Can Somebody Please Name This Baby?

Just for fun, and because we happened to get a bit of extra scratch in the ol' pockets, we went and had a lady do the goopscan on Jo's tummy.

We all got up early to fight the peak-hour traffic and trundled the entire clan up to North Perth for a sneak peek at the new arrival (sidenote: HOLY SHIT HE'S HERE IN TWO WEEKS).

First thing we saw in the really cool and lumpy and weird 3-D imagery?

BALLS.

A big 'ol eyeful of my boy's package.  Man, what a boy.  That's a boy.  Boy-oh-BOY is that a BOY.  I'm not posting that pic.  Just know that it's... WOW.

We got some good shots of his foot in his face and then his hands in his face.  Which, when you're talking 3D sonography imaging magications, means I thought he was like that Stephen King short story where the guy grows plants out of his orifices, but not in the cool Batman Villain Poison Ivy way.

Turns out, there's just a perfectly healthy and fat little boy in there.  Which is awesome.

Except he doesn't have A NAME.

What's he look like?  A Patrick?  A Michael?  A Duncalladadegh?  I'm sorta stuck.

Wife's had her "tunings" where she dreamt she was telling people "No, it's NOT 'leef' it's 'layf'."  She took that to mean his name might be "Leif".  But we werent' sure.  Well, she wasn't sure.  I was sure that I wanted to wait until I met him.

See, that can sound like the kind of cop-out a dad makes, buying himself time until bubs is out.  But I said it with Jade last time and I meant it.  Then, at the 19-week scan for her, I "met" her, and that was that.

His widdle hand is in his widdle face because he's so BIG in mummy's tummy.  He's so goddam CUTE that we're just besotted!

Still no name though.

Look at his little eyebrows!

I think he even looks like ME already!

Still no name though.

So what I did was get a bunch of little bits of paper and write letters on them.  Like Scrabble, only for your child's name.  I knew what letters I liked and I had a few names I liked, that seemed to be enough.

I started with "Leif" and then shifted things around in a Scrabbly way.

I really liked "Kieran" because his middle name will be "James" and that would make him "KJ" or "Cage" as a nickname.  That's pretty bad ass, no matter which way you slice it.

It's Celtic/Irish, which me and wife both dig, and it means "Little Dark One."

But, after seeing what he's packing, I just don't think I can give him any name that involves "little".

"Liam" was a nice one.  A bit overused these days for wife's tastes, but I liked it.  I wanted to meet him though, and I don't think he's a "Liam".  Plus, the first time I saw it was for "Liam Neeson" and, after my mother explained that most actors change their names to be stars, I thought that was a silly and made-up name.

Now THIS one... oh dear.  I mean, it's overused (according to Wifeage) and it's the same as very popular jeans.

Can't help it though, I really love "Levi".

On the drive home though, we both reckoned we were really feeling "Levi", and that was about as close as we've come to landing one.

Still no name though.

This is the kind of name that mixing letters up in my Scrabbletastic way.  I started with "Nathan" and then "Leam" and mixed the two.  I was kind of hoping for one of those A-HA! moments.

None came.

Now, there's a certain sister-in-law, who shall remain nameless, who love, Love, LOVES this one, but I just can't see it.

WEIRD though, she just popped up on my MSN while I was typing that.  She's suggested "Nicholas", which Jo and I both liked and is already my nephew's (brother's youngest) name.  Much as I LOVED John Cusack's line in "The Sure Thing" about why you name your kid "Nick", I'd get fired from The Exley Family if I did that.

Now THIS one just popped into my head while I was looking at pictures.  We'd probably bandied it about before, but I don't remember it tickling anything resembling my fancy.  But today for some reason, after looking at my little boofheaded little boy, with his giant BALLS, I'm feeling "Kyle".

Scrabblenamy Goodness is awesome, but I'm still flailing.

So I called in the Big Guns.

My little girl, Jade.

She came in and played with letters, and since she's in Kindy and learning stuff, we moved letters around and spelled new things.  Jade was quite pleased with herself when she spelled "Kyle".  I was pleased.  It was like a sign.  I thought that she'd get all mystical in her magic little ways and we had one.  Then I realised she wasn't done.

