Two Weeks Old!!!

Wow, Presleigh turns 2 weeks old today!!!

It's not hard to imagine, just strange, to think that only two weeks ago, Presleigh was making her first audible sounds, seeing light for the first time, and being passed from Mom to Daddy and back like a football... only much more gently. They say "it goes by fast", right? Yeah, they weren't kidding. What a crazy trip this is! Growing, changing, changing diapers (oh, sorry, that's me...).

Today, Presleigh made a rare appearance outside the house - her first trip to the chiropractor. Yes, Dr. Colin Roopnarine at North Point Family Chiropractic, who has been a generous supporter of Seasons of Life Ministries, gave Presleigh her first chiropractic exam, confirming what we already knew - she's perfect, priceless, and precious. (Hence, the name "Presleigh", right?)


For now, here are some more photos of our beautiful Presleigh looking a bit like Dana Carvey doing Jimmy Stewart, a few looking far, too serious for her own good, and some more with her looking just plain precious.

In this photo, I caught Presleigh bragging about a conversation she had with the President about this whole Wall Street bail out. She said that since she doesn't have an extra $10K underneath her crib, she's pretty confident the President will rethink spending her inheritance to make the Ken Lay's of the banking industry wicked rich.

Presleigh is growing, cooing, gaining weight appropriately, and was a little crabby today for no apparent reason. She does seem to be sleeping for about 3 hours at a time. Either the folks at Babywise are pretty smart or we're getting lucky on this.

Regardless, we think we're on track to have her sleeping a full night (read: us sleeping a full night) by week 9. That'll be sweet bliss, especially since our ministry will be preparing for its first golf tournament fundraising event. That's another story for another time.


This weekend, Presleigh got to meet a fraternity brother of her Daddy's whom he has not seen in nearly 15 years. This weekend, Aunt Shanua finally gets to meet her and Mommy and Daddy may get to go out to see "Fireproof" the movie about a troubled marriage that stays together God's way. Nice.

Small Versus Tiny

If you drive a Hummer, a Ford Focus is small, but not quite tiny. If you live in St. Marlowe or River Club, my apartment is small, but still "cozy". If you are the size of a "grown up", the word "small" just doesn't cover the spread between how big you are and how "tiny" they are...

Our "little" girl is not little at all.

She's tiny.

When I think about the fact that her body is nearly a scale model of what she'll look like in 10 or 15 years, it's amazing to realize that all that hardware is packed, in smaller form, into such a tiny and nearly complete package.

Presleigh is such a gift - sleeping nearly through the night - one wake up for a mid-night snack and then back to sleep for close to 4 hours. I'm done feeling guilty about it. We have an amazing child who, at one week, gives us joy, laughter, and pretty close to a full night's sleep!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1.17a)."

Thanks, to all the visitors. We look forward to a busy weekend and a great week ahead. For those who have given to David Roncone's fund, thank you, too.

AP

At Last... Visiting Hours!

Now that we've officially unpacked, caught our breath, and have a glimpse of catching up on sleep in our sights, my hard working, steadfast, soldier of a wife has given the okay: Visitors are welcome. Her first infant rearing experience being as laborious (pun intended) and exhausting as it was, she truly feared visitors would overwhelm her. Given Presleigh's incredible demeanor, stress levels are much lower at Chez Pina. We anticipate both mom and baby will have the stamina required to juggle conversation, tending to Presleigh's needs, and winning the war against the "baby blues".

Therefore, it is with great pleasure that I annouce that visiting hours are open!

Housekeeping:

• Kids & Sick peeps - most of you already know that babies shouldn't be around other children nor too many people in general, especially if any of them are sick. Thus, if you have kids under 12 or you've got the flu, let's wait and give Presleigh a chance to toughen up on the inside.


• Meals - Cristine and I are still new to this tradition, but greatly appreciate such an amazing gesture. Being the resident cook, I'd love a night off from the kitchen, considering the fact that I don't cook well while sleeping. (Though, recently I've been known to sleep well while cooking...)


• Notice - I guess it's appropriate and possibly even prudent to ask for an email or a phone call a few hours in advance, so we can prevent getting "overbooked". (That even feels wierd to say...)


• Giving - I'm not asking anyone to give to Seasons of Life right now. If you chose to, great. But, that's not what your visit is about. Your visit is also not about the Roncone family, who lost their little girl to cancer less than a month ago. If you'd like to help them with a financial gift (specifically toward Brookelyn's funeral expenses), email Aarron and he'll give you the details. Also, a friend of our home church just lost everything in an apartment fire. We'd love to do something special for her. Email Aarron for details on that, as well.

