The New Mrs. Moore

John and Tricia's wedding was Friday December 28th. It was a beautiful ceremony and a really fun reception. We are so excited that Tricia is now Mrs. Moore.

Tom's First Christmas (In Picture)

Tom had a pretty hectic first Christmas. As always, we were all over the place this year (Kentucky, Mt. Adams, Legendary Run) so by 11 last night it was sleepy time. Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Tom patiently waiting for Mom and Dad to pick out some clothes for the evening.
Christmas Eve at GG and Hi-Pop's house (GG & Hi-Pop are my parents)

Tom encounters the "baby whisperer" aka Great Uncle Larry.

This was his Christmas outfit, given to him that day by GG.

Tom gets to meet Great Aunt Martha at the Moore's house for Christmas lunch.

Finally, it may look like he is crying, but Aunt Coley was actually getting BIG smiles out of Tom on Christmas night.

We had such a great Christmas this year. It was really fun seeing all the family and introducing Tom to everyone. I hope everyone out there had just as nice of a day as we did.

When I See You Smile

He is warming up, getting ready to give us the good stuff!

And here it is! You should see the things Emily and I do to get this reaction. I would smile too if I was watching us.

My Wisdom Leaves as Tom Grows

Everything went well with the wisdom teeth on Thursday. I was in and out of the dentist's office in under an hour. Thursday was basically a blur. I slept all day, ate a little and then slept all night. It was like college all over again, minus the beer and Playstation. (And I guess the studying?) Friday was bit more painful, but nothing over the top. When we got to the weekend, I was feeling pretty good. Then we encountered a little talked about event that happens to all newborns, the growth spurt.
Obviously all babies grow, but I had never heard anyone talk about these spurts that happen at certain weeks. Well, this is week 6 for Thomas, and judging by his fussiness, unbelievable appetite, and lack of sleep... he is in the middle of a growth spurt. After a couple nights of trying to figure out what the deal is with our suddenly not sleepy/always hungry baby, Emily and I read a little bit about the week 6 growth spurt in the "What to Expect in the First Year" book. Basically, he is going to be hungry a lot more than usual for a few days. Hey, thanks for the update! Also, after thinking we may have got the bedtime ritual down, Tom decided to remind us that we aren't really in control of that yet. Will we ever be?
Overall, though, he is doing a lot better in terms of temperament and sleeping then he was even 2 weeks ago. He loves the mornings, smiling almost the entire time between 8 am and 11 am. Those smiles are like gold! Emily and I will do everything we can to keep them coming becuase they are just so amazing. Who knew?

Bye Bye All My Wisdom

I am getting my wisdom teeth (3 of them) pulled out tomorrow. I'm not too excited about this, but hopefully it will be over quick, and my cheeks don't swell up too bad. I needed to drop a few pounds anyway, so the soup diet may be a good thing for a few days.

I may post some pictures if the aftermath is really interesting. Otherwise, I'll be back with more Thomas stuff next week.

Has it been a month already?

I can't believe Thomas is (over) a month old now! That was a fast 4 weeks. We are all starting to get used to each other now. The sleeping schedules are still a bit of a mystery to Tom, but I think he is doing much better (or we are now used to 4 hours of sleep). He usually has a few good nights, followed by a really bad night and then back to good. Just to let you know, a good night would be a 10:00 PM feeding, followed by 3 - 4 hours of sleep, then another feeding and another 3 - 4 hours of sleep. The bad nights are 10:00 PM feeding, 30 minutes of sleep, 1 hr (off and on) of crying, another feeding, more crying, etc until 4 am. He usually falls asleep at 4 regardless of how the last 5 - 6 hours went. The first 2 - 3 weeks we had more bad nights than good. This last week he has really turned that around. Emily is doing a fantastic job getting up at 2 or 3 or 4 am and feeding him for 45 minutes. This is the same Emily that used to be non-functional if she didn't have 9 hours of sleep. She has taken to motherhood beautifully. I am very proud of her.

Tom had his month checkup yesterday. He has gained 2 pounds since his last checkup, putting him at 11 pounds 8 ounces. He has also grown an inch, up to 22 inches long now. He was able to follow noise from one side of the table to the other. He can hold his head up and he is starting to smile and react to things we do. So cool!

