By: Callie

Hey! I figured it's time you all hear from the most important member of the house - me - Callie (the dog, of course). There have been some strange things going on around my house... (please note: no matter how strange things get around here: I maintain my position as Queen up on the bed.)

It all started about 6 months ago. Mom used to come from work and we'd go running together. All of a sudden she started coming home and trying to trick me into laying around on the couch and "resting". I'm no dummy, so I never went for that - and she started taking me to the field to play fetch. Check out this picture of her... I'm trying to figure out a tasteful way to tell her that with a belly like that she needs to do less standing around throwing the ball to me and more running.

Last month Mom and Dad decided to build a new closet system in what they keep calling "The Baby's Room". I don't know what this baby thing is - but it's room is the perfect place to go hide out with a bone. So, here's Dad building in the closet... he didn't break anything or damage any water pipes (he hates when I dig up that story) but he did unleash a red light demon! He tries to tell me it's a "Laser Level" and it helped him build in straight lines - but I knew better. It was after us... Luckily for mom and dad, I was ALL over that thing. I chased it up walls and all over the house. I showed that laser level who's boss around here and haven't seen it's demon red-light self since.

Here's another strange thing: Mom and Dad are building crates all over the house! First, they build a crate, then they fill it up with fuzzy toys that squeak and make noise and are screaming to be de-stuffed- and THEN they don't even let me in there! They must not understand how hard I have to work in order to make the toys make their noises with my nose - I don't have opposable thumbs here people! If I don't get into these crates soon the toys are going to have me outnumbered. If I let toys take over my house I'll never be able to show my face at the dog park again!

Dad keeps talking to me and asking me things like "Are you ready to be number two around here, Callie?"... I'm not really sure what he's talking about. He keeps telling me I'm going to take a "backseat" to this baby thing. Backseat? Whatever! I take up all the seats. They even got me a bigger car so I have more windows to squirrel patrol from. Then one day I go to get in my car and there's this THING blocking my entire path from a main window! How do they expect me to bark at every squirrel when they completely block my access to a main window?!

As for the rest of the whole "number two around here" theory that Dad has - look at this picture. I've got this guy wrapped around paw. Do I look like I'm number 2 to you? I catch frisbees out of the air and I play fetch like you've never seen fetch played. But sure - go ahead and tell yourselves that some "baby" will lessen my importance. You all heard it here first: Callie calls the shots around this house.

Baby Shower and Old Wives Tales Revealed

Last weekend was Linzy's baby shower, given by Anna Lyn, Susie and Emily. We are SO appreciative of all the hard work that went into making the shower so special - and so grateful to everyone who came for their generosity. Baby Nathlich's room is filling up and our house is starting to look very ready for baby's arrival.

For those of you who were too competitive to guess based on the one picture of Linzy posted last time - here are a few more and the results of the Old Wives Tale game played at the shower.

Jen came down from NYC for the weekend, and here are Susie, Anna Lyn and Emily who planned all the details of the Nursery Rhyme shower.

This is the amazing diaper cake Aunt Emily and Grandma Nathlich created. We are considering telling the baby that he/she will need to bring it to college with him/her - we can't bare the idea of taking it apart. Such a request (demand) wouldn't send him/her into years of therapy, would it?

Here's Katie - super champion of the "Don't-say-the-word-Baby" game. She managed to catch people involved in conversations all the way across the room. Her 5th grade students must never be able to tell a secret!

And here is everyone trying to decide whether 15 Old Wives Tales predict a boy or a girl - and then trying to figure out how they best apply to Baby Nathlich. We'll save you the work - the results are below.

These Old Wives Tales say that Baby Nathlich is a girl:

1. Mom craved sweets during pregnancy.

2. Baby's heart rate is over 140.

3. Dad has not gained weight with mom.

4. Mom does not have headaches.

5. Mom likes Orange Juice.

6. Mom will not eat the heel of a loaf of bread.

7. Mom craves fruit during pregnancy.

8. Mom had morning sickness.

9. Maternal Grandmother's hair is not gray.

10. Mom's feet are not colder now then they were before pregnancy.

11. Mom is carrying like a watermelon.

These Old Wives Tales say Baby Nathlich is a boy:

1. Mom picks up a coffee mug by the handle.

2. Mom is carrying low

3. Mom's extra weight is out front

So the Old Wives seem to think Baby Nathlich is a girl - but the vote at the shower was a pretty even split. Don't forget to guess the weight and date of arrival too!

Introduction

Friends and Family,

Welcome to our first attempt at blogging! Since we have so many friends and family across the country, and since the requests for pictures of "fat Linzy" are coming in faster than we can handle them, we've decided to attempt a blog that can keep everyone up to date and that satisfies everyone's desire for pictures. We should start by giving credit to our friends Brie and Daniel, who came up with this idea first and from whom we shamelessly stole the pregnancy blogging idea. We should also apologize to all our friends who kept up with their blog, as ours is bound to fall short of the bar they set.

Okay - let's get down to the details. Our baby is due November 26th, or 9 weeks from today. We decided not to find out the sex of the baby because we love surprises and we also love competitive gambling. This wound up to be a lucky choice as the baby sat "Criss cross applesauce" for the entire 20 week sonogram and the technician could not even tell what we're having. The baby seems to be actively training to be a perfect first grader. We welcome and encourage your guesses at the sex, weight, and date of arrival.

Here's a picture of the nursery. We went with (drumroll please...) a green and yellow theme - Cottontail and Friends. The nursery is full of bunnies, lambs and baby geese.













This is Chris's pride and joy of the nursery, "his" glider. (A gift from Grandma Nathlich.) Linzy gives him full and uncontested rights to the glider if it means that he intends to take all middle of the night shifts with the baby. Chris is often found in "his" rocking chair, practicing his gliding skills while muttering "Please go to sleep, PLEASE go to sleep..."

And here is our current "child", Callie. We have assessed that her elevator doesn't go quite high enough for her to have any clue what is about to happen around here. Here she sits at the crib. While it looks like she's adorably waiting for the arrival of her new best friend (or her new worst enemy) she is actually just sitting there whining at the stuffed animals that she feels are hers. She does not understand the "prison" that now holds and protects the toys she feels are rightfully hers. Nine more weeks of blissful ignorance, Cal.