Eight More Days

We've been preparing for our daughter's birth at a slow but steady pace for over a month. All the real big jobs, such as moving furniture and evicting me from my office/Stephen's room, have been completed. Stephen's grandmother bought him a "big boy bed." By the time the baby is ready to sleep in our crib, Stephen should be ready to sleep in his own bed. As it is, he'll sleep there for about two hours or so before rolling out of it, ending up asleep in a heap on the floor.

Stephen Asleep in the Big Boy Bed
Stephen still doesn't have a clue what he's in store for. I worry that he'll feel negelcted, so I intend to try and make the transition as painless as possible. I suppose that some jealousy on his part is inevitable, and likely natural. I would prefer it if he liked his sister from the get-go, because the last thing I want is two children who fight like cats and dogs.

"Big Brother" is Fitting for Stephen
My co-workers threw us a surprise baby shower last week. I knew they were planning one, but I never expected them to trick me into getting Amy to come by work so that they could surprise us both. They were all very generous, and outside of a lot of really cute clothes, blankets, garter belt-like headbands, bottles, and other sundries, we also received a Target gift card with a very healthy balance on it.

All told, it seems like everyone at work pitched in. It's not a small company, either. Amy's response was, "Wow. Your co-workers must like you a lot." I guess they must.

It's On the Nose!
So, yeah. Eight more days, and we'll go from three to four. I'll be taking some time off, about a week, but given that my company doesn't pay employees for paternity leave, and given that I have little in the way of vacation hours available, it's all the time I can really spare. I wish I could take more time off, but I don't have that luxury.

I'll keep everyone up to date here, and in email. Keep your fingers crossed!