Vacation At Home

We had a great weekend hanging out near home. We generally enjoyed the fabulous weather-- eating out with friends, lounging at the pool, taking Lili to swim at her beach, and riding over to Orange Beach to check out all the new development on Perdido Key.

Our neighbor Bill was "kind" enough to snap this shot of Dennis and me on our way to the pool yesterday. Lovely, aren't I? The fact that I've posted the photo on this blog demonstrates that, in my quest to keep in touch, I've moved beyond any vanity I may have harbored. Actually, it's really just an attempt to demonstrate to all you well-wishers out there that I am indeed still pregnant. Thanks for all your calls and emails.

My co-clerk Mason thinks it would be hilarious if I just forgot to mention, for approximately 3 years, that I finally delivered The Bean. I promise to let y'all know about it before he's potty trained.

Still contracting, by the way . . .

38 Weeks Pregnant & HE'S Ready!

No, not The Bean. Dennis.

Last night, when I told him I refused to believe this strange tightening in my abdomen is a contraction because I don't feel ready for the baby, Dennis announced that he's ready. I snickered. Then, I inquired: "You're ready?!" He responded, "I'm always ready." Then, I knew my skepticism was not unreasonable.

When Dennis is "ready" to go out to dinner, it means that he's going to "jump into the shower," while I run an iron over his clothes, feed the dog, put her out on the porch, lock the doors and then hand him his car keys as we walk out. To his credit, he usually drives to the restaurant (at least since I'm pregnant).

No, seriously, the great thing about Dennis is that, while he doesn't prepare in advance for much, he does handle pressure situations really well. I guess that's why he does what he does.

And, in a demonstration of the fact that he is "ready," D made the mature decision last night that we shouldn't go out of town for the Memorial Day weekend. Really?! After weeks of mulling it over, he said, "I guess we should stay home. I mean, it seems kind of stupid-- you're contracting, and I'm tired."

Poor him! So we're staying home for the long weekend, pretending we're "away at the beach," allowing Dennis to rest up. :)

Wow! It's a little different when it's YOU!

Just wanted to share the picture of the day last October when we discovered The Bean was real. I can't say we didn't suspect it before. But, despite D's education and my intuition, we hadn't really accepted it as true. I guess that explains the deer in the headlights looks on these faces.

Dennis had been back from Kuwait less than 3 weeks, and we had taken off to Italy for a wonderful, relaxing trip -- a week at a villa in Tuscany followed by hiking in the Cinque Terre. Sleeping late, eating and drinking well, enjoying peaceful time together. Was that lifestyle destined to be just a memory now?! Were we happy-- but nervous.

It's been almost 9 months, though, so we're much more comfortable with the idea of parenthood (right!). Stay tuned to see the glassy, wide-eyed photos of two new parents.