My new favorite song

It's always been hard to answer the question "What is your favorite song?" I have many "favorite" songs depending on what mood I am in. However, this past week, while watching American Idol, I was reminded of how much I love the song, "Hallelujah." (despite the fact that I did not particularly like the contestant who sang it.) I have spent the past few days downloading the lyrics and their various interpretations, as well as sampling the myriad of versions out there. The song (originally written by Leonard Cohen in 1984) is most well known by the Jeff Buckley version and has been performed by just about everybody from Sheryl Crowe to Bon Jovi. After much research....I have decided that this song is my official "favorite." In addition to my new revelation, I have concluded that the BEST version is that performed by K.D. Lang. Check it out when you get a chance....I think you will all agree that it is a beautiful song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_NpxTWbovE&feature=related

-AEB

Yeah....right...sure...

The sad part is....he insn't even joking with the majority of that list. No lie. It will just make it even better when that baby comes out and the doctor announces, "It's a Girl!!" That's a face I can't wait to see!

-AEB

darn right it's going to be a boy

Allow me to retort:

-I've begun reading football tutorials to the kid in utero.
-I've begun strategically kicking soccer balls when Amy's walking by to get him used to the sound.
-I will be broadcasting Braves games into Amy's belly while she's asleep during the months of April and May.
-I am seriously considering investing in a kids' electric guitar and drumset, as well as a child's membership at one of our local golf courses.
-While Amy's gone to California for the Baby Shower in a month or so, and I'm supposed to paint the nursery soft yellow and sage green, I will actually be painting it bright Dodger blue... with racing stripes and flames on alternating walls.
-Instead of lambs and bunnies and frogs decorating the walls, his room will be covered with surfing montages, deep-sea fishing scenes, and several images paying homage to the greatness of John Elway, Cal Ripken, and ESPN's College Gameday broadcasts.
-I am encouraging all my friends, family, and coworkers to assist me with the child's mental development - does anyone have a baseball rule book translated into Baby-Sign-Language?

I have already invested in a couch to sleep on for the next few months while I'm in the dog-house for having written this post.

-kb

Better late than never

Okay, so we were a little late at getting these scanned into the computer...but here we go. The picture of the foot was taken at 20 weeks (when the little darling would not cooperate) and the nicer, profile picture was taken at

25 weeks (which was last week). All of my other tests have been coming back great. I'm right on track with weight gain and belly growth, and all that fun stuff...so far so good. In two weeks I go back for the diabetes test.

Kenneth SWEARS that the baby will be a boy...he won't even consider the posibility that it could be a girl....which sorta makes me want it to be a girl, just so he will be wrong. Plus then I wouldn't have to hear "I told you so," and "I knew it all along." Does that make me a mean person?? Oh well.

I am feeling wonderful. Just some bad heart burn when I sit for too long. Other than that...no complaints at all. The doctor says this is the "honeymoon" period and I should enjoy it while it lasts. That's the current plan.

More to come soon!

Apparently we've got a stubborn one!

We had the ultrasound last week and everything looked great, but unfortunately we weren't able to get any good pictures. The baby simply would not cooperate. (Apparently, he/she is very camera shy) The technician kept prodding my stomach trying to move the baby around because it was facing the wrong way....then she had me drink a soda and walk around for 15 minutes to try and move the kid. Every time she got a good face shot, the baby would put it's arms in front of it's head blocking the view.

She saw everything she needed to see, and said it all looks great, but nothing came out in pictures except one blury picture of a foot. Hopefully this is not an indication of the stubborness to come.

The nurse was great at keeping a poker face about the gender and she turned the screen away from us when she was down in the sensitive zones. She didn't even write it on our charts, so not even our doctor knows. I still think it will be a girl, and Kenneth is convinced it's a boy, so we'll see.

We had a great weekend in Charleston. The South's threw us an awesome 'lowcountry boil' and it was great to see everybody. I got to visit my old students and we thoroughly enjoyed watching the super bowl with Mom and Dad. (especially since the Patriots lost)

More news to come soon. I'm off to go rescue our dogs from the kennel.

Big Day Tomorrow

We've got a big, big day tomorrow. Amy goes in for the first ultrasound since November. We're going to see if everything's in the right place and if things seem healthy in both baby and mommy. Say a prayer for us, and hopefully we'll have a new picture of the kid tomorrow afternoon!
-kb

Oh, Oh...We're Half Way There....

Today is the official "half way" mark of the pregnancy. The "hump week" if you will. I am 20 weeks and already I feel enormous. If this is the half-way size, I'm terrified to see where it goes from here.

Other than the occasional heart burn and sinus congestion, I'm feeling fabulous. The second trimester has been a breeze compared to the first. I havn't felt any movements yet, but the doctor says it should be any day now. We have a big ultrasound coming up next week. I'm very anxious.

