Lots been going on in and around our house, we are getting ready to move out of our third floor apartment in Westlake for a first floor duplex in Lakewood, TheWife is back a work and she is loving it(just don't ask her), and Jack is getting some super neck control.

I also found this super blog to help save us all some money...http://www.dealseekingmom.com/

Well works been crazy so I have to get back at it...new pictures soon I promise!

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Saturday morning a good friend's husband passed away. He was a hero in my eyes and I am sure many others. He was a Detroit Firefighter, and he and his family always held a special place in my heart. I met him through his wife Syri at SFFC while I was a case manager. I remember the first day I met Syri. She didn't do much talking because she was swamped with work, but I knew we would become great friends.

Syri and I shared an office for a long time and really enjoyed it because we were able to talk, and gossip and joke with each other during our stressful work days. I always enjoyed her company! Walt came to visit her one day. I saw this huge man walking towards me in a leather biker vest and thought, this can't be Syri's husband...no way!

But it was...His name was Walt Harris and he was one of the kindest men I had ever met. Walt and Syri have 6 children, ranging from grown adults to toddlers and are also grandparents, even though they are only in their mid 30's. I loved this family... not only were they happy, but they loved each other!! They were a close family and accepting of everyone. I always thought they were the ideal family...and they were perfect! They went to church together, they ate together, they hung out together. They enjoyed each other's company.

I remember the first time my husband met him. It was at our wedding and they came after dinner because Walt had to marry a couple that afternoon. I introduced Scott to Walt, since he had already met Syri numerous times. I remember him giving Walt a big huge and thanking him so much for coming to our wedding. They talked for a while and Scott told me what a nice man he thought Walt was.

I have a few favorite memories of Walt. Seeing him walk into my work with his biker vest is one. I also love to remember a party we had at the water park where he helped out my work by cooking food for our foster kids! And then my favorite. He and Syri had taken dance lessons years ago and at my wedding they decided to try out their moves. Right in the middle of the dance floor there they are bickering about who was doing it wrong...laughing the whole time but just couldn't get the footwork down! I have pictures of them dancing and looking so incredibly happy and in love! Those pictures will be forever burned in my memory.

Walt was a minister, a firefighter, a husband, a grandfather, a mentor, an avid biker, the fire station cook, and an all around good man. I can not imagine the pain and heartbreak my friend and her family are going through. It breaks my heart that such a nice man was taken from his family. But God always has a reason and Walt was needed for bigger and better things.

So today, please take a minute and think about all of your family and friends who are no longer with us, and take a moment of silence for my friend, Walt Harris. He will be missed by many! I will miss you Walt, but I know I will see you again someday.

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I have had a lot of people ask me recently how much Jack weighs... and to tell you the truth I had no idea... I guessed and said, so probably 8.5 lbs. boy was I wrong. Thursday at mom new mom's support group I weighed Jack. To my surprise the boy was not 8.5 lbs; he was.......10 lbs 14.5 oz!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHH!! Holy Crap he is getting big and I had no idea! Well, I knew he was getting biger but I feel like he still looks small. He is right on track for his weight! So that's awesome! So now you all now, Jack is almost 11 pounds!!! Man they grow up fast.......

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Jack has always been a pretty good sleeper... He sleeps normally for 3.5 - 4 hours straight before he needs to eat. Well, it has been three days now that he has slept through the night... I am praying this continues because as any new mom will tell you, sleep is definitely taken for granted in life and as a mom, you don't get any! I couldn't have been happier today when I woke up and it was 7am and he was still sleeping! It was definitely a blessing to have a full nights sleep without a 3am feeding!

Jack also turned 7 weeks today! Very happy to see him growing big and strong, but sad that he is outgrowing his newborn clothes! We tried to weigh him yesterday, but I am sure the scale was off!! lol We will see tomorrow when I go to support group and have him weighed there.

I just can't believe how fast he is growing and all the amazing things he is doing now! Jack is responding to our voices! He is always smiling, except for the occasional visit from Mr. Grumpy-Pants!

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Well its 7:30pm Thursday night...i am stuck at work, cleaning up someone Else's mess...and all I can think about is getting home to my son and wife...I have the picture of him in his pea pod costume on my desktop, babies don't get much better looking than this.