We're not naming him "Kyleyviranfamet." Not gonna happen.

Then I took ALL the letters, and spelled "Kyle", "Levi" and "Ryan" with some left over.

I put it to wife almost exactly that way too:

"Hey baby, I've got 'Kyle'..."

*eyes widen* "I likes..."

"I've got 'Ryan'..."

*widens eyes again* "Thought you didn't like that one?"

"I've got 'Levi'..." *knowing little nod*

*returns little nod* "I've been feeling that one all day..."

"And..." *pauses for effect* "MAFT."

*laughs until she snorts* "Wait honey... what if it's 'FAMT'?"

Pretty good thus far.  I reckon we're both thinking "Levi".

Also, NOT "Famt".

Levi James Exley is a pretty badass name.

Kyle James Exley is pretty badass too.

The question is not: Which one has more badassery?

The question really is: Is there still a Triple Choc Mars Bar in the fridge?  Or did the fatty get it?

Haha, just kidding honey.  I loves you.  And I bought 3 of those Mars Bars, just so this wouldn't be an issue.

So help me out people, please, pretty please, with Mars Bars on top.

First Jade of School

So it's finally happened.  My little girl, my BABY, has started school.

Getting up, getting breakfast.  Wife was nervous, I was nervous, Jade was chirpy and excited.

Getting dressed, doing her hair.  Wife was nervous, I was nervous, Jade was jabbering and giddy.

Riding the bike up there, gathering outside the classroom.  I was nervous, Jade was quiet.  And stoked.

I stayed for a bit to read her a story and get her settled... A little Indonesian girl bansheed for about 5 minutes, and when I lost sight of Jade while she went to get a new book, I found her concernedly stroking the little girl's arm saying, "It's okay, you can come read a book!"  What an amazing kid.

Time came for me to go, and she bid me farewell with a kiss before running off to get a hand puppet down that looked like a cockatiel.  That was that, I was on my own.  Naturally, she had a blast.  Me and wife just felt weird all day.

"Whatcha doin' Daddy?"

"Takin' a pitcha?!?  Lemme say 'Cheeeeeese!'"

"Look, no more smile!  It's my 'sad' face!"

"Now I do my 'Dancing Face'!"

"Now I'm SCARY... I'm a scary zombie!  Braaaaaaains..."

"DADDY!  No more pitchas!  Let's go!"

************

Something in the energies of the ol' Universe shifted this year, only in contrast to the entirety of 2010, it was good.

First, I just up and decided that I was going to play some hockey.  I had an old pair of player's inline skates, my forward gloves from the US and a crappy plastic stick we found in an op-shop.  I needed a street hockey ball so that I could go to the car park near the local shops and just skate around.  Maybe even shoot the ball up against that brick wall.  Hell, I figured I'd bring some chalk and make my own "net".

So we drop in at a store called "Hockey Action", and though they really mean "field hockey" they've got a section in the back for ice hockey stuff.  At least, they did 5 years ago when I first went in there.  I didn't have any money then either, so I figured it'd have to wait until I did.  Well they've expanded into inline stuff too and while the guy got me a crappy orange street hockey ball he told me about how he runs a proper league up in Claremont.  It's even on Sport Court (what proper Roller Hockey is played on).

To say I was excited was a bit of an understatement.  I told him I needed a stick.  All he had were special composites.  $200.  Whoops, not today then.

But still.  Stoked.  So I traded emails with him about why sticks are so stupidly expensive (I can get them shipped from the US for $70 all up) and he told me about other leagues and how goalies are free here, as it should be.  I went straight home and emailed mom to ask her if she still had my old goalie skates.  Then I went to bed.

Mom found them, then emailed me.  Then couldn't wait to see if I wanted anything else shipped with them and just put them in a box and sent them off.  Go mom!

So my skates got here quickly but I needed a stick.  Well I rang the guy at the Rollerdrome in Morley and he had a couple of old sticks gathering dust that he wanted to give to me for a screamin' deal.  Stick, sorted.

