My little baby bump!

16 weeks today and something is definitely in there . . .

Climb Every Mountain...

Last weekend we went camping and hiking at Big Bend National Park, which borders the Rio Grande in the South-Western arm of Texas. We've been wanting to go since we moved to Texas and my brother's student organization-sponsered trip presented a great opportunity. The scenery was so beautiful that we didn't mind the freezing overnight temperatures, locker-room jokes, and all-night carousing-- well, mostly. ;)

I'll also get to tell our future child that mama climbed the second highest (but decidedly most difficult) peak in the state of Texas. In fact, the trail to the highest point is so strenuous and erosion-prone at a 40% grade that they are redoing it and doubling it in overall length to make it more moderate and environmentally sustainable.

Happy Halloween

Nothing scary today- We had our 2nd Doctor's appointment where we heard the baby's heartbeat through my tummy. Also, even though I've been feeling as big as a whale (and would swear I'm eating like a horse), I realized I've only gained 1 pound since the first appointment. So, maybe it really is just typical early baby belly expansion.

I've also realized that Greg and I had the most quiet Halloween we'll have for a long long time-- which is a good thing, because, frankly I was bored. No longer wishing to carouse and party, kid halloween parties actually sound like fun- b/c really, isn't everything more joyful through a child's eyes?

I'm going to go to Target today and see if there are any cute infant halloween costumes on sale for next year. Something gender neutral, like a pumpkin :)

Pregnancy induced grumpiness??

Forget mood swings, what about constant complaining? No, not about the pregnancy itself, so far that hasn't gotten me down and I'm coming out of that little dip in wellness anyway. No, it seems that I have a lowered tolerance for other things in life, like work issues and 5th grade homework. I may sound like the biggest complainer on earth, and more than once I've said outloud, "pregnancy has made me meaner." While not a symptom I've read about, Grumpiness seems to be my most constant symptom. Hopefully it subsides in time for Christmas- I'd hate to be this years grinch ;)

Coming out of the Pregnancy Closet

Many relatives and a few of our friends already know, but Greg and I are going to have a baby in May! This is my first "public" acknowledgement to the greater world. We've decided that here at about 12 weeks, its time to shout it from the hilltops. Well, almost, I'm still waiting a while to tell people at work- though they'll probably start guessing soon as my belly continues to 'thicken.'

We had a doctor's visit at 9 weeks where we heard the heartbeat and got to see some video of a tiny dancing baby-form. Due date is May 7. **I tried to post the sonogram pictures but they did not format right**


Here is a blog entry that Greg wrote the morning we found out:

8-24-08

Babeees!!!! Yes, it’s true Tori is pregnant. And while Tori and I wish to memorialize these next nine months through this blog, I find it extraordinarily difficult to come up with the appropriate words. We both are very excited but it seems to me that this is the sort of thing that does not easily lend itself to simple platitudes.

At 4:45 am Tori woke up and took a pregnancy test. Shortly thereafter it was revealed . . 2 stripes!! Yes we are having a baby

. . .wait no we aren’t, get the box, what does that mean? Is two stripes good? Maybe that second stripe isn’t dark enough to count.

Finally, we decided that we are indeed expecting a child. Quite the bit of news but news that is really exciting and terrifying.

Like anyone else the questions raced in my head . . . “Will I be a good father? I don’t know anything about being a father. What if I drop the baby? I was never allowed to touch babies as a child maybe I still shouldn’t be allowed.”

Eventually, I settled on the fact that I should never be allowed to touch this child.

But seriously, I am truly excited about this child. I can’t wait to see how Tori and my feelings develop as we move on during these next nine months. This will be an wonderful time and I am excited to make this adventure together with Tori.

Video of the house

I know its been awhile since our last post. To speak the truth, we have not done a whole lot of exploring lately. We have been busy settling into our jobs, house, and the school year (i.e. lots of 5th grade homework!) Greg and I have both recently attended conferences (seperately) for our respective fields and he is currently staying with my parents in Mt. Carmel as he does some work for RK-- his first "business trip" if you will.

As promised to many people (a looong time ago!), we finally took some video of the inside of our house. Theres a catch though-- G. took it sideways, so if you have a laptop, turn it on its side- and if not, I hope you are creative either in your video editing skills or your imagination ;)
Here is the youtube link (I know, I know, I'm soo getting with the current techno-trends)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYeIFJcDINk

I hope everyone is well!

West Texas Bluegrass Fest--Andrews, TX

Ten miles north of Andrews, TX lays a small grove of large trees, out of place in the sea of yucca and tumbleweeds in the surrounding desert. The grove is a county park that was formerly a sanctuary for Humble oilmen as they suffered through days on the rigs in the West Texas heat. It is also the site of the annual Andrews Labor Day Bluegrass Festival, which Tori and I attended this past weekend.

While the festival was modest by most standards, it was still a fun event. The music was decidely "old timey" and was far closer to the traditional bluegrass featured in movies like "O' Brother Where Art Thou?" rather than jam grass or newer versions of Americana music. Nonetheless, many were there to enjoy the sweet melodies from days of yore. The fans were the usual cast of saints and sinners, from church ladies to bandidos, all gathered to be united by the dulcet tones of mandolin, bass, and banjo.

And while we didn't stay long we learned that bluegrass is truly a universal language, calling all music lovers from the farthest corners of the Earth. From the Japanese man who picked up a fiddle at his first bluegrass show, leading him to travel yearly from his homeland to America for shows, to the strange homeschooled boy whose grandparents drug him to the festival, no where is American more discoverable than at a bluegrass festvial.

Davis Mountains, Jeff Davis County Texas

Itching for a nice long hike, Greg and I headed to the closest (*we think*) uplifts in the area for a walk. We headed Southwest to the Davis Mountains for an afternoon outdoors.

I love Trees!

How ironic: I lived in Austin (the "lush" hill country) and had ZERO trees in my yard (except the twig we planted and the Rosebud that split in half without being provoked). Then, I move to Midland (the edge of the desert) and have two huge, glorious trees in the front yard. The only problem with these beauties is that their branches were hanging down a little too low. So, today Greg and I got out the ladder(s) and the loppers and put them both to good use. It took us an hour to trim up the driveway area and over the roof and they haul all the branches to the dumpsters out back.

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Heathens in Midland, Oh my!

Seeing that the Band of Heathens had a stop planned for Midland in mid-August, gave Greg and I (or maybe just me?) great comfort back in May. Not to sound like I was scared to move to Midland, but I had mixed feelings about moving away from so many things that I loved in Austin (like the Heathens, for example). So, knowing that my favorite Texas (Austin-based, but now criss-crossing the country regularly, but shhhh, don't tell) band would be playing in my new hometown just after getting settled in gave me something to look forward to and a feeling that just maybe things would be alright in Midland.

They played at the Hog Pit, the headliner for a cancer benefit that featured other Texas bands. A bbq roadhouse by day (and usually night too), the Hog Pit was a decent venue and reminded me of a cross between Rudy's bbq and Gruene Hall.

As always, the show was great and the band made many Midlanders (and Odessan's) very happy.

Overall, our experience at the Hog Pit was well above that at Dos Amigos (the crowd's fault, not the venue), despite the obnoxious drunk cowboy that filled our ears with hate rhetoric and the fact that the bands awesome-ness tripped the breaker (turning off the stage lights) twice.

www.bandofheathens.com

Note to self: Learn how to two-step or dance in general.