Since I am doing a database restore all I can do is sit and watch the bars....and since its 75GB (That's really big for you non-geeks out there) it is a very slow go...but on the plus side, it seems to be just mean and the cleaning crew...Oh and Neil Diamond.

Anyhow just some random thoughts as I sit here alone(well fairly alone). I cant wait to get home kiss my wife and Hold Jack in my arms.

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Today is the day...the day to go make a difference! If you don't, Jack will hunt you down! So VOTE NOW and make a difference. It's the only way to get your voice heard!

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Today is Jack's first Halloween! It is exciting to dress him up in his little costume, even though we aren't going trick-or-treating. We wish everyone a very safe and happy Halloween!

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Well, this is my first blog..EVER! I thought it would be fun to write, since Scott always does it and I have never done it before.

I must say Jack has definitely made this a better world. He is the cutest, sweetest, best little baby in the world...and I'm not just saying that! Don't get me wrong, we have had nights where I thought, "what the hell did we do?", but it is all worth it to see him smile and to hold him in your arms.

Scott and I like to talk to Jack a lot about the world and about life. We know he doesn't understand yet but we want to make sure he knows how much he is loved and that he can do anything he wants. Scott read to him last night about what he can be when he grows up. Scott talks to him about growing up and being president, or a musician, or an actor, or a doctor. Last night we talked to him about our jobs. "Daddy is an IT guy.. he works with computers and loves his job. Mommy is a teacher and loves to help children learn and grow." We want Jack to know from the beginning that he is special and can do anything he sets his mind too.

I thought you all might also enjoy some interesting facts about Jack. He is a happy baby. He is very interested in the world around him. He likes music and dancing and when he is sung to. Jack is also the loudest farter I know!! I often blame his farts on his dad! He poops sooo loud you can hear it while in other rooms...let's hope he grows out of this!

Scott and I are extremely lucky to have such a laid back baby. He is so happy and is a joy to be around! I would take all the sleepless nights and uncontrollable crying in the world if it meant having Jack in my life! The minute you have a child, something in your head changes. You now live and breathe for this baby. I couldn't be happier to have this little man here! My life has been totally changed and I wouldn't give it up in a billion years!!

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Well...today Jack just over a month old...and some how The Wife and I have survived fairly well...He is Healthy and his color is looking great. Everything we have for him is still too big, but he is getting there, and he goes through diapers like crazy.

The most exciting news is the fact that he is starting to get some control over his neck...if we hold him on our chest he will sometimes pull his head back and try to look around or up at us.

We have both very much been enjoying parenthood.

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Thats right...Jack lets us sleep alot more then I thought he would...and my wonderful wife lets me sleep more then I thought too(only on work nights, but I will take it.) I am working on setting up a WebCam to be used with my parents so that we can video chat and give them a way to know there grandson...it was my moms idea...and i think its a great one...but I dont know what cam to get...so i am asking you my loyal readers to recommend some...what do you use? do you have one you like? or one a friend really likes?

Also we have been taking crazy amounts of pictures...should see them up here soon...

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jack henry was born sept 24th at 1136 7lbs 6oz 20in....everyone is doing great....more to come like pics...

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We went to the Dr. and things are ok....The baby has shifted a bit, and not to worried since some strong contractions should correct it...the more pressing issue is that there is very little fluid left around the baby. This is ok at this late stage but still a concern....so that means we will be induced tonight! we head to the hospital at 5PM.

Watch here for updates....I maybe able to update via my phone but we will see....

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Thus far our ploy to get a ton of free shit and money has gone as planned...the only problem now...people are going to be expecting a baby in the next few days....this plan is going astray....we may be in too deep. Maybe tomorrow the Dr. can help us with the rest of the plan...Plan B.9.24

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Well we are one day over the due date....not much else to report...we have a Dr. appointment set for Wed where we will be making a plan if the baby doesn't come by then...So I guess more news by Wed.

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Well today is D-Day...that's right today is the due date...maybe this baby is just tyring to be punctual like me....or maybe late like TheWife...we will see...I don't really think today is the day to be honest...her contractions have kinda stopped.

