wishes

hopefully tomorrow we get some good 3d views of ali to share.

and hopefully she's not turned into a grape. or a jersey mikes sub.

Dear Ali,

    I just finished taking a test and since the rest of the class is so slow, I have nothing to do but sit and wait. You're boppin' around all the time now, which (most of the time) is really fun and exciting. Then there are times, like when I'm in class trying to make it until break to use the bathroom, I wonder:

   a) what are you doing in there?
   b) must you engage in that exact behavior at this specific moment? and
   c) if perhaps you are exactly as intelligent as Daddy is sure you are, therefore     fully aware of the effects your clamors have on Mommy.

    You're about six months "old" now and it's amazing how much you've already wiggled your way into the center of our lives. Tomorrow we're getting another ultrasound and are so excited to see our darling daughter once again. You're practically famous Ali! Mommy and Daddy have your adorable likeness flying through cyberspace everywhere, easily accessible to all the friends and family eagerly awaiting your blessed arrival.

      Love,
       Mommy

sounds, both ultra and traditional

so this is one of the greatest things yet. the books and word-of-mouth advice tell us that ali has reached the point where she is very into outside stimulus. she has made peace with her own little world in the depths of ashley's midsection and is looking for action. basically, its time for us to start messing with her.

so we hook up the ipod to my big rappin' headphones, stretch those bad boys as far as they can reach around ali's hovel, and let the tunes blare. and she loves it. she immediately started busting all around and tonight even started kicking (we call it kicking, but could be punching, head butting, etc) right under one of the earpieces. its awesome.

we also shined a few flashlights in there but she didn't seem impressed. as for musical selections, we played several different genres the other night, but she was most into beethoven's seventh. so tonight we went with some baby bach from the baby einstein folks.

on another note, we're going for a bonus ultrasound on thursday. apparently philips is the reigning ultrasound champs these days and their base of global (ultrasound) operations is here in the seattle area. so we get to be one of their models (well, ash and ali do while i watch) and get paid for some ultrasounding and some more pics. we're hoping for some 4d action (the cool ones that don't look like radar images) so stay tuned to see if that materializes.

thanks for everyone's kind words and support. we love you all.

p.s. - oh yea, and they said i should start reading to ali so she gets used to my voice. so for her first book i picked james thurber's my life and hard times.

Engaged

So I know this blog is supposed to be about Ali, but I figure her mommy and daddy getting engaged over the weekend pretty much belongs:



And before you can ask....No, we haven't a clue where we will be going from here, nor when. We spent the weekend in Victoria with Tony's Mom (thanks Billie!), his brother Dave and Dave's girlfriend Rachel. Sunday night, post proposal, Tony was able to feel Ali moving around for the first time. Only three more days until we hit the six months mark! Every morning I seem to be so much bigger than the night before. This last picture is "Ali" enjoying the half day of nice weather we had:

thanks, cynthia!

and our collection grows! we've got quite a few adorable outfits for the young lady already. i find myself magnetically attracted to the baby clothes as can probably be evidenced by the amount of flickr pictures i've devoted to outfits.

exhibit a:

meet ali, the daughter

Our first look at the little one was from the bottom, confirming what we already knew in our hearts: our baby is a little girl. She's quite an adorable 10 ounces, sitting with her legs crossed and shying away from all the procedures the medical professional had to conduct (she gets it from her daddy). Her fist is raised to her head, surely the sign of a strong woman and/or budding revolutionary. She moves around quite a bit which no doubt can take some of the credit for the internal symphony her mother has been conducting. Now if only it could explain daddy...

We went and bought some little fuzzy pink socks to commemorate the occasion. There are more ultrasound pictures on flickr. You can click the one above to get there, or any of them to the left.

edit: Tony forgot to mention the cutest part of the whole thing, little Ali had hiccups throughout our whole viewing!

Dear Baby,

    Tomorrow you will hopefully become more than an "it." Your dad and I are excited to have more than a baby, coming kid, child or pregnancy. We want a boy or a girl, an Alizabeth or...another name to decide upon. We want a reference to an individual. We want to know you!

    There's just over five months until you're due to enter this world, our lives and my arms. It seems both an eternity and a hopelessly small passage that will elapse before we know it. You're growing so quickly (although, most of the time, I bemoan that a me growing so quickly!). Daddy loves it and, just so you know, he's the best you could ask for. He takes good care of "his girl" (me) or, often, "his girls." If you're a boy I hope you don't take offense to our occansional "shes" and "hers."

    Keep growing little one, just as you're supposed to, and your parents will keep working hard to make your life as good as we want it to be. We love you and we'll see you tomorrow.

     Love,
      Mommy

P.S. Feel free to start kicking...it might have to be hard at first, Mommy doesn't know what she's feeling for!

boy names

thought about and looked up some boy names tonight. a few i liked:

• Clark - "his special talent may lie in his ability to uncover hidden resources both in himself and in others"³; bonus points for Clark Gable and being unpopular (#795 in 2005)²
• Elias - Greek form of Elijah; bonus points for nicknamability (Eli); "at his best when he is at home or in other familiar environments"³; nickname Eli means "my God" in Hebrew¹
• Theodore - means "gift of god"¹; high nickname threshold (Ted, Theo); old-tyme sound; "a born communicator"³
• Byron - "Byron can offer a great deal of aid and comfort to his friends and family. He has profound insights concerning daily life, yet his advice is very down-to-earth and has a definite practical application. Byron is usually dedicated to an ideal, one that is often connected to helping others find their way."³
  
• Arthur - "it is easier for him to integrate others into his realm than vice versa"³; King Arthur (of course)

References:

1. Behind the Name
2. Popular Baby Names
3. The Hidden Truth of Your Name