"There's a Stem on That Apple"

Adam here with a guest post of sorts. The title quote came from our ultrasound technician, who cleverly informed us that we're having a baby boy! We'll spare you the grainy ultrasound images, but rest assured that we're positive.

We're excited for all sorts of reasons. I can impart fatherly wisdom, baseball skills and belching techniques. The Parken name will continue. Steph will have our son and his friends to feed for years, satisfying her baking needs and all guys' desires for lots of good food. We're off the hook for the first wedding. And I'll have free labor for yard and house work starting in a few years.

We had no parental intuition until a couple of days before the ultrasound when Steph dreamed that we'd have a boy.

It also makes the pregnancy a bit more personal -- it's not just "the baby" anymore, but now, our son or "him." A step up in the world.

From ultrasound pictures and reactions that Steph has felt, we've learned that he:

• Is sleepy. We've seen images on 2 different occasions of him rubbing his eyes.
• Likes either BBQ or country music (or both). The restaurant we ate at in Texas had both, and afterwards he was moving around a lot.
• Looks good. I bring nothing to the equation, but he has the mixed baby thing going for him.

We're still working on the name. Nothing has jumped out at us, but when we know it, we may have to tell everyone so we can call it and keep other pregnant friends from stealing our nomenclature greatness.

Random Fact from Steph: "A baby's ears begin to form at around eight weeks and become structurally complete at about 24 weeks. But as early as 18 weeks, the bones of the inner ear and the nerve endings from the brain have developed enough for our baby to hear sounds such as your heartbeat and blood moving through the umbilical cord. He may even be startled by loud noises! By week 25, our baby begins to hear our voices and may even recognize those voices as early as week 27. "

We're only at 19 weeks right now, but we already talk to our little guy...it's quite entertaining if you ask me. =) And, if you decide you would like to see our handsome boy, you can check out pictures here.