Hi All! So it has been a fun week or so, knowing about the baby GIRL has made things a lot more real for the two of us. On Monday we had an appointment at a baby day care center. Thats right, still have 5 months to go and we are having to look into this crap. Somehow there is a kind of Kool-Aid that we have been neglecting to drink because the waiting lists for these places are all starting at about a year and go up from there. What a scam! Quite a few of them treat it like you are applying to some Ivy League College and want to interview the Parents! Sometimes even the Kids themselves. I thought I saw it all with the Wedding Racket, But I have found that the Baby side of things is a much darker place. I swear that people are losing sight of the fact that these wonderful little kids are just KIDS. What is wrong with letting the little ones just be children without trying to make the parents feel that, unless they go to the "school" that has a chamomile potpourri scented nap time after a half hour yoga session, they will be forever damaging this child's chances at being successful in life. Of course there will be a fee, paid upfront of course, that covers said parents even being considered for their fine establishment.
So yeah we paid the fee, and actually the place we are signed up for is not nearly as bad as all that. I was very impressed because the place didn't smell like that sickening mix of syrup and baby powder that some how builds up whenever any more than 3 kids are in the immediate vicinity of each other. They even have a real Chef in there to cook the meals that are designed by a Nutritionist. Part of me says that just because you can chop celery into sticks and serve it with Jello does NOT make you a Chef. But hey, for the amount of money it will cost, I would feel stupid paying it to a place that only had a Celery-chopper and not a Chef.
The place has been open for 25 years, and for 20 of them there has been this parrot there. Not joking at all. Aga and I didn't even realize there was a bird there until we heard a beeping. Kind of like a cell phone with a missed call on it. Right behind us was this crusty old parrot, the staff introduced it as, and I quote "The Creepiest Bird Ever". If that bird was ever released it would find it's home in a dark ally trying to sell dirty pictures to small children and invalids. At one point I tried to make friends with the potential criminal. It just turned to look at me and gave me this sound that can only be described as the sound that that Dinosaur on Jurassic Park made right before it killed the Fat Guy from Seinfeld. You know the one I'm talking about.
The high point of the day, at least for me, came after we ate dinner. As we were driving home, Maja started kicking my wife in the bladder. We must have conceived the female Pele, because it seemed as if Maja was going for a corner kick during the FIFA finals. Aga was begging me to hurry up home before She started peeing everywhere. I was laughing so hard that I almost had to pull over. Best Kid Ever. She is definitely going to be Daddy's Little Girl.
Well, until next time, O'Neil.... Out
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Duh!!
Pregnancy brain is taking its toll.... I forgot to mention the password to our registry!
It's: Maja
Sorry about that.
It's: Maja
Sorry about that.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Baby Maja's Registry
Hello everyone. By popular demand, Aga has thrown up a link to the Baby Registry. She has found this website that basically makes a wish list from stuff we chose no matter what site it is from. Most sites we have chosen offer free shipping, but if anyone finds something on the list from somewhere else (cheaper/more convenient) it will give you an option to check it off it anonymously. Thanks to everybody for all your support, talk at ya later!
Maja's very first picture
This was taken back in December during our first Dr visit. 6 weeks and 5 days along- what a cute little Jellybean, isn't she?
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Kids, they NEVER listen...
So this is the continuation of the last post. Enjoy!
Aga and I had a nice trip to the doctors office today. It was time for the big sonogram where they check the babies measurements and can determine what is going on as far as cleft palates and other such things that might complicate things. I gotta say that every time someone has shown me their pictures from the sonogram, it is usually accompanied by a lot of head scratching while they attempt to tell me that this blobby thing is where it is waving at you. Somehow, this baby is in high def, because as soon as they turned on the little unit I was seeing all sorts of cool things. I correctly identified the brainstem, femur, and yes, I even called the kidneys. What neither Aga or I were counting on was the Vagina. We honestly were not wanting to know, but when we got the 3-d pictures done, we saw that in part of the video this baby appeared to have skipped the Irish Curse that has plagued his father, and had what I would have swore was a penis.
So naturally we have been operating on the assumption that Penis = Boy. Now we know we should have been thinking Penis = Umbilical Cord. The tech asked us if we wanted to know. We figured that we might as well make it official, as we were already shaping our purchasing around the fact that it was a boy. So the tech zooms in (on what I hope is the last time that unique camera angle is ever taken of my little girl) to what the professionals call the Hoo-Hah region. "Anyone got a guess on what that is?" she asks.