We have tried everything we could think of to naturally induce, and somethings that were just down right silly.

PS. its good to know I am not talking to myself, thanks for the comments.

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Well no real update...the due date is tomorrow and its not looking to me like we will have a new baby by then...

I also want to know if anyone is even reading this....I know my mom and her dad are but anyone else? Please leave comments!

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Early Labor, more like "Premature get your hopes up your unlikely to go into labor labor". Even though she is having contractions they are still pretty weak and though they are becoming more frequent they are still not close enough. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week....Early Labor can last awhile...but hopefully not too much longer...

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Well we had yet another Dr. Appointment and everything was going fine till we found out that TheWifes' blood pressure was a bit high...they checked it a second time, then made us wait 10 min and they checked it again(still high) We then waited another 10 min to find out it was sill high, so the Dr. wanted us to go to the hospital for her to be monitored for a little while. After an hour or so we meet with the midwife, who said the baby looks great and we can go home if we want to.

So the run down:

She is in whats commonly called early labor, could last hours could last days.

She is 3-4 cm dilated

She is about 90% effaced

She is having contractions but none of them are intense enough to even consider

She is going to have a baby soon

So everyone at the hospital was super nice and made us both very comfortable, there is definitely no worries about going back. She is resting now and we are doing what we can to intensify these contractions to get this baby out by Friday.

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So we had our last baby class tonight, it was ok...learned how to change a diper and wrap the baby up...THE BIG NEWS is that one of the girls in our class had her baby at 6:17am today. She was due just a few days after us, its very frustrating...but we are very happy for them. Our time will come soon enough.

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Well another day and still no baby...I listen to the heart beat nightly now just to make sure its still strong...and it is...still up around 155-160. OH and TheWife is doing everything she can to get it to come out...

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Well I really thought today would be the day...but its not...so we wait for another. We went on a walk around the block, that was fun...but its too hot to walk too much. None the less we are off to walk the dog in the Windy city of Cleveland....till tomorrow.

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ALL OF YOU! I have been informed that I should really start to blog....daily. No real update, still waiting....there was a small contration last night but nothing of it. SO I will see you tomorrow, I plan to have a "It's a..." blog within 12 hours of birth, and pics within 24.

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Well we had another visit to the Dr. Today...and the time is coming...soon I think! TheWife is 3cm Dilated (that’s up 1.5cm from last week) and the baby is at zero stage (that’s down about 2 from last week)...WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN! Well that means that the baby is completely down and locked in the pelvis. The Dr. said all we need now is some contractions! I am really hoping for this baby to come by this weekend....my birthday is tomorrow and would love to have family in town for it, as well as celebrate the birth of this baby!

In other news the boy/girl poll is closed, and it was very close, of 21 total votes 10 think girl, and 11 think boy... (I think someone or someone’s had found a way to vote more than once....) At any rate the heart beat was higher today and I am swinging on that fence again....the girl votes could be right....

So keep it locked right here for all the latest….we are 38.5 weeks in and it is looking like we may not go the 40! If time permits….you may see a short “On our way” blog real soon!

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So we had our second Weekly Dr. visist today and everything is looking good...baby is dropping(currently locked in place, but needs to drop a bit more) Dialation is coming along from 1cm last week to 1.5cm this week, not much but it is progress.

The Wife is done working and is hopefully resting at home. Meanwhile I am here at work trying to keep my mind off the call that could be coming...(I think we got a week or so to go, but offcially there are 18 days left)

So Parents are locked into the speed dial, Sister-in-law's are waiting by the phone(or facebook), and baby is waiting for just the right moment to face the world.

On an unreated note...closeing for the house in MI is set for Friday!

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Well we had a very busy week, and I have a great blog in mind...just no time to do it.

Monday - Put all our stuff away from the shower...and it was a ton of stuff! Thanks everyone!
Tuesday - Baby training class...
Wednesday - The Wife's work threw her a shower at CHAMPPS YUM!
Thursday - Spent some of those gift cards! 300 bucks at Babies R Us don't go far...
Friday - Was so busy we don't remember what we did...just know we did something...