He is also a partier. My parents hosted an wedding shower/cocktail party for John and Tricia last weekend and Thomas was an active participant. He stayed up for the whole thing and was not fussy at all. Here are some pictures from that party:

A Lot of Pictures!

Our first Thanksgiving with Thomas was very busy and very fun. It started on Wednesday night when our friend, Sarah Pearce and her mom and dad stopped by to see Thomas. We had some cookies, caught up a little bit, and then The Pearce Family got to witness Thomas and his amazing sprinkler system in full effect. Not once, but twice while I was changing him, the sprinkle system kicked in and watered the baby room floor. We should see our first tree spring up any day now. Here is a picture of Sarah holding Thomas.

On Thursday, I got up and ran the Thanksgiving Day Race at 9. We then packed up the car and headed to my parent's house for brunch. That turned out to be baby central, as several under 3 year old's were there. It was fun and exhausting at the same time. We then headed to the Moore's Farm in Russelville, Ohio for an old fashioned Thanksgiving in the country. Here are some pictures of that evening:

Emily carving up our 22 pound Turkey!

Thomas (with Aunt Tricia) learning the correct hand posture for praying. He actually did this on his own several times over the weekend. As first time parents, it does not take much to impress us.

Thomas meets Aunt Kate.

What do you do after dinner? That's right, take a nice bath and get cleaned up.

Overall, Thomas did pretty well on his first family holiday. He will be a crafty veteran by the time Christmas gets here.

Happy Slapsgiving!

If you don't watch How I Met Your Mother, first off shame on you, it's an awesome show, but this clip may not be that funny. Still worth a watch. Happy Slapsgiv....I mean Thanksgiving everyone.

I didn't go on my first date until I was 16!

Thomas had his first "date" last week. Emily's friend, Katie, brought her baby Liliana over for a play date. Liliana is a few weeks older than Thomas so Katie has been a great help to us with advice. I was not home for this date, but from what I heard, it went pretty well. The parents have already started planning the wedding details!

So You Say It's Your Birthday! (6 days ago)

Happy birthday Coley!

This is about 6 days late, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Boy's Night In

Last night, Thomas and I had our first boy's night in together. Emily was feeling good and her book club was getting together, so she decided to head on out for a few hours and let the Anderson boys hang out at home.

I have to say, at first, I was a little nervous. Emily provides the one thing that Thomas always wants.....food. What if he got a sudden hunger pain and I couldn't help out? Well, Emily was able to leave me with some food with the help of a pump and a bottle, and we had some pre-made formula that the hospital was nice enough to give us, so I felt OK on that front. The other thing I was worried about was not being able to keep him happy and/or sleepy. Turns out I really had nothing to worry about at all. I got to feed him at 7, which he happily took. I got some good awake time with him. Good meaning, he was awake, he was focusing on me and my funny stories, and he was not crying. Then around 8:00, he fell sound asleep until Emily came home at 9:30. Not a bad first boys night in, if I do say so myself. This picture shows you the extent of what Thomas did:

I think he took it easy on me, knowing I was a first timer.

You Know What's Fun to do at 3 am with a crying baby?

NOTHING! Just kidding.

I've actually learned a few things about myself being up that late trying to get Thomas to go to sleep. First, I learned that I can count the individual nails on the hardwood floor in our dinning room at least 3 times before I get distracted and have to start over.

Second, I learned that I can make up a song on the spot and repeat it over and over again for an hour. Some of the better lines from these songs have words that rhyme with "Tom" "Poop" and "Diaper".

Speaking of diapers, third I learned that a diaper is not clean until you confirm that it is clean. You could have changed a dirty diaper 2 minutes before, but if he is crying, you better check again.

Finally, I learned that no matter how much he cries and keeps us awake, Emily and I are going to have the patience and the energy to wake up and help calm him down. I can't believe how quickly we both have adapted to this new schedule. Just when we think we are too tired to be productive, Thomas will do something new and get us all excited and re-energized. It really is a lot of fun. Besides how can you not have all the patience in the world for this little face:

WARNING: Half Naked Baby Photos Ahead!