At this point it is no guess, I glanced at Aga to see someone completely speechless. See, She knew it was going to be a girl as soon as she knew we were pregnant. I might add that she knew we were pregnant before we ever had a positive test, the girl has one heck of a gut feeling. So for months she would swear up and down that it was a girl, until that 3-d picture came along. Now that she was seeing something other than a boy, it was taking a bit to sink in for her. My natural reaction was to get a case of the giggles.
So we are incredibly pleased to announce that we are going to bring one Maja Magdalena O'Neil into the world. She is completely healthy in every way. And as an additional bonus to an already spectacular day, we both got to feel her move about 5 minutes ago. Aga has been feeling her for sure for about 6 days, but nothing major enough for me. Until now, Aga called me in, I put the old bear paw on her stomache and felt my daughter saying Hi to her Daddy for the first time ever. This is truly the best day of my life so far. So I have got to go, see, the new Daddy is a bit emotional right now and is finding it hard to see the computer screen. Hope all is well with everyone, talk at you all later.
Aga and I had a nice trip to the doctors office today. It was time for the big sonogram where they check the babies measurements and can determine what is going on as far as cleft palates and other such things that might complicate things. I gotta say that every time someone has shown me their pictures from the sonogram, it is usually accompanied by a lot of head scratching while they attempt to tell me that this blobby thing is where it is waving at you. Somehow, this baby is in high def, because as soon as they turned on the little unit I was seeing all sorts of cool things. I correctly identified the brainstem, femur, and yes, I even called the kidneys. What neither Aga or I were counting on was the Vagina. We honestly were not wanting to know, but when we got the 3-d pictures done, we saw that in part of the video this baby appeared to have skipped the Irish Curse that has plagued his father, and had what I would have swore was a penis.
So naturally we have been operating on the assumption that Penis = Boy. Now we know we should have been thinking Penis = Umbilical Cord. The tech asked us if we wanted to know. We figured that we might as well make it official, as we were already shaping our purchasing around the fact that it was a boy. So the tech zooms in (on what I hope is the last time that unique camera angle is ever taken of my little girl) to what the professionals call the Hoo-Hah region. "Anyone got a guess on what that is?" she asks.
At this point it is no guess, I glanced at Aga to see someone completely speechless. See, She knew it was going to be a girl as soon as she knew we were pregnant. I might add that she knew we were pregnant before we ever had a positive test, the girl has one heck of a gut feeling. So for months she would swear up and down that it was a girl, until that 3-d picture came along. Now that she was seeing something other than a boy, it was taking a bit to sink in for her. My natural reaction was to get a case of the giggles.
So we are incredibly pleased to announce that we are going to bring one Maja Magdalena O'Neil into the world. She is completely healthy in every way. And as an additional bonus to an already spectacular day, we both got to feel her move about 5 minutes ago. Aga has been feeling her for sure for about 6 days, but nothing major enough for me. Until now, Aga called me in, I put the old bear paw on her stomache and felt my daughter saying Hi to her Daddy for the first time ever. This is truly the best day of my life so far. So I have got to go, see, the new Daddy is a bit emotional right now and is finding it hard to see the computer screen. Hope all is well with everyone, talk at you all later.
The Momma Don't Dance, But This Daddy Sure Does Rock and Roll
The last couple of weeks have been really exciting. We had a trip to French Canada, Land of the most delicious croissants I have ever had. I actually had what I like to refer to my Death Row Meal there. That spot used to be taken by Venison Breakfast Steaks and Eggs. Sorry Mom, but it is now Duck Confit. It is hard to explain what this is myself, So I will refer to that ever so useful site, Wikipedia.
Duck confit (French: confit de canard) is a French dish made with the leg of the duck. The confit is prepared in a centuries-old process of preservation that consists of salt curing a piece of meat (generally goose, duck, or pork) and then poaching it in its own fat.
Yummy. I can just hear Janel and Andy just having a collective WTF moment right now, but I swear that it is not in the least bit greasy. And it was SOOOO delicious I literally was on the edge of tears at the time.
I did a bunch of skiing on the mountain. That's right, I said skiing. I got there and started out snowboarding, and after a little bit decided that I have invested too much time on snow to be crashing that much. So I switched back to skiing and had a good time.
Aga, on the other hand, wasn't allowed to do a damn thing by her cruel and oppressive husband. The mere act of her walking around on the snowy ground was enough to keep me 2 inches from a complete nervous meltdown. I swear that I could invent some type of giant rigid cone type device thingy that she would have to wear to prevent any falls. I would make a zillion dollars overnight from protective dads the world over. What do I care if the mothership ends up looking like a giant weeble? As they say, Weebles Wobble but They Don't Fall Down (and damage the encased fetus of said over-protective father-to-be).