Then my brother-in-law, Doc Sam, was at a garage sale in Byford (semi-rural, south of Perth) and rang me because somebody was selling a "whole bag of hockey armour" as he put it (t's hard for medieval nerds to break out of it).  His mobile reception is shite, so I can hear him chattering away about "there's a pair of gauntlets here... some... well I suppose they're basically greaves with a knee cop on them" while I'm going "elbow pads mate" and "shin guards Sam, they're just shin guards".

Well I told him I'm a goalie and I've got all the goalie stuff, and even if I wanted player's gear I only needed another stick (I broke the crappy one pretty quick) to shoot around the parking lot.  Then I rocked up to Grey Company training and saw that he'd bought the whole bag anyway.  The lady was selling it for a neighbour, and when Sam asked her to throw in the two sticks (still in decent shape) she did.

So, big and odd heart that he is, he dumped the stuff in my car and then took the gear bag "which is what I really wanted anyway...".  I told him I couldn't pay him for all the stuff and he said, "Well take the stuff you've got 2 of and put 'em on eBay."  Fair enough.

So now I've got a set of just about everything.

I'm ready to play goalie or forward on inline and I can play goalie on ice (though ice is expensive here).  I've been doing my stretching (not enough) and my PT for my back (not enough) and I'll be ready to go in a couple weeks (months).

I'm back.  I'm going to be back playing hockey again and it feels friggin' GREAT.

I'll keep this place posted with how I go.  Unless I end up in hospital.  Heh.

Wish me luck.

Summer Days

It's been one of those holidays, where the beach feels great on a hot day and the playground is an ideal place in the middle of a beautiful summer day. I'm still not making millions and there are still days where bills and the dueness cause that Stressband across my forehead like a Wham! headband made of evil magnets, but I don't take pictures on those days, so you lucked out.

First, Christmas Pressie Fun. Jade's Nanny and Poppy (Jo's mum and stepdad) got her a drumkit for Xmas, and Poppy gets an evil grin and glint in his eyes when he asks, "She drivin' ya nuts yet?" In truth, she is not. Well, not with the drums anyway. She plays like she's on stage and actually has talent, and it's freakin' awesome. She's actually requested that I get my guitar and join her on more than one occasion.

Seconds before I hit "Record" she actually threw her head back, eyes closed, and yelled, "Rock! And! Roooooolllll!" Epic is too small a word.

Next stop is a trip to Hillary's Boat Harbour, where I took Jadeybug after we dropped her brother and sister off with their *&$@#! biological component's family. After dealing with those $#@%&* it was wonderful to just sit and play in the sand. Jade's still learning the ocean as this was her first trip back since last year (and we didn't go heaps last summer) so it took her a while to even get IN the water. And once she did, I joined her, so no pics.

Yesterday was an amazing day.  Georgia's joined the cousins on a trip with Ron & Sam to Albany, so me and the kids made the best of being left behind.  We played all morning at my medieval nerding training (which is held at a primary school, so lots of playground goodness) and then went to Fremantle for the rest of the day.

First we went to the Fremantle Markets which are hard to describe if you've never been.  About the best I can do is suggest you cross Venice Beach with Boulder, Colorado.  In fact, if Perth was Denver, Freo is definitely Boulder.  Sights and smells and sounds that delight, and more hippies than you can shake a stick at, in a huge barn-like warehouse full of stalls that sell everything from didgeridoos to sheet metal geckos.  It was awesome.  Even if pregnant wife was too pregnant to come with.

We even saw our mate, The Badpiper, famous from "Australia's Got Talent" and other areas of awesome.  He busks in the square on weekends, but we'd missed his show and saw him going into the Sail & Anchor pub.  Unfortunately, me and Jadey's bladders meant we had other priorities, but it's probably best because then I'd have to have a pint with him and you're not supposed to do that with small children around.  Apparently.

We hit a lesser-known beach later in the day and basically had it all to ourselves.  It's the second time this has happened and I'm not telling anybody about this place.  It's just about perfect.

A while ago, last year even, we bought a couple cheap boogie boards in the clearance rack of some closing-down store.  Well, we finally broke 'em out and, lo and behold, my overly cautious and tentative oldest child turns into Kelly Freakin' Slater.  He scoots, he slides, he grins like a goof and he rocks all over the waves.  It's actually difficult to get him off of it, which is why I was thankful I had two.  Of course, Jade just sits on it while I tow it with the runaway strap and yells things like "I'm Queen of De Ocean!"

