I am two weeks, two days away from my due date. Tomorrow is a full moon, and we just had a pretty large thunderstorm move through the area. The barometric changes and gravitational pull should be enough to put me into labor, no?

At my appointment on Friday, I was not close at all to being dilated or effaced. Which means that Fober is really enjoying himself inside and doesn’t really want to join the ranks of us who breathe air. He’s happy doing his semi-rolls and hiccups floating around inside for at least the next two weeks.

I’ve noticed that I have so much more energy the past few days all the way into the evenings. I’ve been taking advantage of this by really nesting. Kenny and I finally cleared out Rowan’s new room and he’s currently slumbering peacefully in his new crib in his “big boy room.” His big boy room contains his new crib, a futon on the floor (no frame) with blankets and stuffed animals, a larger dresser, and a bookcase with his favorite books. It’s been a full two hours since he’s gone to sleep. I think he’s going to like it. We’ve also purchased every last item we need to bring a baby into the house, and I’ve washed all of Rowan’s newborn clothes for Fober to wear. I’ve even packed half of my hospital bag. I’ve done my nesting. The house is ready. Now, come on full moon and barometric pressure changes! Bring it on!

I leave you with pictures of Rowan's favorite games ("wrestle with pillow," "show me your tongue," drink from anything that resembles a cup," and the "hiding" part of Peek-A-Boo):


[link(pics/august_04/pillow_wrestle.jpg)][thumb]pics/august_04/pillow_wrestle.jpg[/thumb][/link] [link(pics/august_04/tongue.jpg)][thumb]pics/august_04/tongue.jpg[/thumb][/link] [link(pics/august_04/cookie_jar.jpg)][thumb]pics/august_04/cookie_jar.jpg[/thumb][/link] [link(pics/august_04/peek.jpg)][thumb]pics/august_04/peek.jpg[/thumb][/link]

It’s a club. And I think I was just initiated into it tonight. Although, I don’t think I realized it existed until I realized I was making my way into it.

Here’s how it works: You get pregnant, and have a baby. You’re a mom! Around the 6 week-post-partum mark, you begin to magically hear about different play groups in your area, moms-who-lunch gatherings at local restaurants, and MOPS (mothers of pre-schoolers) meetings. You wonder whether or not you should go to these, because even though you have stretch marks and you’re breastfeeding this little baby 876 times a day, you’re still not sure whether you qualify as a mother yet. Then after about a week or two in the house all by yourself with your new little one, you find that you have signed yourself up for all of them. This is the first step.

After you attend your first playgroup, you notice that there is a different way that moms communicate with each other. There’s the typical, “My Althea* now eats bananas and rice cereal. Her poops are so smelly now” and “My Jacob* can say, “Pee Pee” and “Goober” now! His vocabulary is really growing!” When you hear this at each new mom gathering, you automatically get caught up into it. You answer these statements with your own child’s latest accomplishments in his diaper. You only realize this after the bragging statement has exited your mouth. This is the second step.

Then, a few weeks later, you find yourself talking to two other moms about their recent trip to the playground. Since your child is only 3 months old he has no need for a playground yet, but you nod in agreement and talk as though you know exactly what they mean when referring to “The Blue Slide Park” because they don’t even offer to explain what or where that park is. They assume since You’re A Mom, you know these things. This is close to the third step…but you’ve accomplished the third step only when you say to them as you leave the playgroup that afternoon, “Maybe I’ll bump into you at The Blue Slide sometime.” Only one more step to accomplish.

Your child is now one year old, and you are talking to another mom that you bump into on your evening walk. This mom mentions to you that she used to go to the “Beechwood Boulevard playground”, but that her son now prefers the local neighborhood playground. You look at her with a questioning eye, “Oh, yes, the Blue Slide.” She quickly recovers, “Yes. I meant the Blue Slide.” You are a Mom In The Know (MITK), and you have easily identified another MITK.

Congratulations and welcome to the club.

*The names of these children have been changed because eventually, they’re not going to want the world to know that their moms used to discuss their bowel movements in detail.

Sounds like a newspaper headline for a story about a tornado system or hurricane. It’s that time in the pregnancy: the rolling discomfort. I can’t quite describe his movements inside of me any differently than a roll. I don’t think he’s got much room in there to karate-chop, or soccer-kick anymore. Sometimes a knee or elbow emerges on the tip-top of my belly like a periscope. Slowly turning and slowly sinking back into the comfort of the darkness inside. I feel fingers and toes brushing against the inside. But the worst is when he attempts a stretch, and presses hard on my bladder. Makes for interesting nights of sleeping.

