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A few pictures I forgot to post.

The first is the tub in the master bathroom of our room. Nancy talked about it all the time, and looked forward to her baths every night. She also made me sit in the bedroom and entertain her through the little window. She's kind of weird.

The other picture is from Gatorland. That is a real boa constrictor and alligator.

Catching Up

Since it has been a while since I have blogged, I have a lot to catch you up on.

Nancy is still doing well and feeling well. No morning sickness, afternoon sickness, evening sickness, nothing. I think as easy as her pregnancy has been so far, it must mean that this kid is going to be a hellion. We go for our "big" ultrasound in 2 weeks. That is when they check out all the Jorge' anatomy and will hopefully be able to tell us for sure what the gender is. We have been doing an amateur ultrasound at the clinic every 2 weeks or so, and he/she is finally getting big enough for us to see pretty well. Still nowhere near as good a picture as they get with the high dollar machines...but it is still pretty cool to be able to check things out. That little booger does backflips every ten seconds. I really feel sorry for her once she starts feeling it.

Here is an updated baby bump pic:

Last weekend, we went on our "babymoon"...i.e. our last vacation pre-Jorge'. We went to Orlando, Florida for three days. We fit a lot into our short time there.

We went to Astros Spring Training, which is something Nancy and I have always wanted to do. We saw them play the Braves from right behind home plate and got a few autographs before the game. It was a blast, and we would love to go back sometime. Here are a few pics:

Carlos Lee



The starting lineups posted at the stadium





Hunter Pence and Carlos Lee





Wandy Rodriguez signing autographs





Hall of Fame Astros broadcaster Milo Hamilton





Former President George Bush 41, Astros GM Ed Wade, Owner Drayton McLane and Barbara Bush



We also went to an Orlando Magic basketball game, against the Charlotte Bobcats. That was a great time as well. However, while I was watching the game, Nancy was obsessed with watching the Magic Mascot. She watched him the whole game and was literally laughing out loud at his silly antics. Seriously, four year olds don't pay that much attention to the freakin' mascot.

She even took his picture. I erased the other 47 pictures she took of him. I figured one was plenty:




That was all on Sunday. On Monday, we went to Gatorland, which is like a zoo with only alligators. It was actually pretty fun.






We also went to Downtown Disney, which is kind of an outdoor mall, with a lots of restaurants, attractions, and a marina. Our nieces and nephews would have loved it. At the marina, we rented a boat. We were surprised that they will just hand the keys to a boat to just anyone with an ID. That could be dangerous. We had thought someone was going to drive us around on a lame "tour"...but nope, we got to drive. As we left the marina, we realized why they aren't too worried about letting anyone drive these boats. Our boat had a governor on it that allowed it to max out at 3, maybe 4 miles per hour. But it was fun. Our boat briefly died while we were way back in a narrow inlet with no one in sight, but after five minutes or so, we got it started back up.

Here are some pics:







We didn't go to Magic Kingdom or Universal or anything like that, since Nancy can't really ride thrill rides right now...but we had a blast.

Here is our resort and suite:






We got back on Tuesday, so it was back to work on Wednesday. It was, of course, insane. The first day back from a vacation is always interesting. It is always crazy busy because no one wants to see the relief vet, so they wait until I get back. I also get to put out all the fires that happened while I was away, get to hear about how bad the relief vet was, how many clients they pissed off, and return about 30 phone calls. That first day back always makes me wonder why I ever go anywhere.

Then today, after I got off work, we drove to Austin for Makinley's second birthday party. I can't believe she is already two years old. We had lots of food and cake, watched Baby Mak open presents, and dodged a bazillion 2-4 year old children. It was a lot of fun.

A few pictures. This first one is hilarious. It looks like Makinley is freaked out at the thought of Nancy and I kissing her on the cheek. We always love seeing all our nieces and nephews, and wish we got to see them more often.










That's about it for now. I'll blog again after we find out Jorge's gender.

Too Much Information

Yesterday, a middle-aged female client brought her dog in for a nail trim. As the technician was trimming the nails, the dog just casually dripped urine the whole time, so I went to the lobby to speak to the owner. I asked her if her dog had been having any incontinence issues. She said, "Yes, she has. She just drips constantly. She has the same problem I have, except mine is number one and number two."

That would be the very definition of TMI.

It's a...

Boy. Maybe.

Nancy went for her 16 week visit yesterday, and the doctor did an ultrasound as well. At first, she sounded very sure it was a boy. Then, as she kept looking, she gradually became less and less sure. So, by the end of the appointment, we were only slightly more sure than if we had flipped a coin. Thanks, doc.

The good news is, in only four more weeks, we should know for sure. Maybe.

I'm pretty sure Nancy's mom is going to have to embroider something between now and then. Which probably means our sweet little girl will be wearing a football shirt or a monster-truck bib.

This was her third ultrasound with the doctor, but it was her sixth overall. She has also had three at Lakeside Animal Clinic. This past Saturday, we finally got some good pictures of baby Jorge'. I had Nancy on her back, on her hands and knees, standing...you name it. Pretty much every angle possible to get a good shot. You see, my ultrasound machine is not quite as fancy as the OB/GYN's $100,000 machine. But I like it, and it serves me well in a sad, inadequate kind of way.

One thing we have quickly determined with all the ultrasounds...Jorge' is hyperactive. He does back flips and kicks his feet all the time. When Nancy starts feeling it, we are afraid she is never going to be able to sleep.

