BOY oh BOYS!

We're expecting a baby boy! BROTHERS! How cute!

ALSO, in our 8-unit apartment group, 3 of us ladies are pregnant and all due within a month of each other. This is going to be one fun and noisy fall for the Alpine Meadows. (<-- what kind of name is that for an apartment in mediterranean Calfornia??)

I have been home from CABO SAN LUCAS for 24 hours now and am still completely blissed out. It was amazing to celebrate Karen's finding Daniel with tropical snorkeling, sun, sand, and lots and lots of (non-alcoholic) pina coladas. I am the luckiest girl ever and can't believe I got to spend 5 days and 4 nights here:



and then return home to the man I'm in love with and our darling, funny little son. Lovely, lovely, lovely life.

I get to see my sister and mom in person this week! Which means I get to tell them the baby's gender in person. Which means ... I can't tell you until I tell them!

But if you're Luke's family, call him, I bet he'll tell ya.

Unknowing

It is ultrasound day. Little baby Wagner is 20 weeks along, and today we get a sneak peek at him or her. I am so excited that I had a hard time sleeping last night ... and if you know pregnant me, you know that is amazing. At lunchtime, I'll pick Luke up from work and we will go together to the office, and afterward we'll eat a gender-appropriate meal for the little one. (Hamburgers for a boy, salads and cucumber sandwiches for a girl? I honestly have no gender preference at all -- though I still feel like I'm destined to birth a herd of adorable, loving little boys -- but hamburgers sound pretty tasty.)

Right now, I'm half reveling, half fretting in these last few hours of unknowing. The time when anything is possible and nothing is certain. When I still have to use both gender pronouns, because (s)he is still a secret to me. And the time when my mind runs to worry because maybe (s)he isn't forming properly, maybe his/her organs aren't properly tucked inside his/her body, maybe maybe maybe ...

And I have to be calm. And remember that I am tiny, and that God IS, and rest in that.

But Luke kind of thinks (s)he is a girl, and he is right about things a surprising percentage of the time.

Things I am/have been competitive about:

1. My credit score. Currently. Really just with Luke.

2. My GPA. From ages 8 to 12. With Karen. We would take our little green-printed report cards (although in K & 1st mine were still card stock, hand-written by teacher, I'm that old!), run to Mom's little printing calculator, and compare.

3. The length of time I could hold my breath under water/continuously hula hoop. Ages <14. With Karen or anyone else who would play. I have since given up all hope of beating Karen in athletic competitions, save anything stretching or dance-related.

4. Spades, 42, and Quiddler scores. Since Mom & Dad taught Karen and me how to play at the cabin, since Shanna taught me how to play at The Chicken, and since my mama-in-law gave me the game. With anyone who challenges me. Mostly I'm not competitive about games, but I really like these. Spades and 42 are especially great because you have a teammate, so you can excuse your competitiveness a little by pretending you're just supporting your team.

What are you competitive about?

We're models!

A few months ago, we took pictures with Stroller Hikes for an advertising campaign that ran in Bay Area Parent Magazine. It felt awfully silly run over the hill a dozen times and then stop suddenly, while being directed to laugh ... but the resulting picture looks totally natural and reflects a typical hike pretty well (but usually with more attendees, it was rainy that day).

Here we are, babies a-smiling and Deb and I in our pregnant, un-made-up glory:

Movie trailer

Does this movie look SO GREAT or is it just all my mothering hormones??

Here's the belly! It's baby space from about the belly button down. The upper part is where my organs/intestines are since they've been crowded out by womb. And my tricep is bulging with pride! (Those arm muscles were hard won over nearly 19 months of lifting ever increasing weight in the form of the most adorable little boy, currently 26 lbs (47th percentile) and quite tall (89th percentile.))

Scott's new riding spot atop the babybelly (it's okay, he's only squishing my organs and not his little brother or sister right now)

Me: I wonder what kind of baby (s)he will be. /I wonder if that bird over there is a mockingbird./I wonder if Luke should be practicing his trapeze skills up there while it's so windy.
Scott: Mine. (new favorite word)