The rest of the time, she just tore around like a mad thing, chasing waves and rolling around in the sand.  One of her favourite things is to yell made-up words at the waves and then run away from them tauntingly.

At one point, I'd said "Here comes The Big One" in reference to a wave slapping us around, so after that a phrase frequently heard was, "Here comes the... Biggetybooga!" or "Here comes the... Wiggabadoo!"

We DID sit and make a sand castle, though as soon as we were done she stood over it, said "It's my lovely cake!" and then promptly sat on it, giggling madly.  When I laughed too, she repeated this until our castle was more of a mud hut.  Well done child.  No idea where she gets it.

Boy took breaks from giving Awesome Lessons on the boogieboard to play too, and this is a nice shot of the old whaling "tryhouse" and accompanying anchors and battlements on the North side of the beach.

By the time we were done with the water, my boy showed uncharacteristic adventurousness and asked if we could explore the area a bit.  Ever one to encourage this, I gamely followed him up the stone stairs and around the old whaling/military installation with flagging Jade on my shoulders chattering happily about "climbing up to da castle!"

The "Castle" in the background is a roundhouse.  Not sure what it means or what it was for, but first they built all this to carve up and process the whales they were harpooning in the 1860's and then it was a naval battery after that, up until the end of WWII I think.  Damon read me most of this from the touristy plaques, but it's hard to listen when the toddler is spouting nonsense about Barbie and "Strawberry Fruitcake!"

We ended up pretending it was a castle, and that turned out surprisingly good for all of us.

The beach we were on earlier.  "Bather's Beach" which I took to either mean, "A beach for people who like to sunbathe" or "you have to wear your bathers at this beach pervert".  You can see that it's almost deserted and the water's not even that gross or anything. Not even after I peed in it.

Thus far, the highlight of the tour.  A cannon.  Too.  Cool.

The best part was there wasn't even a plaque or anything to ruin the experience with silly things like facts or actual history.  We mutually decided that this was the cannon used to battle not only Blackbeard the Pirate, but also the nefarious Japanese sub "The Katana".  Vanquishing both with equal awesomitude, a plaque would only be an insult, so the cannon remains un-named.

The REAL highlight of all of the exploring was wandering down past the old boathouse, where they'd once haul the whale carcasses up into.  It's now converted into a bunch of different sculptor's work areas, and apparently some of the pieces that are too big to fit in there get put on the lawn.  When asked what the statue was doing, Jade replied, "Um... I don't know... but that's his butt!" while running around the back.

Not terribly understanding of the concept of locks, Jade harrangued me to "open it up daddy!" repeatedly.  I settled for walking away and taking this picture.  This is underneath the roundhouse bit that we were at earlier and is surpisingly close to where we parked.  Bonus!  There were "cells" inside with proper bars for doors, but we couldn't decide if they were actually used for prisoners or for storing whale teeth.  Or chocolate, depending on who you ask.

We finished her up with a stop at Macca's (McDonald's, for the 'mericans) and then, as the day cooled and our burgers didn't, watched "Aliens in the Attic" in a pile on the couch.

It was a good day.

---

Some randomness from the past few weeks.

This is a bee beard on Ron and Sam's property, from a hive that they disturbed in the old chicken coop.  They're trying to re-home it and become bee people, but not in the sci-fi way.

Sam is included in this for scale, and to show how brave (and apparently angry at being photographed) he is.

Sam took Roni to a Hotel Getaway (in town tho) for Xmas and we looked after ALL the kids for a few days.  One random day I took Corbin in the bikeseat and Jadey in the bike's trailer and we pedalled to a nearby playground and had more fun than might be allowed.

This was a common game between the two of them, where one is falling down the slide and the other has to rescue them.  Of course, when Jade is rescued, she goes about her business while Corbin runs around repeatedly yelling "HELP!  HELP!" and when she trips and falls and soothes herself, he mimics her before running away.  Watching toddlers is sometimes quite a surreal experience.