Be back soon!!

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Ok so I already downloaded it...and it looks like it will be very stimulating for the baby...once HE (no I dont really know but its a boy) can sit up.

BabySMASH! http://www.babysmash.com/ is a "game" for babies check the link but basicly they push buttons on the keyboard and shaps and sounds come up. I plan to plug an old keyboard in so I dont have to worry about my good one but looks like it could be fun!

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Well as we get closer and closer to the due date, one major debate has raged on…
BOY or GIRL! We are about 8 weeks or so from finding out. I maintain the stand that it is a boy and The Wife maintains the stand she has a “feeling” it’s a girl. So over the past few months we have done our research and found as many of the wives tales or “ancient methods” we could. The two I like the most is the “Heart Beat” indicator and the Chinese baby chart.

Heart Beat Indicator

This one is my favorite, mostly because at this point I am winning with it (this week). So according to this one if the baby’s heart rate is lower 130-140 it’s a boy, if however it’s higher 140-150 it’s a girl. So 4 weeks ago we went and the heart rate was in the mid –upper 140s, this week when we went it was in the 130s but closer to 140.

Ancient Chinese baby gender chart

I like this one because of how absurd it is. It’s said to be 90% accurate, you match the mother’s age at conception with the month of conception to get the gender…so according to the chart we are having a boy (yes I am winning this one too). So look at the chart and what do you see? There are a ton more girls on the chart then boys and anyone who has been pregnant knows that more girls are born then boys statistically. Anyhow I just think this one is absurd. If you have had a baby tell me if the chart was right for you!

Ok now you tell me what you think…Check the poll to the Right and pick boy or girl!

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I know I have not been around....we have just been really busy...The Wife is doing good for the most part...last night she became Violently ill I think due the iron supplements she has to take since the Dr. discovered her to be anemic...

Week 25

Week 26 (Look its the Crib too...I was going to blog about that project...have the pics...just didn't do it yet...)

Week 27

Week 28 (4th of July)Week 29 (Crazy Party....Shes in the back...)

Week 30 (I must have been busy...)

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Week 22

Week 23 (We went out for our 1 year)

Week 24 (Thats my Cousin she is due really soon)

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Well I finally found the new transformers and I picked them up not for me but for our little Monkey! I picked up the Female one so that it can go both ways, its a girl transformers if we have a girl and its a transformer if its a boy! Her name is Blackarachnia, she turns into a black widow spider....my kid isn't going to be scared of anything!

Now granted the kids going to have to wait till they are like 3-4 to play with it, but its going to love it!

ALSO - We went and picked up the Crib last night, it was not supposed to be ready for another month or so, but someone never went to pick one up so they gave it to us...look for pics and a blog on putting it together later this week...

image thanks to Seibertron.com Photogallery!

Blog News...this blog is now Feed ready! Just scroll to the bottom to subscribe!

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Week 19

Week 20

Week 21

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“Children who were breast-fed exclusively for the first three months of life or longer scored nearly six points higher on IQ tests at the age of 6 than children who weren't breast-fed exclusively, a new study has found.”, this according to an article on MSN Health. When I read this I was like how do they know this even has anything to do with breast feed and everything to do with the upbringing and social nurturing of the child….then I got my answer with this statement….

Why breast-feeding might increase cognitive skills isn't clear, Kramer said. "It could be something in the milk, or it could be the physical contact between the mother and the baby," he said. "It could be the way the mother interacts with the baby during breast-feeding -- there is no way to know."

Or if could be that these parents are smart enough to look into the fact that breast feeding provides nutrients that the baby cant get from a bottle, and they are smart enough to educate their children beyond what is learned in a classroom because our school systems SUCK! (That’s a topic for another day) SO THEY HAVE NO IDEA IF ITS EVEN DUE TO BREAST FEEDING….good lord I am going to conduct a study to see how many studies are done that are made up of erroneous data.

Oh and we go to the Dr. tomorrow to see what she has to say about the Ultra Sound photos…FUN!

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Baby is going to get its first comics for free!!! Yeah thats right check this site to find the comic shop near you that is going to be giving away free comics!

Linky!!

