The Family Orchard Update

Bob has graduated from shrimpy plum to small lime. It seems we're moving into the citrus family for week 11.

I'm beginning to see why Gwyneth named her daughter Apple - I'm becoming a little obsessed by fruit shapes and sizes these days. I pick up a Mango and say, "hmm, maybe a few more weeks and Bob'll be your size." Okay, maybe I don't actually talk to the fruit before I eat it (that would be too difficult, I can't make friends with my food, its just too sad saying goodbye), but I'm definitely eyeing the Beefeater tomatoes and wondering when we graduate to that size.

Of course, as our fruit-sized baby grows, I wonder when I'll be starting to grow too. My Today's Parent (TP) update this week talked about how Bob is "entering a period of rapid growth. Over the next three weeks, he will double in length!" What does that mean for my belly?! Will I double in size? Mark already commented last night on how I seem to have grown sideways, as in, chubbed out in the hip area. I've got no bump, just that darned "thickening waistline". Part of me is delighted, because this means I won't feel like such a fraud when I go into Babies 'R' Us and compare myself to all the real preggos I see there. And part of me is horrified that I'm getting...fat. Okay, not fat, just...chubby? Bloated? Hmmm, maybe thats the word. Mark did take some glee in imitating my brother and calling me "Bloa'er" in a cockney accent last night. Remember when I mentioned how supportive he was being? Scratch that. He's a bugger and the wrath of my hormones will soon be upon him! I will take no prisoners!

Actually, I don't seem to be experiencing the crazy pregnant lady moodswings I keep hearing about. Maybe the hysterical crying brought on by tv commercials and flippant remarks comes later on? Or maybe I'm immune? That was a joke. I can't really imagine not doing the whole Jekyll and Hyde thing. I did it when I wasn't pregnant, so how can I avoid it now? All my mum keeps saying is, "Poor Mark. Poor, poor Mark." I'll let you know when it hits me. Actually, you'll probably be able to tell before I mention it - you'll be reading stream of counciousness rantings about the guy who cut in front of me at the New York Fries counter and how I brained him with my plastic tray.

We're heading to the cottage this weekend for Easter with Mark's parents and I am starting to get more and more excited about telling them the baby news. I can't believe we've kept it a secret from them for so long. From them and from my dad and from David & Cecile and Karen & Dwayne! Everytime we talk to any of them on the phone, we hang up and one of us yells "We're PREGNANT!!" at the phone. The reason we've kept it quiet from them for all this time is that we knew we would be seeing them all this month, for Easter and for our holiday in Florida, and we thought that telling them face to face would be too good to pass. I hope they're not upset with us for not telling them sooner, but I also think they'll understand our reasons. Karen and Dwayne won't be at the cottage, so I've sent them a little care package in New Brunswick, c/o Dwayne's parents, so that on the weekend that we tell Bill and Susan, they can open up their "Easter" gift and actually find a teeny pair of socks from Baby Gap mixed in with their chocolate eggs. I just hope the chocolate eggs don't really mix in with the socks, otherwise it might be a bit of a gross suprise. Eeep!

We're also going to be seeing our good friends Annie and Paul Brandner this Sunday, and I'm really excited to share the Bob news with them! So I'll keep you posted on everyone's reactions this weekend. Hopefully no one reacts badly ("A BABY?! A BABY? What do you want one of those stinky things for?!") but somehow I doubt we'll have that problem.

On a final note, thanks everyone for reading this blog, I love to know that I'm not just ranting to myself. I'm so glad I can keep in touch with all my friends and family this way and share the whole 1st pregancy experience with you. And if anyone has any suggestions for boys' names, we'd love to hear them, because we can think of a million girls' names but none of the boys' names seem to be clicking. It might be Julio Xerxes Nimrod after all...

Smoochies to everyone from Mark, Jack the stinky dog, Bob 'Tequila!" Johnson and me, the Bloa'er.