In other news, we are looking forward to visiting friends and family in Charleston next weekend. We will be there for a big super-bowl bash. At least with good friends and good food...I'll have something to distract me from the game. : )

only one more football game left

that's it. the title is all i've got. i thought you should all share in my sorrow a little. if you have any consoling words of wisdom please send them my way.
-kb

snow #2

since it snowed during the day today we were able to actually get some pictures of something other than the dog. It's amazing this is Atlanta and not the mountains someplace... pretty neat, eh?

also, amy took some pictures of me and Flopsy (the smaller of our dogs; the one with gigantic ears) working yesterday evening (yes I was working on a friday night... let's not bring it up) We thought this picture was especially cute, and believe it or not it wasn't even posed.

The loss of football...

As we approach the end of the football season I am reminded how lame weekend television really is. It kills me. For the months of August, September, October, November, and December (and some of January) I am completely immersed in football. Starting at 10 in the morning, my programming choices are made for me. The biggest question is which conference to watch and whether to start drinking at noon or at five.

But now, with only three football games (pro, no less) to go, I see my Saturday blues ahead of me. I have Georgetown basketball to watch (sometimes) and March madness on the horizon, and soon after baseball season will start... but there's not a regularity to it the way there is to football season. I have my weekends already planned, whereas now I have to start checking schedules and programming options (is G-town playing on Saturday, Tuesday, or Thursday? during the day? night game? is it even televised in Atlanta?) to find out when and where to watch stuff.

I'll have a kid during the next football season, which will probably make it the most special season ever. But I have to wait at least four more months for that to even happen... oh what to do what to do in the meantime... I suppose I could "read" or "go outside" or "work out" but who the heck wants to do that?

I need therapy.

-kb

SNOW in Atlanta!!!!

It's a normal Wednesday. Other than the fact that t has been snowing ALL night!!! It's amazing. Besides the fact that it's real snow that has stuck all night, it's the first time the dogs have seen or been in snow.








I thought the house looked pretty great and thought these pictures were pretty cool.

If we're taking this many pictures of the dogs, god help us when we have children.

TV or Baby Clothes

We get a rebate from American Express each year. It's like a great little bonus that you don't think about until it comes in the mail. And then it's there, and you're like, "wow! this is great! i have a few hundred bucks!" Since we are just about the only people we know without a 23729875 inch ultramegasuperduperflatpanelprojectionlcd television, it had been our thought that we could use that money as a chunk of a Television. MAAAAAJOR keeping up with the joneses urging.

But we decided, for the good of our moral health and for the future of our kid, that we are going to use the money to get baby stuff instead. A good decision that will allow us to sleep at night... but nevertheless the first indication that we are "grownups."

High-def athletics and movies, or kid safe in a stroller with some toys? The decision was the right one, but a little part of me is still very sad.

I'm sure there will be many posts on this subject during the months to come. Stay tuned.

-kb

preparation for parenthood

First of all, we're going to try and be diligent about this and publish a picture of "the kid" every week (ie- amy's tummy as it grows.) Since ultrasounds are few and far between, there won't be too many, but we can darn sure take a quick photo of the developing mommy.


on another note, our dogs are like two-year-olds. seriously. they woke us up yet again this morning by pulling things off the bed and trying to claw their way out of the second story window to get at a dog that was passing by on the street below. We haven't really "slept" past seven o'clock in a few years now I think, and from what I hear that's a pretty good start towards parentood. I just wonder what it's going to be like when we have both the dogs and a kid. will it be like having three two-year-olds? I really wonder when the dogs are going to chill out and grow up like they're supposed to... we've been told they're very much like hyperactive teenagers until at least the age of 4, which is coming up soon now. in the meantime, Abbey (the younger, bigger one) continues to eat charcoal she steals from the fireplace each morning; and Flopsy (the smaller, older, one who jumps fences) barks at any and all dogs and people that she hears. ever.

It'll be an interesting few years (20+) of our lives coming up, that's for sure. I'll get the baby a t-shirt that says "my daddy cries because I cry" and the dogs little vests that say, "my owner cries because I steal the butter off the kitchen counter." Those will be coming soon to a store near you.

-kb

Embracing Technology

So today I embrace the technology I purport to sell every day. I am Bowman2.0, and have embraced the buzzword bingo of today's market. I promise to blog, wiki, rss, collaborate, and think outside the box from now on.

Oh wait. I have stuff to do. A job, a wife, two dogs, a house, a yard, neighbors, and a baby on the way. I will not have nearly enough time to do all these great things. But I will make an effort to communicate on a semi-regular basis, especially with baby Bowman on the way. Pictures, trip information, cool ideas, venting, and general ramblings will be posted over the coming months and years... and I hope that you and your friends will be part of it.

Here's to technology! And the cool people who (attempt to) use it.
-kb