(Week 27) Sunday, July 24th

(Week 27) Sunday, July 24^th

My Little One,

            I can’t believe I have not put any name ideas in these letters yet. This is probably the one thing that is constantly crawling into my brain and distracting me. I have a gigantic long list of names that I have been adding to for years. Some of the names have been dropped off, but many of them remain. Names are very important to me because I grew up always loving my name. My name was unique and beautiful. It also holds personal meaning for my parents. I want the same thing for you. Luckily you already have personal family weight in your name since your first name will be Kenneth. That is your daddy’s name, your grandpa’s name, and your great grandpa’s name. You will be representing several generations of Kenneths on this earth. I love that. We also assume you will go by your middle name, the one Papa and I will give you.

I honestly thought picking a baby name would be easy, but boy was I wrong. Papa and I have gone through the list several times and we want to make sure your name is something just for you. This job can be tough, especially when we haven’t seen you yet. Also, I have been surprised at how often we disagree about a name. Despite it all, we have been able to narrow down the list and though we have not made a final decision we know what we like. Here are just some of our favorites, the first one being our most favorite choice so far.

           

Kenneth Blake Schade

            Kenneth Raylond Schade

            Kenneth Clyve Schade

            Kenneth Hayes Schade

            Kenneth Tate Schade

            Kenneth Vance Schade

            Kenneth Crewe Schade

           

            We hope to choose the perfect name for you and will make the final decision only when we meet you in person. We want to choose a name you can be proud of and one that has character. As mentioned, Blake is probably our favorite choice so far. We love the way it sounds as a full name as well as just Blake. We love how it is simple, yet dignified. It is a strong name and nothing too babyish to be stuck with for the rest of your life. Also, I like how you can’t shorten it for a nickname. Blake is Blake, one syllable. Papa thinks he is going to call you his K.B. Toy, but we will just see how long Mama will let that last. I might call you Kabe, or Kabes. Most likely though, I will just call you Baby Blake for a long while, because I have been thinking that in my mind ever since we decided this was our favorite. Sorry kid, you might just have to live with it.

                        Love you,

                                    Mama

(Week 26) Wednesday, July 20th

(Week 26) Wednesday, July 20^th

Little Baby,

            Let the craziness begin. We are gutting the whole house, just for you. We started in the Master Bed room and have been working our way from room to room. Man alive we have so much junk! Piles and piles of clothes and shoes have made it to Savers these past weeks and boy howdy I am glad to be rid of some of it. Of course I hope to add more as time goes by, but really we will just have to see how productive I am. So house cleaning, check!

            Item number two, yard work. You can pretty much forget about it at this point. I tire out so quickly now and it seems like every time it is cool enough for me to mow the lawn, it rains. Yes, I believe it is a sign from heaven that I should not be pushing a heavy load of cut grass around the yard. Usually I get the front done and totally skip the back. Weeds are rampant in our grass and it is looking a little yellow. This is because our sprinklers are broken and Papa hasn’t had the time to fix them yet. We need to replace three valves. Yeesh! Not excited about that, but something we will have to do eventually I am sure. So yard work, no check.

            Item number three is baby stuff. You should see all of the amazingly cute things they have for baby boys. Unfortunately they are also very expensive things. This overwhelms me and I am putting off the baby registry as long as I can. You do have some things already though. G.G. Shawnka is ready to spoil you rotten. I also snatch up cheap onesies whenever I see them for a reasonable price. So baby shopping, half a check.

            Hope all is going well in there for you. I can’t wait to meet you, but I am also afraid your due date is approaching all too rapidly. Eek!

                        Love Always,

                                    Mama

(Week 24) Wednesday, July 6th

(Week 24) Wednesday, July 6th

Dear Baby Boy,

            Yes, our visit to Dr. Willis today revealed you are at 24 weeks, if you can believe it. I was thrilled to see our due date move up to October 20^th, but I am also thinking that day is going to come so fast! Papa and I have so many things to get done and those several extra days would have come in handy. I am so excited to get to meet you sooner than expected.

            Our appointment also showed us that you are completely normal; at least, as normal as you can be with parents like Papa and I. There were no abnormalities on the ultrasound, phew! Our next appointment is in one month, and Dr. Willis will test me for gestational diabetes. Little did I know that your grandmother had it during her second and third pregnancies, so I could have it too. I’m not worried about it though. These past weeks were not a good example of healthy eating. Otter pops end up being my breakfast and midnight snack. I also had doughnuts, hotdogs, ice cream, and other junk. I am guessing this is because I missed having those foods the first few months and went a little sugar crazy. No worries though baby, we are back on track. I have several healthy, happy baby snacks packed away in the pantry to help get us through the next couple of weeks. I have been told a sugar free diet will help my skin stretch easier in the last trimester, but we will see how much will power I have at that point. You already wriggle a good deal, but I don’t think that has anything to do with sugar intake.

            As for wriggling little one, you are already playing tricks on your Uncle Lincoln. He pesters you every time I visit Grandma and Grandpa’s house. He will poke you, and talk to you, and try to get you to move. You never do. I think Uncle Lincoln is still having a bit of a hard time accepting that you are an actually baby in there instead of just a firm pillow. When he sees me he always says, “Wow, you are sooooo pregnant.” I like to hear it, so I don’t kick him. Then when I tell him you are moving, he hurries over and presses his hand against my belly. You suddenly freeze. I laugh. Once my stomach growled and Uncle Linc’s eyes widened in delight. He thought he felt you for the first time, but I disappointed him. I have the feeling even once he feels you kick he still won’t believe you are a baby until he is holding you in his arms. He still smiles though. I can tell he is excited to be the best uncle in the world.

            Papa always has a silly grin on his face too. When that happens I know he is thinking about you. He gets a little overwhelmed by baby stuff: cribs, strollers, baby room, playpens. One thing you will learn about Papa is he sometimes worries about money, but mostly he just worries we will never have enough. Mama worries about this too sometimes. Then we both shrug and decided we will make it work because we have always made it work. You have great aunts and uncles who are willing to share their baby stuff with you. You have two amazing grandmas who will spoil you rotten. I know you will have everything you will ever need!

            Well baby, keep up the good work as far as growing goes. I will do my best to keep up with the rest of all this craziness.

                        Loves,

                                    Mama

Cravings: Homemade nachos

Sickenings: Too much soda pop.