Baby, It's Cold Outside

Over the course of the next few years, the baby and I will experience many firsts together. This past week, we had one of our first firsts.

We’ve just returned from a trip to Boise to visit Joe and Linda Berberick. We picked the perfect time to go. It was the only time it’s snowed in the city of Boise in recent memory. I'm a San Diego girl through and through, so I've never played in the falling snow. It was a blast. Here are some shots of the baby’s (and my) first time frolicking in the fresh snow.

Winter Wonderland

Keeping Warm the Ol' Fashioned Way

I'm Snow Angel

It's a ...

I lay on my back with my bare belly to the ceiling and I watch their faces – mom, Amy and Michael (dad’s home sick). But mostly, I watch her face – illuminated blue by the flickering monitor in the dark room – trying to detect the first sparks of recognition. It occurs to me that she’ll be the first person in the world to know whether Michael’s and my first child will be a son or a daughter.

Her name is Kelly, an ultrasound tech and co-worker of my mom’s. It’s Christmas Eve, my mom’s office is slow, and we’re getting anxious with anticipation. So we’re back trying to figure out whether the baby’s a boy or a girl. Kelly tells me to shift to my left side, gives a “Hmmm.” Then all the way over to my right side.

“I can stand on my head if you need me too,” I offer.

“No, no. Hopefully we won’t have to resort to that,” Kelly reassures me. Flat on my back again. “I’m just trying to see if anything’s ‘tucked,’” she says, “It’d be great if the baby would just roll over so we could see what we need to see.” With that, I’m convinced Michael’s declaration that it’s a girl is probably right; she’s stubborn just like her mom.

And then it happens. Kelly’s eyebrows raise slightly, her eyes widen. She’s seen what she’s been looking for. She takes a deep breath and says, “Well, it looks like you guys are having a little girl.” The room is filled with “Awwhhhh’s” and “I knew it's.”

We’re all on an adrenaline rush and can’t stop smiling during the ride home. Michael goes outside to smoke the cigar he’d saved for this occasion, and then we all sit in the sun on the patio and talk and laugh. I drag out the baby-name book; we make calls to our family.

I can’t wait to go to the Christmas Eve party tonight at the Gutschmidts’ and share the news. But before we leave, I go online and order the baby her first dress.

The Three Generations

Kelly with the Proud Parents

Dear Daughter: This is a Nasty Habit Which You Should Never Try