Speaking of being slightly overprotective. I have become like some sort of private secret service for my wife and spawn. It is almost a compulsion to get through the door first. Just in case there is some kind of threat that needs to be dealt with, like a terrorist, or some kind of Amway salesman. God help me when we go through a Mall. I turn into some kind of an overactive airport screener, I need to find where I can get one of those detector wands to speed up the process. In my mind I have just started profiling everybody who walks by too close. Old Lady? she's clear, Guy walking his dog? keep moving, dear god WE HAVE A POTHEAD!!!! Evacuate to the nearest Crate & Barrel, Stat! Intellectually I know I am being just a little bit nutty, but there is that little part of me that says no matter how small, there IS a chance that she could get hit by a stray meteor, and by god I will be there to keep it from happening.
As soon as I can figure out how, I am posting the video of who is easily the most psychotic tour guide We have ever met. We took a horse drawn sled ride in the snow for a ways. The horses were these amazing Percheron draft horses. I don't remember the names but what struck me was how small these things were. Granted, at 17 hands tall they weren't Shetland Ponies, but that is by no means a truly giant horse. But they pulled this huge sled like it was nothing through snow that was a couple of feet deep for about an hour and a half straight. So we started the ride with a total of 10 people on this sled, then this crazy SOB whips out a honest to god tiki mask and proceeds to tell the local "legend" of the mountain, all while staying in character. So a Crazy French-Canadian, holding a mask carved out of coconuts, telling Indian stories in temperatures approaching 0 degrees. It was just one of those situations that put me in what scientists call a "fight or flight reaction". Simply terrifying.
So this post is officially turning into a double header, as it is way too long. See you on the next post.
Duck confit (French: confit de canard) is a French dish made with the leg of the duck. The confit is prepared in a centuries-old process of preservation that consists of salt curing a piece of meat (generally goose, duck, or pork) and then poaching it in its own fat.
Yummy. I can just hear Janel and Andy just having a collective WTF moment right now, but I swear that it is not in the least bit greasy. And it was SOOOO delicious I literally was on the edge of tears at the time.
I did a bunch of skiing on the mountain. That's right, I said skiing. I got there and started out snowboarding, and after a little bit decided that I have invested too much time on snow to be crashing that much. So I switched back to skiing and had a good time.
Aga, on the other hand, wasn't allowed to do a damn thing by her cruel and oppressive husband. The mere act of her walking around on the snowy ground was enough to keep me 2 inches from a complete nervous meltdown. I swear that I could invent some type of giant rigid cone type device thingy that she would have to wear to prevent any falls. I would make a zillion dollars overnight from protective dads the world over. What do I care if the mothership ends up looking like a giant weeble? As they say, Weebles Wobble but They Don't Fall Down (and damage the encased fetus of said over-protective father-to-be).
Speaking of being slightly overprotective. I have become like some sort of private secret service for my wife and spawn. It is almost a compulsion to get through the door first. Just in case there is some kind of threat that needs to be dealt with, like a terrorist, or some kind of Amway salesman. God help me when we go through a Mall. I turn into some kind of an overactive airport screener, I need to find where I can get one of those detector wands to speed up the process. In my mind I have just started profiling everybody who walks by too close. Old Lady? she's clear, Guy walking his dog? keep moving, dear god WE HAVE A POTHEAD!!!! Evacuate to the nearest Crate & Barrel, Stat! Intellectually I know I am being just a little bit nutty, but there is that little part of me that says no matter how small, there IS a chance that she could get hit by a stray meteor, and by god I will be there to keep it from happening.
As soon as I can figure out how, I am posting the video of who is easily the most psychotic tour guide We have ever met. We took a horse drawn sled ride in the snow for a ways. The horses were these amazing Percheron draft horses. I don't remember the names but what struck me was how small these things were. Granted, at 17 hands tall they weren't Shetland Ponies, but that is by no means a truly giant horse. But they pulled this huge sled like it was nothing through snow that was a couple of feet deep for about an hour and a half straight. So we started the ride with a total of 10 people on this sled, then this crazy SOB whips out a honest to god tiki mask and proceeds to tell the local "legend" of the mountain, all while staying in character. So a Crazy French-Canadian, holding a mask carved out of coconuts, telling Indian stories in temperatures approaching 0 degrees. It was just one of those situations that put me in what scientists call a "fight or flight reaction". Simply terrifying.
So this post is officially turning into a double header, as it is way too long. See you on the next post.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
There might be 2 Maja's soon!
One of Aga's friends is due at the same time and just found out she is having a girl. A few weeks ago we saw her and her husband while they had a layover in Atlanta and turned out we all chose Maja for a girl. They are getting theirs :)... we will see what happens here, although with all the girls lately, this one is bound to be a boy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)