The last, and one of my favourites.  A while ago, peals of laughter happened whenever you asked Jade what noises our stomachs made, because she'd put her ear up to yours and then say "It said 'GALAG!'"  I'm pretty sure she thinks it's the funniest thing she's ever said.

This time though, Jo made her settle down from cracking herself up and listen to the baby inside there.  This was around 23 weeks (she's nearly 25 now) and baby was kicking a lot that day.  Jade made few comments but listened intently, incredibly focused on the goings-on with her little brother.

That's all for now.  I hope the beaches in your life remain unpopulated and all your cannons un-named for their awesomeness.

Merry Christmas from Exleys Down Under

For the first time ever, I wrote a Christmas Letter.  While it's working title was really "2010 kept punching me in the face until I told it to stop by getting wife up the duff" I had to change it.  Too long, you see.

So now it's just "Here's My Life Over the Year" and I think that's pretty good.

Oh, and here's the PDF so you can print it and hang it up next to the other Christmas Card/Letters so it can feel inferior for it's purely electronic roots.  Maybe you can print it after your printer runs low on ink and then take a picture of it's crapness next to the awesome scrapbooky homemade Xmas cards and then send me the picture so I cry into my eggnog.

I'm kidding!  I don't drink eggnog.

Heh, in all seriousness (no such thing) I hope these words catch you up on our lives here and make your holidays just that little bit better.

Amazingly huge loves from me and my family.

---

You know how you've got all those other Christmas Cards/Letters all hanging out around your tree or your kitchen somewhere, all mingling yuletidingly with each other like co-workers at an office party?  This being my first attempt at a Christmas Letter, I imagine it to be that co-worker that's only just joined company but wanders into the party like he's been there for years, grabs a handful of crabcakes and stuffs them in his pocket before raiding the beer bucket and jamming rumballs into his maw while telling fart jokes to the boss and spilling beer on him during the punchline.  Merry Christmas!

The year 2010 evidently took offense at not having sentient computers or even a monolith, and it took it out on me and the family for the first half of the year.  Earlier, Jo and I'd got to thinking that our youngest was actually SO awesome that we'd like to see if we could hit the lotto again and make another.  So 2010 went ahead and said, "There you go, you're preggers." And then it said, "whoops, not anymore."  So that sucked, and I would've been fine if 2010 then let things be.

It did for a bit, keeping quiet through Damon's 9th and Jade's 3rd birthdays in January before it decided to try and kill me in February.  A rather innocuous muscle twinge from an old hockey injury eventually culminated in me laying frozen in bed and screaming at the top of my lungs from a compressed nerve in my spine.  The kids weren't impressed but wife actually spun in a circle so fast that her costume and cape appeared and she heroically sorted everything out.

The paramedics were nice and gave me a drug-puffer thing that turned my screaming into Unicorn Farts and Pink Floyd while they hauled me out and gave me a ride to hospital.  I'll tell ya, the food's great and the staff's compassion is even greater, but as much as I like lying completely still and watching the same 3 movies on repeat for 2 days, I had to get out of there in time for wife's birthday.  Which was well worth the price of admission, because the scarcity of guns here in Australia makes them even cooler, and nothing is cooler than my petite wife birthday blasting away with a .44 Magnum.  Happy Birthday honey, I hope we Made Your Day.

I made it out of the wheelchair (and onto a walker) in time to join my oldest niece, the one who is as beautiful as her heart is big, in the World's Greatest Shave (for cancer).  She managed to haul in over $3K to shave her head in front of her whole school.  I made about $150 for dyeing my hair blonde with blue stripes, which was probably a pretty good haul too given that the blue washed into green by the end of the week and I looked like a bad Batman villain.

At the end of March good ol' Mother Nature epically tried to flatten Perth and made some of our stuff wet, like the house and all its insides.  While scrambling around from room to room trying to stem the tides from almost everywhere Damon ran valiantly through the darkened house armed only with a flashlight to report on where the majority of water was coming in from while Jade valiantly played with a GI Joe in a bucket of water.  We ate tacos by candlelight, and all 3 kids crammed into one room that night while Jo and I slept in the living room.