We took Thomas to the doctor on Monday for his first checkup. Everything looked great, even his jaundice was gone. He is really doing so well. He eats a lot, he poops a lot, and thankfully, he does not cry a lot. (Talk to me in a few days and that last statement may be different). Here are some pictures from the doctors office.

I am the CHAMPION!

What you lookin' at, Mom?
Thomas William Anderson....Good to meet you Dad.

Time to go home....I'm sleepy or maybe I'm hungry, or maybe I need a diaper change.

Home Sweet Homer....Just Got a Little Sweeter

We are all home now and it feels great to be there with our little man. Thomas is doing great and mom and dad are feeling pretty tired and happy. Here are a few more pictures of him and us at home.

Picture Picture and More Pictures

If anyone wants to come down to say hello and see the live version of Thomas and all his pooping, sleeping, and crying action, we are at Good Sam in Clifton, floor #13 Room 1372. The best time to come is after 4 PM, between 4 and 8.....Children under 14 need to have documentation of a flu vaccine or they won't be allowed in to the wing. If you want to call us, our cell phones are not getting very strong signals, so the room phone is 513-762-3822.

Now....Here are the first pictures of Thomas William Anderson.



This is our AWESOME doctor...Dr. Wurzbacher.



Mommy and Thomas see each other for the first time.



Proud GrandMa Moore getting a look at her Grandson.

And We Have LIFT OFF!

Baby A is now officially Thomas William Anderson. He came to this world very reluctantly, but wide eyed and crying. He was very big at 9 Lbs 4 ounces. It got a little dicey at the end. Emily did not take any pain medication thru the entire process, but Thomas was just too big. So after they tried the vacuum, the doctors decided to do a C-Section. He finally came out screaming at 5:16 PM. Mom and Baby are doing great, dad is a little light headed (GrandMa Moore said I did awesome). The final tally on the INCFP was around 35, I lost track once Thomas arrived, but I know I said some pretty inappropiate things.

Pictures to come at some future point. Thanks for all the great comments, I read them to Emily during the really hard contractions and she said they helped.

Doctor Doctor. Give Me the News.

5 AM ready to leave the house.


We checked into the hospital at 5 am. We are now 4 hours in, Emily has been given Pitocin and we are waiting for the doctor to come in and break her water. It has been pretty calm so far, Emily has even fallen asleep for an hour or so. The pain level is on around a "1" according to Em, but she has had some contractions. We are now watching Martha Stewart and letting the medicine work. I have some good pictures, but am having trouble uploading them. I will hopefully get those up soon. We are keeping a running count of inappropriate/nervous comments from Patrick. As of now we are at 4.

UPDATE 9:45 AM

The water was just broken. Inapprpriate/Nervous comments from Patrick: 9 (this will be known as INCFP from now on)


This was when we first checked in....before the Pitocin.



UPDATE 11:15 AM

The contractions are getting more intense and longer. They are now lasting a minute and Emily's pain level is a "5 or 6". We are losing our nurse, Kim, to a shift change. She was awesome. The new nurse should be in soon to check on everything. Hopefully we like her too! INCFP Count: 12

UPDATE 12:15 PM

4 cms dilated. Contractions are lasting about 1 minute and are 2 - 3 minutes apart. We are moving out of early labor and into active labor. Basically that means in the next 3 - 5 hours Emily should get to around 7 cms dilated and have the same kind of contracions.After we reach that, the next stage will be accomplished when Emily gets to 10 cm. Then it will be almost time to push. INCFP Count: 14 (not many opportunities the last hour) By the way our new nurse's name is Precious.....all those cat dreams we had just came flooding back.

UPDATE 2:45 PM

6 cm dilated. Long LONG contractions, very close together. This may be my last update. Doc says we are getting close. My wife is a breathing CHAMPION! INCFP Count: 14 I am in the zone.

The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow

This picture was taken this morning and will be the last time you will see Emily's belly this big, at least for a year or so. The next time I post on the blog, it should be from the hospital as we are going thru labor. We are both pretty excited, nervous, anxious, and excited again. Hopefully everything goes as smooth as possible and by dinner time tomorrow we will finally meet our little one.

Since it is Halloween, here is a fun link to the greatest Halloween show ever. Pay particular attention at the 0:16 mark and the 2:21 mark. If you were around when I was training for the New York City Marathon, you will recognize these two scenes. I have been told I do a great impression of both.