See you soon!!!

Aarron & Cristine

Sanctuary!!!

While Northside Hospital was a phenomenal stay (far better than our less than romantic Valentine's weekend stay there), the prospect of returning home was an oasis long overdue. We were diligent in our planning - out the door by 3:30, beat the rush up GA-400, and home by 3:45, right?

Nah.

Why not drag it out a little longer? A shot for Cristine, run down to billing for Daddy, waiting on the nurse to get back with all the papers... tick, tock, tick, tock... 400 North by 4:30 on Friday... Bad idea. But, we arrived home about 5, to Grandma with a home cooked meal. What could be better?

Laundry, unpacking, more visitors than expected, hungry, "a shower would be great, right now", putting things away, finding places for things we didn't expect to bring home, "Honey, would you like me to check the mail? Yes, dear, it can wait until morning..."

So, a brief blog post is about all we'll squeeze in. Gracious thanks, more updates on Presleigh, photos, etc., all to come over the weekend and next week. Thanks, for joining us on this journey.

Additional thanks to those of you who have recently joined the support family for Seasons of Life Ministries. If you understand and feel led to support this cause, we'd greatly appreciate your help. If you don't I'd love to recommend sending a donation to Ingram Funeral Home in Cumming Ga 770-887-2388 in the name of David and Renee Roncone, friends who recently lost their daughter to cancer on August 20th.

Much love,

Aarron, Cristine, Brianna, and Presleigh Pina

What Does 2 Days Old Look Like?

Forty eight hours ago, I was hastily making my way back from breakfast to find our nurse LaShonda, telling my wife "Don't move. I can do this if we have to, but the Doctor's getting paid all that money, I'd like to let him do the job..." Moments later, I found myself lifting Cristine's leg, watching her push, and seeing our daughter's scalp peek out at us. Within 5 more minutes, I was looking at our 10 second old daughter.

Let's get real here - I'm watching TLC and Discovery Channel right along side you. But, how often do you see a 10 second old child, up close and personal like that? Today, I'm just trying to look at things through that lens and realizing the child wrapped up in front of me is not only ours, but is 2 days old. Two days old?! Yesterday, she looked perfect. But, today, she looks like God filled in the gaps that we didn't even know she had.

Ever see fresh concrete in a building when it rains? The super panics and yells to the crew that he's found a leak. It's a big deal. Guys are scrambling around. Somebody's getting cussed out. You looked at the concrete the day before and it looked like a good pour, didn't it? It looked solid, didn't it? The difference for us, is that patching the leaks is more a natural function of her body as God designed it - antibodies kicking in, learning to survive without Cristine's hormonal support, growing, building - as opposed to having to repour a whole section of concrete.

She's solid, or at least that's what it looks like. All of Presleigh's tests have come back "on point". She is a little bit yellow, so we're getting the jaundice results back later to make sure it's not jaundice and that everything her body can't do yet eventually gets done. Not a whole lot of sleep last night, but we're okay for the wear. I recall days as a freshman in college being woken up three times a night because som yahoo pulled the fire alarm and having stayed up the night before to study for a final. Been there, done that, we'll make it together.

Heading home this afternoon to get "settled in". Hopefully we'll get out of here in time to dodge traffic on 400 North.

A Little More Perspective

Today has been a day for activity, rest, and introspection. Nurses come and go to check on mom and Presleigh. Tests have to be done. Medication administered. And, amidst all of this, I gain more and more perspective on who I am and am not. This child is a miracle. Children, in general, are a miracle. When I see this perfect, breathing reflection of my wife and I, I get to participate in the great cliche: "When I look on my child, I get to see how God looks on me."

Do I love all of God's children like I love my own? Do I give them the leeway He's given me so often? Nah. They drive too slow, don't submit to my agenda, take too long to make decisions, and in general, don't do things like I would do them. Yet, God loves me despite my abundant failure to do things His way. I know there are a lot of you out there praying for us right now. Can I add a request? Pray that God helps me to live that kind of love, patience, and perspective without compromising the urgency that His kingdom deserves. Nothing big, you know - abide, love God, love others...

Here's a look at Presleigh again, with her mommy, her daddy, her Grandma, and a bunch of people in scrubs testing her for obsessive compulsive disorder... Oh, I mean testing her tolerance for being wiped, cleaned, scrubbed and otherwise sanitized like she will be when mommy gets her home tomorrow. In art news, Presleigh has completed several very decorative "movements" including one she calls "Going the Distance". She shows great promise, creativity, and dedication to her art form.

