Mother's Day, Birthing Class, and the Nursery Revealed...

Well, it is hard to forget what day today is, especially with the constant reminder that every time I take a look at Jo Marie, that she is about to be a mother. So, happy Mother's Day to all the mothers checking in on our blog. Today, Jo Marie is about 62% mother, assuming of course that Joie will deliver little Max on August 20th, which both of us doubt will happen. Joie is doing really well, and so is Max! We love spending time feeling Max move about Joie's midsection, and sometimes you can even see him moving! He usually kicks up pretty heavy in the early to middle part of each evening.
Yesterday, we attended our one day, crash course of birthing class. It was supposed to last from 9:00 in the morning until 4:00 in the afternoon, so neither one of us were really looking forward to spending a b-e-a-utiful Saturday in a cramped room with other random couples that we do not know practicing breathing techniques and how to keep the milk flowing through your breasts. It was us and four other couples. Lucky for us, the teacher seemed to move right along through the material as if we had all done this before, and we were out a few minutes after 1:00. I have had several friends and co-workers who have had kids before me tell me that you have to do the birthing class at least once, but that once that first contraction hits, throw everything out of the window! My only real take-away from yesterday's course is that when she is having contractions, I should not say "What do you want me to do?" Apparently, that is a no-no.
And finally, the moment you have all been waiting for: The nursery. We are still tying up loose ends in there, and need to work on the license plates, but all in all most of the work is done. Would you like to see it?

In this first picture, the base coat has been added, and we have taped off for stripes!

Next, the stripes have gone up, in a color that is about ten shades darker than the base color...

Next, the molding went up to cap it all off, and the crib was assembled and put in it's spot (for now, until we change our mind again!) See Max's little rocking chair in the corner, with his old-school wooden toy? Abby hates that toy. It really makes us wonder how she's going to adjust to the whole 'baby thing.'

Here, you can see the theme we are going with. The bedding we got at a second hand store in Topeka. It is Pottery Barn Kids, with patchwork and (of course) cars. The whole set retails new at about $400, but Jo Marie talked them down from $50 to $40! The crib was given to us by a close friend of Jo Marie's. At this point, you may be thinking to yourself, "What about the license plates?" Well...

Here's a sneak peek! We plan to have the border around the room be old license plates from around the country. We have a TON of Kansas plates, but we really want some from other places too.
In the final picture, you can see a shot of the dresser (from a garage sale) that we picked up last year, and are converting into a changing station. Right now, it has a toy on it(also from a garage sale) that hasn't found it's final home quite yet...

Want to see Joie Pregnant?

Well, here you have it. A shot of the lovely mother-to-be, all dressed up and ready to go. We are 23 weeks along now, so this is a shot of what that looks like, of course, hidden by the dress.

Things are good as can be right now, for the time being, where we are both enjoying the pregnancy more and more. This has been an exciting time for us as well, with work on the nursery well under way. As I am writing this, I see that we are 115 days away from the due-date of August 20th, so not quite 4 months. Jo Marie and I are both ready for our little buddy to get here. I should note that I am finally able to feel little Max moving around and kicking from time to time. It took a while, but the feeling you get when you can lay your hand on Joie's baby bump and feel movement is hard to describe. And every now and again, you can even see him move, which is really weird, but way cool!

Also, Jo Marie put in her notice to not renew her contract at school next year, so she will officially take up the ever-difficult job of "stay at home mom." I know she is excited about that decision, as am I. We booked a trip to Disney World and to St. Petersburg, Fl for late May after she is done with school, to celebrate being done with another school year, and to have a little break from Lawrence life before a long, exciting summer.

Thanks as always for caring enough about us to spend a few minutes on Max's webpage. We are finding this blog fun to keep up with, and are tickled that you all are enjoying it with us. Stay tuned for some nursery pictures, and it isn't too late to send your license plate!

Remembering Maxine

As many of you know, we have decided to name our son after Jo’s grandma Maxine. Nan, as Jo called her, has always been so special to Jo Marie. You could even call the two of them inseparable. Whether it was a trip to Wal-mart, or just a special Saturday evening spent together, the two were always getting into some kind of trouble.

It came as a surprise mid-November when we learned that Nan had terminal cancer. Perhaps, an even bigger surprise came a couple weeks after that with a positive pregnancy test! From the beginning we knew our little boy (Jo swears that she always knew it was a boy – and points out to everyone that she saw his penis on the ultrasound before the technician did) would carry on the name of such a special person in Jo’s life.

We are so thankful that Nan was able to learn that her Jo would be having a little boy – Max would have been her first great-grandson. Although Nan’s passing this past Sunday has been hard for Jo and me, we find comfort in the fact that our little one will always have a little piece of ‘Nan’ with him.

By the way...

I keep forgetting to mention this, but you should all check out my brother, Josh's blog, which can be found at http://joshuabolick.blogspot.com/ and specifically check the post titled "I'll be a Monkey's Uncle." It is quite hilarious, and could quite possibly lead to both of his blogs and this one going viral on the internet. How is it possible that little Max could be famous before he even pops out. Amazing. Simply amazing. Thanks Josh. You are a great brother, and you'll make an awesome muncle...

Half way there...

So today is the 20 week mark, and we are both really excited that we are half-way done! We just cannot wait to get our little guy out into this (crazy) world. I won't give away too much about the nursery, but I will ask for some help. His room is still in the planning stages, and we are in need of a lot of old license plates. So, if you have a stack of old ones in the garage, piling up dust, or if you are at an antique shop, and see some for a few bucks, pick them up and send them out to us. We thought it would be fun for all of you to have a small part of little Max's room. I'll be posting pictures once the room is ready to go, so you may be able to find your little piece of the room online from right where you are sitting!

Jo Marie is beginning to feel a lot better. She struggled for some time with morning sickness and nausea, but she has not taken one 'magic pill' this week, and is a vomit free VIP! I am still working through my two books about being a father, "The Expectant Father," and "My Boys Can Swim." The first is a serious, although helpful guide into what is going on with the baby, with the wife, and probably with me too. The second is a more humorous, but probably more realistic take of what we are all going through too.

Well, I think that's all for now. Remember, you know you have a couple old, expired or retired license plates out there, so dig em' up, and send them our way. Send me an email if you need the address!

Thanks for checkin' us out!

Welcome! This blog has been set up so that those of you not within a 'hop, skip, and jump away' from us out here in the prairie can stay in touch with the progress of little Max. Jo Marie & I found out we were pregnant with a little baby around the beginning of December, 2008. We recently found out that we would be having a little boy, who will be named Max in honor of Joie's grandmother, Maxine. We hope you enjoy this blog, and we can't wait until the little guy is finally here!

1st Set of Sonogram Pictures

In the first picture, you can see that he is in fact a little boy. In the second picture, Max is clearly taking after Jo Marie and Muncle Josh. He is in his thinking position, with his hand up on his chin...