OK......that is all for now. Check back again, often, tomorrow for updates.

Monday Monday...(Dah Dahhhh Dah Dah Dah Dah)

Yes......Emily is still pregnant. We had a pretty big doctor's appointment today. They did a non stress test and another ultrasound. The non stress test is pretty simple. They put a heart rate monitor on Emily's belly and check to make sure the baby's heart rate is constant. They also check for steady movements. They do this in 20 minute intervals for an hour. So basically you get 5 non stress tests. If you pass the first one (heartbeat between 120 and 170 bpm and 10 movements) you are cleared to go. If not, they do it again for 20 more minutes until the hour is over. Well, we passed on the first test. That was a relief.

Next we did the ultrasound to make sure everything looked good with the baby and the fluid level. Again, everything looked great. The baby even has some hair (I am already jealous). The technician said the baby should be between 7.5 and 9.5 pounds.

Finally we went to our regular doctor visit. This is when things really got interesting. Our doctor, again, put a monitor on Emily's belly to check the baby's heart rate. Once again everything was normal. She then told us we would probably be back in on Thursday for another non stress test. If everything was normal again, we would set an induction date for next Monday (Nov. 5Th). So, while we were extremely happy that the baby is very healthy in the womb, we were a little upset thinking there had been no progress in terms of dilation and that we would have to go another full week before anything happened.

Our doctor was basing these thoughts on our previous visits the last few weeks. So after she had told us all that, she did the internal examination and we got some really good news. Emily's body is ready. So ready in fact, that the doctor was willing to schedule an induction tonight if we wanted to do it. It was a complete 180 from what she had thought before the examination. Well, needless to say, it was a good visit. We are scheduled for induction on Thursday November 1st at 5am, if the baby does not come beforehand, which is very possible.

So, I just spent my last weekend as a non-parent. I wish the Bengals would have beat Pittsburgh, that would have been something I would have never forgotten. :)

I will be blogging from the hospital, so keep checking the blog for updates. Keep us in your prayers this week.

Clocks

Still waiting.....(No, this is not Emily!)

Induction Junction...What's Your Function?

Today was the day the doctors thought we would be parents. Well, not so much. We saw the doctor this morning, and our baby is just as happy as can be in the womb. To our little Baby A, mommy's belly is like a 4 bedroom 3 bath house overlooking the ocean and Pebble Beach Golf Course.

So, next Monday we are scheduled to have another Ultra Sound and a Non-Stress Test to make sure everything is still on the up and up in that womb. If the fluid level is good and the baby's heartbeat is normal, we get to wait yet another week until they induce labor. As you may have guessed, this was not the news we were expecting when we walked in to the office today. We thought they would schedule the induction for next week. Not that we want to be induced, we just want to meet this little person that has been kicking Emily's ribs for the last 2 months. Oh well, the waiting continues. I guess it just shows how great a host Emily is. Our baby just does not want to leave the well lit and beautifully decorated womb that Emily prepared for him/her.

Ok Computer

Emily and I had been sharing her MAC as our home computer. Well, this weekend the only news to come out of the Anderson household was that the MAC is down and out. We took it to get fixed and they said the battery won't hold a charge, but it should work fine if plugged in to the wall. So, we got home, did that and out of nowhere, this horrible noise came shrieking out of the computer. The sound reminds me of the Banshee that I had a link to in the post below. Very high pitched and very annoying. Also, it does not stop when we shut the computer down. That's right, the screaming computer lives on even after we turn the power off. Not quite sure how that happens, but hopefully we get it fixed today. If not, the hospital room blogging I promised may not happen. Also, all of Emily's email addresses are on that computer, which is a problem when you are expecting a baby any day now and you want to be able to tell all your friends about it without racking up a major phone bill. Keep your fingers crossed that we get it worked out.

Doctor's visit tomorrow morning, I'll have an update for you all afterwards.

You Are My Dear My Darling One

So the news from the doctor was more of the same. We are scheduled for one more visit, next week on what the doctors originally thought was the due date (Oct. 23rd), if there is no change then, we will schedule a day for Emily to be induced. Meanwhile, Emily will continue to eat really spicy food and go for long walks throughout the day.