Speaking of sleep, Nancy (without my knowledge) purchased a pregnancy body pillow online. Sounds like a good idea, right? Yes, if you are Nancy. If you are Randy or Shelby, this gargantuan, overstuffed behemoth forces you to sleep with one cheek hanging off the edge of your king-size bed. This thing is seriously ridiculous. I laugh every time I see it. It is shaped like a huge question-mark. I'm assuming that it makes pregnant women sleep more comfortably by supporting their humongous belly and boobs. However, whoever invented this did not consult with husbands or bed-hogging dogs along the way.

Alright, I am off to actually do some work.

Drum Roll Please...Baby Jorge's gender is...

While waiting patiently for the 20th week ultrasound to get here so that we can hopefully find out baby Jorge's gender, we have resorted to less scientific means of trying to figure it out. The only thing we have not done is mix any household chemicals together. After reading Laura's description of Scott nearly being blown to bits by a wayward Drano explosion, we decided that is where we draw the line.

After consulting the Chinese Lunar Calendar, dangling a wedding ring (mine and Nancy's) over her belly and wrist, plugging our dates of birth into some sort of advanced calculus equation, taking a 15 question Old Wives Tales quiz, thrice having Nancy pee in a cup for the Intelligender test, and attempting to see fetal genitalia on my 1992 model portable veterinary ultrasound machine, the results are in. We are 51% sure we are having a girl.

The evidence of Jorge' being female: 3 of the 4 wedding ring tests spun in a circle, Nancy is craving fruit, 1 of the 3 Intelligender tests came up female, the Chinese calendar says female, her lady lumps could now feed Jon & Kate plus 8, her mom's hair is not gray (Nancy assures me that is her natural hair color, right Doris? We wouldn't want inaccurate results).

The evidence of Jorge' being male: Nancy craves orange juice, her leg hairs are growing more quickly (sexy!!), 2 of 3 Intelligender tests came up male, she is craving salty food, 1 of 4 wedding ring tests swung like a pendulum, and she has gained weight in her face.

So that settles it. I'll start painting the nursery pink tomorrow.

You have one new message

Actual word-for-word transcript of a message left on our clinic answering machine last night at 10:36 pm:

Uh, hi this is Meesha (no last name). Why haven't you called me back? This is Meesha (again, no last name). I came in and filled out an application, but you never called me back. I want to know when I can start, cuz I really need a job. I need to start this week, but it has already been a week and you haven't even called me back. So if you could call me tomorrow and let me know when to start, that way I can start getting paid as soon as possible. My phone number is ----- so leave me a message. Also, leave on the message how much you will pay me, because if it is not enough, I won't even come in. Also tell me when to start and what to wear. Thanks. Bye.

I have no idea who Meesha is. Shockingly, her application never made it past our receptionists. I don't know...should I hire her?

Jorge ' es gran

Nancy went for her second visit to the doctor today. I did not go because they were not doing an ultrasound, and were just going over blood work, checking her weight, etc. Of course, they did an ultrasound anyway, which I am kind of sad that I missed. Nancy did bring home a picture, but it was not a very good one. Despite the fact that I am trained and experienced in reading ultrasound images, I could barely even make out Jorge's head or other vital parts. Oh well, there's always next time. Jorge' is doing well, growing normally, and has a normal heartbeat...so all is well so far.

Speaking of Jorge', I think that Brooke and Tyler are going to be awfully confused after he/she is born. Before they go to bed at night, they say their prayers, and they pray for their entire family, including Aunt Nancy, Uncle Randy, and baby Jorge'. I am not sure how Brandl and Danielle are going to break the news to them that the baby's name is not actually Jorge'.

We had some excitement this weekend. At the last minute on Saturday, we decided to meet Jeff and his son Ethan in College Station for an Aggie basketball game. We got a room at the usual spot, the Ramada Inn for the night, since the game was not going to be over until almost 11 (2 hours past Nancy's bedtime). The game was fun, the Ags beat Tech, and we went to eat afterwards. And by midnight we were all asleep in our 4th floor room at the Ramada.

At about 3:00 am, we were awakened by an annoying sound. After a few seconds to figure out where I was, I realized it was the fire alarm. I got out of bed, opened the door and the hallway was filled with white smoke and a very fould odor. I shut the door and yelled at everyone that there was a fire and to get up. I was trying to figure out how I was going to kick out the window and get us out of the 4th floor. We quickly threw on a few clothes (since it was 30 degrees outside), grabbed a few belongings, and left the room. By now, there were a bunch of people in the hall running around, screaming fire, the whole nine yards. We got to the stairs, ran down them and got outside. It was all kind of a blur.

We went to Jeff's truck and tried to warm up and waited, for what I don't know. The fire department arrived and we watched them go into the building. After sitting there for a while, Jeff and I decided to go see what was up. It turns out some drunk kids came back to the hotel at 3 am and started spraying the fire extinguishers at each other in the hall, filling the entire hallway with a white cloud of "smoke". Someone, upon seeing the smoke, thought there was a fire and pulled the fire alarm.

The 4th floor was not inhabitable (the "smoke" burned your throat and smelled awful), so we got a new room on the first floor. By 4 am, we were back in bed (albeit doubles instead of queens). After all that, we really only lost an hour of sleep.

To update you on the Craigslist Casanova...I did reply to him with a very witty and hateful email, basically calling him a low-life and what-not. He replied to me that I was closed minded and again implored me to just ask Nancy if she might be interested. I assured him that she was not, and that was the last contact I had with him. Nancy would not let me post the emails here, so you are getting the clean, cliffs-notes version.

Nothing else exciting going on around here, so I'm out.