Thanks, again, for all of your phone calls, emails, posts, prayers, post-it notes, smoke signals (I assume that's what the car fire in the parking lot was about... touching, very touching, Osama.) We're looking forward to the weekend, when we learn the balance between letting people in and kicking them out.

Day 1, Closing Thoughts

Long day. What a day. Yes, I'm overwhelmed at the thought that God has given us such a gift that we do not even deserve in our own flesh, but because He has given us this righteousness in Christ, we are worthy. The more I run into God, the larger I realize He is; I am not in control, but am grateful that He is.

Many phone calls, many more emails, and family even got to visit. Thank you, one and all. We are aware that your prayers have had an effect: one woman nearby was sent home today with a
lot of stitches after she got a 4th degree tear (not pretty) during delivery. How we get a healthy, restful, beautiful baby with no complications is beyond me. My bride gave birth like a rock star and still looks like a model despite it. Praise and thanks to God, obviously, right?

Big sis got to meet little sis and even feed her a bottle. They're already making plans for malls and manicures in a few years. Hold on tight, says a mentor of mine, because before you know it, they're gone. Take your time growing up, little Presleigh. Love God, love others, be known for what you are for more than what you are against, be slow to anger, slow to speak, and quick to listen, spend less time being right and more time being rich in good deeds.

The Bible says "delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Today, He has given me the desire of my heart and I am delighted with her and in Him. How ironic.

Preliminary Photos

Internet time is limited right now, so here are a few of the first photos of Presleigh Gabriella Pina:

We'll be offline for a few hours. Comments won't get moderated for a while. but thank you, for posting them. We appreciate your prayers and rejoicing.

in God we trust.

AP

By the Numbers

41 Weeks

5 pushes in about 7 minutes.

Culmination [10:25AM]:

Seven Pounds, Fifteen Ounces. Twenty Inches.

She is beautiful and we call her "Presleigh Gabriella Pina"

All glory, honor, and praise to the Lord Most High.

Amen

Computer silence mandated. Gotta go. Talk to ya later.

We Interrupt This Biscuit for a Very Important Phone Call!

To get from the women's center to the cafeteria, you have to go up one floor and walk all the way across the hospital (five halls, six corners, don't trip over the orderly...) to finally reach the Golden Arches. Finally there, I'm able to join the throngs of Ray Croc's faithful followers in demanding the yummiest of yummies.

And... I... did.

I don't mind telling you, I demanded yummies. I got my yummies. I sat down and promptly inhaled my fried potato-product-puck, guggled my orange juice not from concentrate, and concentrated my attention on a heart attack in a biscuit. Mmmm... tasty! Yes, I'm lovin' it.

All that until the "Twilight Zone" theme tickles my bluetooth earpiece to tell me a phone call was coming in. My dear bride, from the comfort of her oxygen mask, echoes "Honey, now."

MAD DASH!!!!

"Don't trip over the orderlies... scoot past the nice lady wheeling her oxygen tank down the hall, turn corner 1, corner 2, slide past the slow-pokes whose wives are not about to spill a newborn on the bed, hall, corner, hall, corner, hallllll, haul to the elevator... Down? CRAP! Which floor am I on? Got it, SCUUUZE ME!!! Comin' through!!!"

But, I calm, and when I arrive in the room, the bustling nurses are in motion, but also calm. LaShonda, our nurse (who gets off at 11:00) says "I think we're going to have this baby on my watch."

"LaShonda, where's she at, 5cm?"
"Ten."
"Are you kidding me? I go get a biscuit, and she goes from 2 to 10 in like... 90 minutes?!"

The Doc is on the phone...
We'll be seeing him, and Presleigh, sooner than later.

Relief!!!

Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but a woman will kill for an epidural!

Cristine's been such a champ. "There is nothing new under the sun," I recall from Ecclesiastes, and women have been experiencing labor pains since Adam dropped the ball in the garden. But, when you're going through the sudden SLAM! of a major contraction, somehow I doubt the banality of the history of contraction is much comfort.

On the other hand, a five inch long, 18 guage needle in the spine is not a delight, unless accompanied by the understanding that it is inextricably linked to the relief that comes from the meds flowing therethrough. (Did I just make up a preposition?)