Rowan is hilarious. He’s also very smart. Since he’s learned to walk 2 ½ months ago, he’s become very mobile and very fast. He sees us move a gate (that is installed to keep him out of a room), and he’s already running across the room to get on the other side. The sad thing is, he always beats me. He always gets what he wants because he’s smart, and quick. And hilarious.

A few months after I became pregnant with Fober, I told Kenny that the truest act of love he could do for me at that moment was to give up drinking beer until I delivered our second son sometime in September. I told him that I would feel so special and loved by him if he would go along this pregnancy-journey with me sans-alcohol, because he knew how much I appreciated a good lager (Yuengling), a creamy stout (Guinness), and the fresh, clean taste of sugar- and preservative-free beer (Straub and some KennySmith brews). He quickly did the math in his head: It was February…I was due in September. We had a week-long vacation planned with 3 other couples in July. A smile creeped across his face which turned into a laugh. No, it was a cackle. A witchy cackle that tore right through my heart. He kept laughing, and finally said, “Yeah, right!”

I tried.

So my next step into enjoying a non-beer 7 months was to try out the non-alcoholic beers that are out there. I even tried a non-alcoholic Merlot (not worth it…don’t waste the $8). So, I bought a 6-pack of O’Douls “lager.” I guess some people could call it “blager,” but it was enjoyable enough for me. (It had been a good two months since I’d had a beer, so my taste buds weren’t up to par.) Since that first purchase, I found that O’Douls also makes an “amber.” It was even better! I bought it for me to drink for Rowan’s first birthday party celebration since Kennyandfriends would undoubtedly be walking around sporting Coronas with lime, or Yuenglings. I’ve only tried two other kinds of non-alcoholic beers and didn’t like them. The surprising one was “Kalibur” which is made by the brewers of Guinness. It just tasted flat. Kinda like skunked rootbeer. The other was “Old Milwaukee” which was just plain wrong. This is probably how a lot of people would describe non-alcoholic beer. Just Plain Wrong. But I am here to sing its praises. Because there are women out there who’s husbands/partners won’t give up beer with them while they are pregnant, and this is a good alternative.

Thought I'd share a picture of me and my other pregnant friend, Kerry, at Rowan's birthday picnic drinking our beers. But don't look too closely, you'll see that they're real (and we're not really drinking them)!
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Before you think I’m an ungrateful pregnant woman who is complaining about the smallest of “pregnant issues,” please know that I would give up sugar and alcohol and anything else to make sure our baby is safe and healthy. Please read my blog entries as tongue-in-cheek. Unless I’m being serious.

Thank you.

I suppose I should specify that it’s the “Kenneth L. and Elizabeth A. Smith Family” in Pittsburgh. I’m sure there is more than one Smith family out there.

Quick background on us: “Us” is Kenny and Liz. We met in 2000 and quickly fell in love, enough to be engaged less than 6 months later. Eight months after that (October 21, 2001) we were married on the most magical (and whimsical…and mythical…and Smithcal…get it?) of days. By the time our first anniversary came around we were already 4 weeks pregnant with our first son, “Fofur.” That was his "in utero" name. He was permanently named Rowan Tucker Smith when he was born to us at 9:52 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9, 2003.

Five months later, we were pregnant with our second son, who is currently in utero, due out here in approximately 3 weeks. His name is still “Fober” as we are trying our best at keeping his name a secret. Yeah. Kenny’s not so good at that. About 4 months ago, he accidentally slipped the name during a conversation in front of my mom. She squealed it to my dad almost immediately. My dad blames the whiskey. Two months ago, our sister-in-law, Rachel, practically beat it out of him over a few Guinness. She immediately told her husband, my brother, Jonathan. They even got the middle name. They don’t know how lucky they are. Then, just last night, he spilled it again in front of Rowan’s godparents, Amy and Roger. He had only had one beer with dinner.

So, Rowan and “Fober” are the main reason we have started this blog. We want the world to see how lovely they are. And we want our family to be able to see pictures of them as frequently as we can post them. These little guys have changed our lives. Literally and emotionally and physically and mentally. Please feel free to make comments all you like. I promise to respond. Really.

By the way, Kenny did the blog design. I just fill it in with words and pictures.

Rowan playing "Peek-A-Boo." He's brilliant.
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And here is the latest profile picture of "Fober." He's currently "head-down." He too, is brilliant.
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