and slap it on a onesie for me.

Below is the product of my labor which is nothing compared to the impending labor ahead. I also wish the "other" labor was only gonna cost $15 but a guy can't have his onesie and cheap birthing costs too.

Enjoy.

And look closely for the geeky irony.




On a final note ... why can't we wear clothes like this as adults? I ask you. Seriously.

How freaking convenient is this design? I mean c'mon. You could dress it up by attaching simple legs, perhaps something business casual, right? Slap a clip-on tie for a job interview or wedding here and there. And if you're feeling saucy perhaps throw on a kicky beret for those evenings out at Applebee's with the family.

[toddles off to find the patent office]

Baby update: 8 weeks to go

Heather has given me permission to blog in full disclosure about our experiences through the rest of this pregnancy. I’m pretty excited!

I mean who can't turn down built in blog-content right? :)

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that I honestly got this idea from another dad-blog that I follow called Pacing the Panic Room. It’s a great read and the guy who writes over there is really funny. And I suppose that’s part of what blogging is all about. The writing done sometimes inspired others to get more creative.

Well here I are. Being creative. And don’t worry fearless readers. I will put my own brand of warped-lens-outlook on this baby stuff as I do all other most other things.

Currently as I sit here in my recliner, wondering why a certain friend of mine is ignoring me on chat – had to give you crap Jenn – I’m listening to my son sitting in the dining room, playing his games and practicing his belching.

Yeah it’s a good to be a guy.

And it’s good to be a Dad again.

And it’s good to be helping with another pregnancy though I don’t feel as involved in this one – which is my fault – as I think I should be. Blogging about it here will not only get me thinking about everything but it will be a good record of how things went when we look back on this. I even have permissions to take belly pictures! Whoo hoo!

This week marks Heather’s 32nd week, so 8 weeks to go, more or less. Things are good.

Early on in the pregnancy Heather was really very sick for a good long while. The morning sickness was killer. But that is a distant memory it seems – though I’m sure she doesn’t feel that way about it.

Heather is doing really well other than the general tiredness that goes with having your body stretched out of shape in preparation for another human being to be pulled from one’s nether regions. She’s currently sitting here on the couch eating an ice-cream – when I read her that last part – she laughed. She has the cutest laugh and I love her so much!

Everybody say “awwww”, right?

So next Wednesday Heather starts on her weekly visits to the doc. Well the visits could be 10 days apart but who’s counting right? Anyway as it gets closer to “the time” the doc just wants to watch things closer since this pregnancy is a single-artery umbilical-cord set up instead of the “normal” two artery kind. It’s not a huge deal; folks have healthy kids in this kind of situation all the time. The only bummer about it is that it kind of knocked us out of being able to do a home-birth as we'd planned.

But we’re not concerned about the single artery thing.

And I can say that in all honesty because I’ve met our doc. Dr Lindsey. She’s very cool and won me over on the first (and only) visit I’ve gotten to attend. Doc L is laid back but I can tell she takes this all very very seriously. She put me immediately at ease and that’s no small order with this nerd.

So Isabella is percolating nicely. She’s kicking and moving lots, though she has somehow still avoided me being able to feel it.

Things are well. And we are making lists, checking them twice – all that jazz. The "what we need lists" are beginning to tug at our minds, prompting us to some serious planning. Also, we have painting and stuff to do in the nursery still. Plus, I get to make the cradle in my woodshop. That will be my first major project to design. There is much to do.

So there will be pics of all this thrown up on the blog under a new label.

Isabella.

We’re waiting on you sweetheart. Get your restin done in there kiddo cause there is a whole life full of experiences we want to share with you.

P.S - Sorry about the jump-aroundy-ness of this post. I'll get more organized for the next one I promise and we'll have belly pics too!

New kid on the block: Baby update

Well my darling wife went to the doc yesterday for a checkup and an ultrasound. This was the big one - to determine the gender of el-kiddo ... or ... Thing 2.

We will be having a girl!

Right now we have her name set as Isabella which I really really think is quite lovely. Good full name, good nicknames - Dad is happy with that. I skip the middle name revelation because it just occurred to me that Wifey may not want to divulge that info until later.

So now we let Isabella percolate until the timer dings. At least now though we know what colors to buy for the room, clothes, etc - I enjoy knowing that part ahead of time, being the planning kinda guy that I am.

Okay back to work for me - just had to write a quick few lines about our new family addition! Laters!