Cristine is now floating in the blissful clouds of anesthesia while the contractions continue to register as mere background music. Really, she feels the pressure of the contractions, but not the pain, which leads me to believe the Brian Regan may be wrong about the relationship between pain and pressure. Speaking of Brian Regan, I could really go for two boxen of donuts right now. I'm heading down to the lobby to find some breakfast.

All a Matter of Time

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

For those reading this that consider themselves "outside the faith", this may be one of those pieces of scripture that bothers you like it used to bother me. "I don't need to fear God! If God is love and he loves us so much, why would I fear Him?" My bride fears the Lord - she holds a reverent awe for her almighty, powerful Heavenly Father, who created everything from nothing, told the oceans "that's as far as you go", spoke earthquakes, torrents, hurricanes, and butterflies, mitochondrion, and the precision of the human eyeball into being. Yeah, that's my Daddy. I'm not scared of that kind of god, but I have a reverent awe. How about you?

So, she'd buried in the word when I get up this morning, which always makes me feel like DANG, I need to get in the word. So, I'm got into today's proverb, but the truth my wife needs to hear right now is this:

"So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Is. 41.10)"

Earlier, I thought I heard the words "3 cm" but that was not accurate. Actually only two, but the contractions are BIG mamma-jamma's and Cristine is holding her own... alright, she's holding her bible, and begging for the epidural. But, the epi-nurse is here, so I gotta go and hold my wife's hand.

in Christ,
AP

And Then?

Contractions...

3 cm...

Time for an epidural?

Grmmmph... Mmmmphr

Is there such thing as "blogging in your sleep?"





Nothing new, gang. Just later, sleepier, more pronounced contractions... Go back to sleep.

Take a Number...

A quick drive down the road to the hospital and I realized I had left Cristine at home!!! Or maybe not. When we arrived we discovered we're not the only ones who had the idea of going into labor... The lobby was stacked. I mean, it wasn't like GA-400 traffic Cumming to Buckhead at 8AM, but the line wasn't exactly moving like the guy who leaves church before the closing song, you know? I recalled the crucifixion scene from "Life of Brian":

"Crucifixion?"
"No, being let go..."
"Oh, right this way..."

Anyway, I digress...

So, we signed in, took a number, met a number of people who were also in line for labor, spoke several languages I didn't know I knew, and made a few phone calls. We were ushered into our loverly room, met our nurse, changed into something more... hospitalish... and strapped in to the monitors.
SUCCESS!!! We've got a room!!!

My bulletproof bride - the monitor says she's having contractions. She's not even registering them. Like Superman getting hit by a car, she looks up at the nurse and says "I had a what?"

At this stage, we're back to "minimally dilated"... No sweat. Plenty of time to upload these phots to the laptop, which is about as slow as... Presleigh coming out... Perhaps we'll have a baby and photos by morning.

Keep your prayers up high and your troubles low.

G'night [or until something crazy happens].

Practice Makes Perfect!!!

So, since we're still waiting for the baby to arrive, I figured I should use my time wisely. I found a "practice" baby on whom I could hone my feeding skills. However, "Delilah", our practice baby, was a bit unresponsive to the bottle. I'm not sure what the problem was, but I'm sure Presleigh won't quite need as much coaxing.

Once I mastered the bottle feeding, it was time to move on to diaper changing. Since Delilah wasn't very adept at making "poopies", I assumed the "stinky/wipey" phase and moved on ahead of her to the "re-diapering" leg of the race. I held the diaper out, like the book says, but Delilah just wouldn't jump into it. I'm not sure I was holding it at the right angle for her, but that shouldn't matter, should it? Ladies, help me out here...


Alright, truth be told, I've just received a very important phone call... the hospital called. There is room at the inn. We're heading in tonight for the first of two stages of induction and should have a bright, shiny Presleigh sometime between tonight and tomorrow. (I've brought my Dremmel tool just in case she's not bright or shiny. We'll get her polished up for the camera.)

Now's a great time for a shameless plug - please hit the links in the right hand column and support our ministry. Now is a great time to do that, did you know that? Yes, I Googled it. Look in Wikipedia under "great time to give to Seasons of Life Ministries" and it will tell you all about the matching gift campaign we're in right now. Our goal is to add about 8 new $15, $25, and $50 monthly partners by the 15th and 12 more by the 25th. Shameless. I know.