Since we are getting close to Halloween, I wanted to share a clip that used to scare the banshesus out of me when I was a kid(right at the 1:00 mark). In case you don't know where this came from, it was my favorite movie growing up....Darby O'Gill and the Little People. It stars a very young Sean Connery, here is a clip of him singing the song that inspired this post.

Oh the movies of my youth! By the way, if anyone can find this movie on DVD, please let me know where I can buy it.

Your Kiss is on My List

Nothing new to report. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I will have an update on Thursday. Also, in what I consider good news, Emily has agreed to let me blog from the delivery room. How lucky are all of you? So when the big day arrives, I will post up to date news as much as I can from the actual room. Pictures will not be included.

I did find this list and wanted to pass it on to all my soon to be or currently expecting fathers. I highlighted the ones that, in some non-thoughtful moments, I have actually said:

TOP THINGS NOT TO SAY TO YOUR PREGNANT WIFE

"Not to imply anything, but I don't think the kid weighs forty pounds."

"Y'know, looking at her, you'd never guess that Angelina Jolie had a baby!"

"Well, couldn't they induce labor? The 21st is a home game."

"Steve at the office passed a stone the size of a pea. Boy, that's gotta hurt."

"I'm jealous! Why can't men experience the joy of childbirth?"

"Are your ankles supposed to look like that?"

"Get your *own* ice cream!"

"Got milk?"

"Retaining water? Yeah, like the Hoover Dam retains water."

"You don't have the guts to pull the trigger, Buddha."

"Sure you'll get your figure back -- we'll just search 2006 where you left it."

"Keys are on the fridge, honey. I'll see you at the hospital at half-time."

"Honey -- Come show the guys your Brando impression!"

"Sweetheart, where'd you put that Victoria's Secret catalog?"

"Hey, when you're finished pukin' in there, get me a beer, willya?"

"That's not a bun in the oven -- it's the whole friggin' bakery!"

"I know today's your due date, but John just got a 10 point buck and that's a reason to celebrate, too."

Same Old Story....Same Old Song & Dance

The update from our doctor visit yesterday is pretty much the same. Emily had a little more dialation, but nothing too news worthy. They did write her a note so she can stop working next week (Tuesday would be her last day) and start taking it easy. Besides that, not much more to report.

On another front, our friend Tracy Gonsior (her and her husband John hosted the couples shower I blogged about earlier) and her son Will are local celebrities now. Take a look at this video from Channel 19 news this morning. I think Will has a future in Hollywood. His dramatic pauses and curious looks remind me of a young DeNiro.

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part

I apologize for not updating the blog the last few days. As the title of this post will tell you, we have been dealing with waiting the last couple of days.

First, we have the ongoing waiting for the baby. Even though the due date is still a few weeks away, Emily is ready. Her feet and hands are swelling, when the baby kicks, it now kicks her rib cage, and her tummy is reaching maximum density. Add to that her ever changing hormones and let's just say the last few days have been fun. Even with all those things, Emily is still very happy and excited. Her only complaint is not knowing when the baby will arrive. Does anyone like waiting and not knowing?

The second bit of waiting we were dealing with (that directly affected this blog) was at the hospital this weekend. My dad had a little breathing episode on Friday and was admitted to the hospital that day. From Friday evening at 5 to yesterday at 5 we basically all had to wait around for stuff. Wait for a nurse to bring him food, wait for a doctor to tell him what is going on, wait for an appointment for an Angiogram, wait for the Angiogram, and finally wait for another doctor to tell us about the Angiogram. Honestly, it was close to unbearable. I have never sat in a waiting room for over 5 hours before with no answer or word from anyone. Add to that the fact the an Angiogram directly involves his heart, and it was a little nerve racking. Well, they finally got to us and everything is 100% fine with his heart. He basically has an infection or high blood pressure and that is what is causing his breathing issues. So, 84 hours after checking in to the hospital, my dad gets to go home with some new medicine and a hole in his groin. Good times!

Tuesday Night Is All Right for Eating!

