What's in a Name?

One easy thing about this whole baby preparation process has been naming our son. While I know a lot of other parents-to-be make copious lists and negotiate their child's name with the strategy and maneuvering of a general preparing for battle, we actually settled on both boy and girl name options long ago, maybe even before we were married! Yes, we're planners, and in this instance, it's paid off. When we found out we were expecting a little boy back in December, we transitioned from referring to our little guy as "Chickpea" to his post-birth moniker.

Come April, we will be welcoming (drum roll, please):

Carter Christopher White

Yes, we think it rolls off the tongue quite nicely. In addition, this name will honor all three of our baby's grandpas: David Carter, Frank "Chris" Christy, and Dan White. We can only hope that our son will inherit all the best qualities of these three men who have had such positive influences on our lives.

So while our beagle bears a ghetto-fabulous and rather "untraditional" name, we're going a bit more traditional for our offspring.

Here's hoping all baby products are this easy to assemble...

Trying to be proactive in his baby preparations, Dax blocked out all of last Saturday to build the baby's crib. 20 minutes later, he was done. Yay Pottery Barn crib! Here are some pictures of the construction process and the finished product.

Child's Pose

As a mom-to-be, there's very little I can actually recommend as of yet... with one exception - prenatal yoga. (The belly picture posted is from week 24, immediately following my latest class.) My weekly Saturday morning classes have been a source of great relaxation and relief from the aches and pains that have accompanied my pregnancy. Now that I'm leading with my belly, I look forward to the hour and half to stretch out my lower back and focus on breathing and enjoying all the sweet little movements I can feel while I share my body with our son.

I first felt the Chickpea move in my 17th week, and since then, it's been constant internal kicks, rolls, and probably swing dancing in my belly. The first time Dax was actually able to feel his son kick, with his hand pressed hard on my belly, was also a wonderful and thrilling moment for both of us. This little guy seems to be developing patterns to his movements now, rather than just sporadic kicks that come from every angle. Every morning, he's anxious to say hello and moves around like a bandit. He also responds to my meals with quite a bit of activity, which will come as no surprise to anyone who knows Dax or I!

Baby, It's Cold Outside...

...which means there's plenty of time for us to forge ahead on readying our house for our little one's arrival.

Dax astounded Kathleen by painting the nursery in one weekend, the most serene green color we could find. We plan on adding blue accents, but right now we're both enjoying the calming nature of the room, and also how Zen it is without any clutter. (Boy, are we in for a shock!)

Incidentally, the cradle modeling with Dax arrived in Chicago last October, driven over from Marietta by grandparents-to-be Chris and Mary Lou. This cradle is the same one that once rocked Jonathan and Kathleen into slumber and held presents at Kathleen's Nana and Poppop's Christmas celebrations. What a special treasure that we'll get to share with our baby boy!