It only got better when the insurance company acted with the blinding speed they're known for, and we were able to get the carpet in about a month ago (that's going on 8 months for those of you keeping score at home).  The good news is that the roof still leaks though because they haven't fixed that part yet.

Still quite miffed at us, the year 2010 still didn't let up and at the end of April one of Damon's schoolmates, Zak, was killed in an accident nearby.  He was a good boy and it hit us quite hard, as a community and as a family.  We sent him off as best we could.  The year eased up on us a bit with good weather and house fixings, and as our winter took it easy on us we grew complacent.  Work got busy and life rolled on.  2010 wasn't done with us though.

The end of June brought another unfortunate and accidental death, a friend of mine from back in Montana, and a whirlwind trip back to the US for me.  It's never really a good thing to empty your bank account all at once, or even worse to get yet another sizable loan from a wonderful brother-in-law, but I got to see some folks I hadn't seen in years and I got to farewell my friend, who "made being a good man look easy."

One of the best things from all of this was being missed so much by my family here that they "took me with" on my sister-in-law's huge birthday celebrations.  My cardboard doppelganger is a poor substitute in beer-induced humour, but he still got lots of love from the wife (above) and in-laws (right), and the limo driver even gave me a turn at the wheel!

2010 gave me an August that was spent simply ruminating on what a tumultuous year it had been and how my meagre goals for the year were as yet unrealised.  I hadn't 1) written my novel and 2) hadn't sorted out whether or not we were going to be able to buy 8-acres of plant nursery south of the city and leave the 'burbs forever.

Aside from making babies, those were my only goals.  2010 finally relented and started bringing the happy with the Biggest News of the Year: WE'RE PREGNANT!  And I can say "we" because my back hurts and I have cravings for cinnamon donuts and eggnog/banana smoothies too.  So I reckon that's fair, though I'll mention that's wife's belly on the right, not mine.  Mine looked like that until I found the motivation that most men find to lose weight… my armour didn't fit any more.  Jenny Craig should totally have a Medieval Re-enactment regimen.

Then Jo and I decided to celebrate with a Federal Election!  A mate of mine was a candidate for Parliament, so we handed out flyers for the "Australian Sex Party".  I'm not going to get political on you, but look 'em up, they've got good policies and a name you're unlikely to forget.  Watch out for the big smiley yank with the "Vote 1 Sex" shirt, he's informed and dangerous.

By the time September hit I decided to hit it back at 2010.  I slapped 2010 around with Father's Day, my birthday, and my grandfather-in-law's 90th birthday and then smoothed some happy salve onto the bruises left by the rest of the year.  I've finally become comfortable by the fact that Granpop beats me be two strokes at golf.  Every… single… time… and by the time 2010 got back off the mat and tried to have a go at me again, I smacked it in the face by going after our dreams of a "tree change" and a meeting with the bank people to see if they'd give me $1.5 million for that 8 acres.  They didn't say "No" which is better than I expected.  Stay tuned.

To top that off, and probably give 2010 something to think about before trying to get rough with me again, October opened with Georgia's 8th birthday and a cake and party that gave me sugarshock.  Which I needed, as I was then "challenged" by a soon-to-be-published friend of mine to write a 50,000 word novel in 2 months.  I roped brother-in-law into the challenge as well and off we went with a few other folks that are all aspiring/professional writers.  6,000 words a week for 2 months was actually quite difficult.  SO difficult, in fact, that nobody in the group was able to do it. Except ME!  I'm even still writing it because I'm so pleased with myself (and because I don't have an ending yet).  It should be ready for shelves sometime in 2032, so watch for it!

Halloween proved to be a dud (not big here in Oz) but that didn't stop us from Exleying it up, as we do, and November proved that 2010 was probably done with the shenanigans when the construction crews sanded, repainted, replastered, rewired and reawesomed for a week and a half.  And that was just the blinds.  I laid carpet so skilfully that people can actually tell just by looking at it that I did it myself!  Wife is, at this exact moment I do believe, painting our magnificently inspired office walls.  We capped November by throwing around Thanksgiving fare that actually all tasted good and wasn't even a little gross.