I am going to try and pick up Transformers, Superman, and a Ironman-Spiderman-Hulk team up book....for the low low low price of $0.00

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Well what an amazing thing that was....we went last night and had the Ultra Sound done...baby is looking good too, healthy in all ways! Baby was doing flips and kicks...at first I thought its a girl...must be....clear as day...then as we were finishing up we both thought we saw boy parts....now we just dont know for sure! We will find out right around Sept 20th!

Stats:

Length: 16cm

Weight: 10oz (almost 1lb!)

Belly and Cheeks: chubby

Fingers and Toes: looked to all be there....

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I couldnt find this anywhere....so I was forced to make my own...with little help from Mom-to-Be I might add! I like how it looks like it was made in the 80s!

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I'm blogging from my phone, this is pretty sweet, so we'll have an update on week 20, May 7th ultrasound, see you then.

Listen to Scott's Message

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Well I am still traveling for work, that’s why I have not posted in a while. My weeks are busy with work and my weekends busy with The Wife and Bump. She is starting to show some and the sick days seem to be over. She went to the Dr. today, first and only one I will miss, and all is doing just fine heart beat is still in the 150s and Dr. says the baby is galloping.

BUT THE BIGGEST NEWS OF THE DAY!!!! On May 7th is our next appt and we will be seeing the baby for the first time….the next post may very well contain baby’s first photo…..

See you win week 20!

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Well week 12 comes to an end...and what an amazing week it was! The sickness is less... not gone but less. The most amazing part was we had our second Dr. Appt. on Friday ("The big day") and we got to hear the heart beat (155 BPM) and the baby moved! Now we know there is something in there....and the boy or girl discussions thickened. I think its a boy, with no scientific reason other then I want a boy. The Wife is now thinking girl...because she has a feeling. Oh and just so you know BPM mean nothing as far as sex at this point.

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Well as we enter week 9, sickness has finally come into play. I know she had great hope to get past this point with minimal illness, but not so. Starting on Saturday she started getting sick and it has really not left her. I feel really bad because there is nothing I can do to help her. I just keep telling her to sleep when she wants to sleep and try to keep eating. So now I ask for any pregnant sickness advice for her…Please comment with any you may have.

OH and according to that odd “your baby is the size of a piece of food chart” the baby is now the size of a green Olive.

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One thing everyone keeps asking us is, “Are you going to find out what it is going to be?” Well no, we know what it is going to be, a baby. There are few mysteries left in life, we truly want that moment when I can go out to the waiting room and pronounce. “IT’S A …!!” The Wife was behind this since day one, people that know me know I have trouble with this kind of thing and wanted to find out originally. Then I started thinking, yeah I want that moment, and what if they are wrong…tell us it’s a girl, so we get ready for a girl and then the day comes and…OPPS what’s that? It looks like your daughter has a penis. We are planning the nursery to be in neutral colors and once we know, boy or girl, we can pick up the right stuff, Fire Engines or Princesses. Thus far our parents have all been on the same page, somehow they have all got the baby related stuff….more on this in another blog.

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What’s your name? Are you ok with what your parents named you? You know I never realized what my parents had to go through when thinking of names for me and my brothers. A name will be with you for the rest of your life, and you don’t even get to pick it. The Wife has tossed many girls names at me that I dismissed, mostly because you can turn it into some horrible nick name or I don’t like some sort of Celebrity that already has that name. She finally came up with Lilly Ann. A Boys name came a little easier; we had one in mind and just feel it’s a very strong name, Jack Henry. The First name for the girls name has no real significance in our families but Ann is one that is in either our families in one form or another. As For Jack, we each have a grandfather, and there have been many great Henry's in my family, but I would be lying if I didn’t tell you it really is to honor my cousin Henry who passed suddenly almost a year ago. So what’s in a name? Plenty!

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If you can’t tell by now, we are in fact expecting and my little thing in life will be joining us in about 7 months. I wanted to create this new space where I could post on the Wife’s progress and how everything is since we are now out of state. I hope this can be a place where you can come and share in the pure joy we feel right now. I have a few blog posts planned for the coming week so check back all this week for updates. Please feel free to leave comments with questions of what you want to be updated on.

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