So, what's it going to be? Were the ultrasound photos correct? Will it be a girl or will be exchanging a whole lot of pink for blue? Will Presleigh be a gentle, 6 lb. bobsledder or a 9 lb. canonball? Will Cristine kick the doctor during labor or will he narrowly escape death? Will Lance Armstrong come out of retirement and capture an 8th Tour de France victory (Team Astana denies this...)?

All very fine questions...

(To be continued!)

The Waiting Is Over

When I got up this morning, I had every intention of going to our OB appointment, hearing a report of "5cm dilated", and being sent to the hospital for delivery. Sorry to disappoint. I just figured in a Lemony Snicket kind of way, I'd let you know, "this is not a movie about a happy, little, elf." It is not, however a story of "Misfortunate Events". The good news is, as usual - the sun still rises, Christ is still Lord, and Preseleigh can't stay in there forever!

So, where does that leave us? Yup, you guessed it. Back in the waiting game. Since we are teetering on week number 41, the hospital is alleged to be calling us sometime Tuesday or Wednesday to inform us they have a room (how romantic!!!) and that it's time to come in to be induced. At this point, it's a matter of procedure. A midwife comes in and gives Cristine a bitter cup of strange herbs to drink, sacrifices a chicken, and then...

How did we get to THIS hospital?!
Actually, we'll head down to the hospital, they'll get Cristine started on an IV that induces the labor, and mere moments later, I'll be eyeball-to-scrunchy-eyelid with our new baby girl. At least, that's what we're hoping for. In all likelihood we've got a good chance that she could go into labor after eating eggplant tomorrow for lunch, or Presleigh could try for the patriotic thing and wait until 9/11.
Or, I could slip the doc a C-note and just head down there this afternoon...

So, What's New?

Nuthin.

We had a great morning at church today and went fully expecting the water to break right when worship was over. Nope.

We're officially overdue.

Andy gave a great message that, as assistant to the Chief Fundraiser (God), I must both appreciate and use wisely - not to beat anyone over the head, but to explain cogently the relationship between faith and giving.

I did find it strange, though, thinking about this ministry - we do our best work by getting out of God's way and listening to people in our one on one discipleship. Ironically, in the marketing and fundraising side, we're almost forced to toot our own horn, as if we did all the work. If you've ever read Isaiah, 10.13-16, you understand the difficulty this can present:

God is the Chief Architect of all of this. CEO, CFO, CIO, etc. We are, as Isaiah would word it, just here to be good axes and saws - instruments wielded, rather than the Wielder. We're tools. "Huh, huh. He said he's a 'tool'." So, I guess I can order some new shirts that simply say "Tool" on them. I know they're out there...

We're still awaiting Presleigh's arrival. Mama Cristine is at the apartment community pool, kicking up a storm, to try to exacerbate the dilation process. Sometimes I call her Sarah, after Abraham's wife. A bit longer story, in Genesis 16 and beyond about how often we try to force God's hands by our actions... Yeah, we know how that turns out, but sometimes it's fun to wrestle with God. Worked out great for Jacob in Gen. 32, right...

Just keep Presleigh in your prayers - prayers of swift movement... Oh, and pray for Nadal to come back in 5 sets and Tom Brady to recover!

Peace. AP

Progress?

I know, I said I'd post this afternoon. But, Nadal was getting his butt slow cooked by Andy Murray before they called a rain delay, and Cristine and I were on the edge of our seats gnawing the nubs where our fingernails once lived. Murray was the better player today, I hope Nadal can come back and make some history against Federer. (Not that I don't like Federer, but come on, now - 3 grand slams in the same year?! Go, Rafa!!!)

Anyway, Presleigh continues to taunt us with her own rain delay, we suspect because knows that once she leaves the womb, she won't enjoy Chinese food again for a very long time. However, the advent of contractions both last night and one again today could be evidence of a move forward.

My buddy, Mark, was nice enough to loan me his Canon EOS so we could take some nice pix when she finally arrives. So, the longer she's in there, the better the pictures may turn out as I practice, practice, practice. Anyone good with getting white balance right? My close-ups keep getting washed out by the flash.

Oh, and another plug for Mark: if you wind up with a bunch of trees down or tree debris because of the upcoming storms, give him a call at 800-TREE-EXPERT. He's got an awesome crew and tons of knowledge.
Check out his article on dangerous trees.

How did we go from tennis, to Presleigh, to cameras, to trees in one post?

Anyway, if you guessed up to now, you don't get a prize. If you've guessed later, you could be a winner. Keep in mind, she's got to come out by Tuesday. She can't stay in there forever, right?