When Emily and I were first dating (2003), I tried to impress her by making us dinner one night. Everything seemed to go off great. I was feeling pretty good about myself. Well, apparently my 90210 Chicken Dinner (Chicken Breasts baked in Cream of Mushroom Soup) and Bob Evans Microwaved Mashed Potatoes was not as impressive as I thought. As we got to know each other better, I realized that Emily comes from a long line of great Chefs. Her mom is awesome in the kitchen. She will make just about everything from scratch, it tastes great, and is usually healthy for you. Apparently, Emily's grandma made delicious cookies. Emily inherited this trait as well. Our regular weekday dinners are usually better than what I can get at most restaurants. So, microwaved mashed potatoes had to go if I was going to impress Emily.

That year for Christmas, Emily got me a cookbook. I think I had used it once since she gave it to me. Basically I was the griller, Emily was the Chef. Well, with her being pregnant and low on energy, we dusted off the old cookbook and decided I should try making something from it every Tuesday night. Last night was my first attempt. Here is my creation:



Obviously I was very happy with it. Emily was as well. It was Chicken with Noodles, Broccoli, Carrots, Mushrooms and Cauliflower, served in a cream sauce. What do you think?

Pictures From Our Couples Shower

Last Friday the Gonsiors and Atkinsons hosted a couples baby shower for Emily and I at the Gonsior's house. Like most men, I have never been to a baby shower. I can tell you, if they are all like the one we went to on Friday, I am down for more baby showers! We played some trivia games, opened presents, had some great food, and, oh yeah, drank some beers(not Emily, just me). We had a great time. Here are some pictures from the event, including(if you look real close) some updated shots of Emily's belly.

Doctor Doctor....Give Me The News

The news from our doctor visit today.......Emily is 1 cm dialated and 50% effaced. Apparently that is good news. Basically it means she is progressing, but nothing is too eminent. The doctor again told us that she sees a 7 - 8 pound baby in our future and that everything looks great.

On the home front, we have started to pack a suitcase, the baby's room is finished and ready for it's full time resident to come stay. Now we just have to be patient and wait for Baby A to decide it is time to come on out and see the world.

If the moon was made of spare ribs, would you eat it?

These links are in honor of the Reds wrapping up the season with a chance to take the Cubs out of the playoffs.

First the fake Harry Caray. I laughed so hard at this skit, I was crying. The person who works next to me thought something bad had happened to me.

And the real deal. I don't think Harry knows what to think of all these ladies around him wanting that pizza.

The First Day Of Fall......Turn the A/C UP!!!!

So today was the first full day of Fall. The current temperature in Cincinnati.......96 degrees! This is one of the hottest days of the year. Usually at this point, we are getting wood for our fire pit and looking forward to hot apple cider and pumpkin pie. Emily and I even tried to help Fall along yesterday with a Chili Cook Off for the Bengals' game. Not only did that not help the Fall temperatures, it also did not help the Bengals.

For those wondering, Emily's White Turkey Chili easily defeated my Red Meat Crock Pot Chili. Yes, both of my "teams" lost yesterday. At least the Bengals kept it close. The Chili Cook Off was a blowout.

Ahhhh...Fun at The Doctor's Office

Yesterday, Emily and I had our 100Th visit to the doctor's office since we found out Emily was pregnant. Of course, I'm exaggerating, but we have gone there quite a bit since getting the good news. Most of the visits are pretty quick. When we first get there Emily gives a urine sample, they weigh her and take her blood pressure. Then we go to the little examination room and wait. This takes the longest amount of time. Finally, one of the doctors comes in, they put some goopy stuff on Emily's stomach and listen for the baby's heartbeat. After that, they are basically finished. Sometimes they will tell us cool stuff (heart rate, baby's approximate weight, maybe a new due date), but most of the time, they say, "OK everything looks good, see you in two weeks".

Well, yesterday we found out two cool things (I won't tell you how because Emily would kill me). First, the baby's head is in the correct position for birth (down). We were happy to hear that, since breach birth's aren't much fun. Second the baby is going to be under 10 pounds when born. That might have been the best news. A 10 pound baby just seems HUGE! If I remember correctly, the Anderson family has a few 10 pounders in our history so we had a chance.

We now are going to see the doctor every week. I used to get real nervous every time we walked in to that building. I have to say, I feel a lot less worried now that I have been there this many times. I know Emily is very comfortable with the doctors and likes how the staff treats her. Everything seems to moving along nicely.