Even though no one brought a football and we didn't all have a nap afterwards (another non-holiday here), the ease of how Turkey Day all came together is probably explained by the fact that I could pass off just about anything I wanted as traditional.  Example: "Wow Judd, we knew Americans ate turkey on Thanksgiving, but had no idea it was also tradition to open a tin of baked beans and boil Ramen noodles.  I'll have more of that festive vanilla ice cream!  Yum!"

2010 has let December has breeze right into the mix and it's been a wonderful blend of my business keeping steadily busy and my youngest child being even moreso.  My older two children will have happily and wetly wrapped up another year of primary school on a slip-n-slide on their last day and Jade will turn 4 in January and start her own educational career in the Aboriginal Kindy next year.  About the time that she's getting used to school she'll become a Big Sister!  If you've ever spent 5 minutes with her, you know this is something she's been destined to be.

We also found out the other day that the baby's a boy!  The thought of a new baby alone brings such happy to my heart that it swelled up so big it squeezed water out of my eyes.  My emotion might've just been relief in hearing that he's not actually an alien or disappointment in being told "No Mr. Exley, that's just the umbilical cord." Either way, Jo and I are so incredibly pleased and feel so lucky with our little family.

2010 slapped me around a little, but I have faith that for every punch in the mouth it gave me, 2011 is going to make up for it by gently massaging my shoulders and singing Natalie Cole… while feeding me pecan pie.  In a Lear Jet.

Alright, maybe not quite that…

I hope this letter finds you finding joy in something every day and having those that you love feel that love like a shot of whiskey on a cold day.  Except without all that coughing and burning.  Maybe hot chocolate.

Wishing you the best of everything for the holidays and for 2011,

Love from Judd, Jo, Damon, Georgia, Jade and Lump-in-Jo's-belly

WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!

Skip to 3:26 and you can see how the lady builds the tension.

---

So we went to the Women's Imaging Centre in Subiaco this morning, deciding to go private for several reasons.  First, when we can afford it, the money's not that big of a deal.  Second, they are LOVELY there.  The gals are all sweet and they're excited for you and they're happy to be there and they will poke around and look at all the bits that you ask them to and they're just wonderful.

The public system, while great, shuffles you in, slaps the thing on, initiates almost no conversation and tries to get you out the door before you can say "Hey, what are we having?" upon hearing which they'll heave a great sigh, slap the thing on for a third of a second and say "I don't see a doodle, do you see a doodle, I don't" and be done with it.

The lady was great and treated us wonderfully.  She asked, "What's your money on?" which is a great way to phrase it and not make us feel all guilty.  Because really, if she'd said, "What's your preference?" and we'd both said, "BOY.  But... you know... we'll be overjoyed either way."

Which, if you think about it, is quite a silly thing to say.  Even if true, we're ALREADY overjoyed and it's going to be one or the other.  Silly.

So yeah, she asked nicely and Jo said she'd been feeling "boy" since 6 weeks when she noticed her skin being different.  Plus, she's been HUNGRY this pregnancy, and that's awesome.  I'm really, really going to miss her eggnog and banana smoothies and buying her donuts and fruit mince pies and chocolate bars whenever I go out.  Plus, feeding her is fun.

So, the lady is cruising around on baby and I'm loving it because I can see the legs and ribs and healthy heart and healthy brain and eyesockets and OOH! I THINK I SEE A DOODLE! and a leg bone and the cord...

She's measuring things and I'm just waiting and barely listening, then I see it move down the little baby's body and I'm thinking, "This is it!  MY GOD HE'S HUNG LIKE A BEAR!" and then I see the bloodflow thingo and she types "Cord" and I'm getting antsy...

Then she says, "Well [hovers in on image] I'd be concerned if MY girl had one of these!"

"It's a boy!" says we.  Wet eyes, has we.

Not a lot was said for a bit except for happy squeaks.  Lots of squeezing each other and squeaking.

I made a boy in there.  We're having a boy.

A BOY!

Happy, healthy, wiggly and cute and a BOY!

We're just... we're just over the moon.

Here's to mad loves and hugs and wiggly healthy things in your lives.