AP

Last Call

It's Friday night and tomorrow's the "scheduled" due date... But, keep in mind, this could lag on until Tuesday, right? So, if you've got a guess, click in with a comment on this post and be heard. I'm not planning to blog until late tomorrow afternoon, so you've all got a shot at it. (Unless something crazy comes up in the next few hours, right?)

Peace,
AP & CP

Work it, Mama!

My steadfast bride. You'd think she's been pregnant for four years... I know, I'm a man - I have no idea what it's like to carry a 25 lb. turkey around my waist. Well, I'll have you know, I've packed on at least 25 lbs. since we got married so I'd be able to debunk that myth!!! (You should see me trying to jog these days - it ain't pretty.)

So, Mama Cristine, in hopes of coaxing Presleigh along, is down at the apartment community pool kicking her legs, walking around the block, and power lifting the front end of the neighbor's Hummer in hopes of "spurring one another along in love and good deeds". ("Good deeds" being the trip down the birth canal.) She loves the word of God, and the God of the word, right?

Well, we've sort of decided that the baby's coming tonight at like 7:45, though we have no evidence other than our own agreement that that's a good time and day. No broken water yet, no contractions, no false labor, but we just feel like tonight's a good night to have a baby. So, maybe our guess will be the right guess, right?

So, what's your guess? We've got some good guesses (post them here, don't email them to us... it's more fun this way. Besides, email is so last week. By all means, I should be Twittering this instead of blogging. I mean, blogging is so ten minutes ago, right?)

Hey, if I don't post again soon, don't call 911. If I don't post tomorrow, someone come by the apartment and feed our ferret for us, cool? She'll be the white one in the cage, can't miss her.


AP

Still guessing...

And, no, we're not telling how much weight Mama's put on so you can take a better guess at Presleigh's potential birthweight!

Cristine's doing great, Presleigh's active, I'm focused on work and fundraising, and Dr. B's pretty sure we'll deliver when we deliver. What can you do? She's gotta come out sometime, right?

So, keep your guesses coming in - weight, date, time - and we'll keep you updated on ground zero. (Oh, by the way, if it influences your guess, we did have some cramps and nausea again today...)

AP

If You Guessed...

If you guessed Cristine would give birth today... "No Deal".

(Could Howie and I have been separated at birth?)

Doc says "no change", so we're still in a holding pattern. Trusting God often means waiting for what He wants us to have until He wants us to have it. So, it's back to the waiting game. The good news is, if you guessed tomorrow, you could still be right. Dr. B. was very frank about that - it can all change overnight.

So, keep guessing... Deal or No Deal?

Heading in...

No, not to the hospital, silly - it's time for our weekly check in with Dr. B. He did say that if Cristine was far enough along, he may send her downtown to have the baby, but we can't be certain until then.

So, wish us Godspeed. And, don't forget to send in your guesses for day and time of delivery and birth weight! Thanks, to all who have participated so far...

AP

Up for Grabs (Place Your Bets!)

The OFFICIAL due date has always been Sept. 6th, the week after Labor Day. So, I've just kept it easy for people to remember "we go into labor on Labor Day." Just for clarification, the due date is still 9/6/08, but we can still say even that is up for grabs.

Here's why - on Sunday, several of us noted that Presleigh had dropped - a good 3 inches lower. This is significant, because Cristine's been carrying high, like wayyyy up there. As a result, it's been hard to eat normal portions of food. Of course, picking at gnoshes little by little over long periods of time is fine. (Hence, the nearly demolished box of Corn Pops we DAWG'D in front of the TV Sunday night.) Needless to say, Mama can eat normally again. (Why do we say things like "needless to say" and then say them anyway?! That's like introducing the "man who needs no introduction"...)

As I was saying, the due date is still a bit up for grabs because we have our weekly OB appt. tomorrow morning with Dr. "One Foot In Alpharetta, One Foot in Miami" (In all seriousness, this guy is really good. We highly recommend Dr. Blank). He's super laid back and has delivered about 3,000 babies, so his attitude is: let's not go over the due date if it's not necessary. We like that attitude, don't we?! Net/net is this - if Cristine's dilated enough tomorrow at our appt., he could send us to the hospital on Thursday or Friday to induce. (Mama's hoping he'll do it tomorrow.)

Have any of you dads out there noticed the crib starts to look different when you realize the next time you look at it, it could be full of your newborn, or is it just me?

At this stage, we'll take your guesses as to date, time, and weight. Maybe we'll even give a book or a CD to whoever comes closest, cool?