I have one link to pass on to everyone, courtesy of my cousin Francie. If you are a dad or are going to be a dad, this guy may be our gold standard.

I Don't Know Nothin' About Birthin' No Baby!

We are about 4 weeks (if everything happens when the doctors say it will) away from going from expectant parents to actual parents. While 4 weeks seems like a long time, I am here to tell you, it's not. I remember when we were 20 weeks away and that seemed like a short time. 4 weeks is like a sneeze.

I found an interesting "Top Ten" list on a website called "Paternity Angel". (Why I was on a website called Paternity Angel, will be a topic for future discussion.) The list was the Top Ten Fears that expectant dads deal with during the pregnancy. Here is the list:

1. Will I be a good father?
2. Can I Financially Support The Family?
3. Can I Handle her Emotional Needs?
4. Am I Really The Father?
5. What If I Die Too Young?
6. Will My Wife & Baby Survive?
7. Will She Love The Baby More Than Me?
8. How Can I Help During The Pregnancy If I don’t understand “Women’s” Problems?
9. Will I Do A Good Job At The Birth?
10. But I Don’t Even Like Children, So How Can I Cope With This?

I would say that fears 1, 2, 3, 8, and 9 are all valid. At some point during the last 8 months I have worried about one or all of those things. I like the way they word #8, "women's problems". It just sounds funny. I guess they mean problems with painting her toes or which bow to put in her hair?

Fortunately, I didn't really think twice about #4. I've seen our mailman, not much to worry about there! :)

Now #5, that is something, as those who know me real well know, I think about all the time anyway. I think I have made sure things will be OK, if something like that were to happen, at least financially OK for Emily and the baby. Not a fun thing to think about for too long. Speaking of not fun things......

#6 is the scariest thing on the list. What I find works best with scary things (as you saw above) is to not even devote much time to thinking about them. Yes, there is a chance something could happen, but the doctors and nurses are all there for that very reason.

#7, Emily has enough love for everyone in our house, not a big concern for me.

#10......how can you not like kids? I consider myself a kid and I'm 31. I like me, so that fear is non-existent as well. Now not liking teenagers, that is a different story.

I have a few more fears that the good people at Paternity Angel left off the list, but I'll save those for a future blog entry.

My Beard is back....and there's gonna be some trouble?

Every Labor Day I let let my beard grow in and keep it until my birthday, the following year. I've noticed two things about this year's version of my face blanket. First, instead of being it's usual reddish color, there are now a few white/grey areas coming in. So, yes, I am not just bald, my facial hair is turning grey on me. The second thing I noticed, after watching this hilarious video, was that this beard could cause a future battle royal. So the beard may only be making a cameo appearance this year.

That video reminds me of the greatest band name I have ever heard....Oedipus and the Mama's Boys. Pure gold!

The new Fall Season

First off, the game last night was absolutely crazy and great! The last 5 minutes I think I had 3 or 4 heart attacks and a stroke. Just a wild wild game. I'm glad the Bengals pulled it out and got the win, but wow I can't take many more like that this year.

Tonight marks the beginning of the new Fall T.V. season, starting with one of Emily's favorite shows, "The Biggest Loser". I can't tell you how much Emily loves this series. For those who have never seen it, here is what happens. A group of overweight people get selected to participate in what is essentially a boot camp for losing weight. They break into two teams and every week the teams try to lose as much weight as possible. The team that loses the least amount of weight, has to vote someone off. There are a lot of sad moments and tears as well as some very happy moments......and tears. (Emily loves these emotional episodes) At the end, the person who lost the most percentage of weight is The Biggest Loser. It is pretty amazing when they show the final episode and you see a person who has lost 100 + pounds on stage looking pretty good. The show is quite addictive and for those looking to shed a few pounds, it really helps motivate you to work out or at the very least not eat dessert while it is on.

Besides "The Biggest Loser" we are looking forward to "Lost", "Heroes", "Project Runway", "How I Met Your Mother","The Office", "My Name is Earl" and "Notes From the Underbelly". Any shows out there that we should watch and are not on our list?

Finally, for those CSI fans, I give you Mr. David Caruso. YEEEEEAHHHHHHHHHH!!!! (For those non-CSI fans, this is still worth the watch, just for the over acting)

Game Time

Get ready for the game time night by clicking below.

