What's In A Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet..."

Okay, folks! You requested an opportunity to chip in on the baby naming process, so here's your chance! Click on the "Comments" link and give us your favorite (or most amusing). You can submit as many ideas as you'd like.

But, of course, here's the fine print: we promise to read each one, but we don't promise to use any of them. (And given that one of the names already submitted was Bobby Jon Jimmy, that's probably a good thing! We wouldn't want this little fellow to be primed to be the next star of Talladega Nights before he's even born, would we?!)

Have fun. We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Yep, I'm Pregnant!

I may have wondered in late January, but I'm definitely sure of it now. I'm pregnant! My belly "popped" about two weeks ago, and now almost none of my pants fit (though in my ultimate state of frugality I'm doing a great job of rigging my fly with rubber bands and twist ties). But soon, I'll definitely be in maternity wear! I am now 23 weeks along.

Our Boy

Here are a few pictures from the ultra-sound on March 16. One is the "boy" picture (I can't believe I'm putting this on the internet!), and the others are his profile and his hand. Amazing!

Boy, Oh Boy!

On Friday, March 16, Em and I found out we are having a baby boy! This – having a baby – is seeming a little more real, even if the little guy looks more like Gollum than our son. The experience of seeing him was nothing less than amazing!

Am I Really Pregnant?

By late January, we had already had two good visits to the doctor (including an ultrasound), but I was still wondering. After a fairly uneventful first trimester, I was starting to feel normal again and wasn’t showing at all. And then finally, in late February, I sprouted just a little bit of a bump. (Not much, but enough for me to rest easy that everything was still okay!) Here’s a picture taken on February 25 at 19 weeks. And of course, Marley wanted to get in on the action!

The Best Christmas Present Ever

Though we had to tell a few little white lies to pull it off, we surprised both of our families with our big news on Christmas. We had everyone open their gifts at once, and inside they found an ultrasound picture (from our December 21 visit) and a picture frame that said, “Insert picture of Baby Jones on or about July 23, 2007.” They were SO surprised and excited! Here are pics of Susan Jones and Grandma Burkhalter finding out, and we have great video footage of the Redmans getting the news.

We're PREGNANT!

We suspected something was up in early November, but two home pregnancy tests came out negative. We were more confused than disappointed – it really seemed strange that I was craving broccoli (those who know me well will understand that this should have been a dead giveaway).

So we followed the package instructions and waited two weeks, and got our answer on Friday, November 17: a definite, digital YES that appeared in seconds! We were a bit surprised (this wasn’t planned) but absolutely elated, but we had to keep our excitement quiet – my sister Heather was arriving for a weekend visit within an hour. So we did our best to be ‘normal’, even when Heather asked me point blank if I was pregnant. And she wasn’t the only one! It felt like everyone was asking out of the blue, but we did a great job of lying (and asking forgiveness later). We wanted to keep it quiet so we could surprise everyone at Christmas!

I confirmed the news the following Monday at Planned Parenthood (I had to be certain!) and a visit to Dr. Maybach in early December made it real: our due date is Monday, July 23, 2007!

The Original Baby Jones

First, we have to introduce you to the original baby of the family – our favorite little schnauzer, Marley. He joined the family on October 25 at 4 months old, and within days had us wrapped around his little paw. Here are a few pictures to make you fall in love with him, too!