WHO DEY !!!!!

Are you ready for some football?

If you are not ready, maybe my friend Terry Tate can help get you motivated. Here comes the PAIN TRAIN....WOOO WOOOOO!!!!

We had a dream....a weird dream

"To dream that you are giving birth to a non-human creature, signifies your overwhelming (and unfounded) fear in the health of your baby. You are overly concerned that your baby may have birth defects. This type of dream is common in expectant mothers in their second trimester."

I don't know how common it is for couples to have the same dream, I'm assuming it is not very common at all. The last few weeks Emily and I have had almost the exact same dream two times. In both dreams, Emily is giving birth to a cat. Yes, a kitty cat. We both found this odd and I decided to try and figure out what this dream meant. Apparently Emily and I are both worried about the health of our unborn child. Neither of us agree with that explanation, but the subconscious is a fickle mistress, my friends. The article continued to say this type of dream is very common for first time parents. I'm just glad this dream means something normal, and not that we should go out and buy some more kitty liter. I think Precious will be able to deal with a human, but another cat in the house would mean BIG trouble.

Is it a Fantasy?

This week was "Fantasy Football Week" in the Anderson household. I spent the last 5 days going over player rankings, checking preseason stats, looking at draft trends, and double checking injury reports. Emily spent the last week calling me a dork and enjoying total control of the television after work. I think it is a good compromise! Any way, we survived the insanity for another year, and I feel pretty good about the two drafts I participated in on Monday and Wednesday. I won't bore you with who I have on my two teams (Steve Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson on both, by the way). Just know that from time to time in this space you may get an update on how my teams are doing.

Here are your links for the long weekend.......

• For all you out there, like me, that love both The Simpsons and Star Wars, this one is right up our alley.
• This is one of the worst scenes ever from "Teen Witch", a movie that Coley used to watch all the time when we lived on Richwood.
• Here is what we, and pretty much everyone in Cincinnati, will be watching on Sunday night. Last year we were actually looking down on the fireworks thanks to a generous invite from the Pearce family to watch them from Highland Towers. I don't know if anything will beat that view.

Am I looking at the next 5 years?

A few years ago, Matt and I were golfing when he broke into a song about everyone making mistakes and that being OK. It was a pretty funny moment because the song was from Sesame Street which Matt had been watching with his then 1 year old daughter Jordan. Obviously this episode of Sesame Street had been on for a few days in the Williams' household, as Matt had memorized the song. The strange part for me was that I started singing this song too, all day and night, and pretty much all the next few weeks. I had not heard the song or even seen this episode or anything, yet this song was just on constant replay in my head. A scary moment for a guy, at the time, who was no where near ready to be a parent.

Well, I just ran across this video and was both fascinated and horrified..... Horified for poor Elijah Wood, just a few years ago he the lead in one of the biggest film series ever made. Now he is teaching some weird alien like animals how to dance. While I feel for Elijah, I was also fascinated that for the next 5 to 10 years these types of songs are going to become very familiar to me and Emily. They will, in effect, become our top 10. This would be yet another, "WOW" moment on my trip to fatherhood.

The Best News EVER!

It was announced earlier this week that American Gladiators is coming back. Any guy who was ages 8 - 14 in the mid to late 1980's was probably a fan of this show. How could we not be with informative health interviews like this?

The Gladiators also taught us about gender equality. I mean, both men and women participated, even though it was hard to tell the men from the women.

When the new episodes start, we can all only hope that the spandex and big hair are still a part of the wardrobe. I will be anxiously awaiting the first episode in my one piece, spandex Nitro inspired, jump suit! GLADIATORS FOREVER!

Emily's Birthday!

Emily's birthday was yesterday. I think she had a very nice day. It started with a facial, then she had lunch with her friend from high school, Peggy. After working on the bumper for our baby crib, our entire local family came over for dinner. We had some delicious New York Strip steaks, which were from the cows that the Moore's raised last year, appropriately named T-Bone and Hamburger.

This was G.G. (Gramma Gail) with Francie. Their faces say it all, "Look at the size of those steaks!"

John, Tricia, Kristy, G.G. and Francie relax after the HUGE dinner and dessert. I think everyone had a good time.