Jack is 6 weeks old!

This is a picture of Jack and the Dad!

Jack Roddey Garrity is Here!!!!!!!!!!!!

See Photos of our baby boy!

Jack Roddey Garrity
October 2, 2009
11:23 pm
8lbs 5oz
21 1/4 inches


He's awesome!
God is amazing!

Thanks for following, pardon the delay.

Jimmy and Meg and Jack

No Baby No Baby....yet - "Are you at Def Con 6 or just chilling out?"

Matt Robins asks 3 days ago now "Are you at Def Con 6 or just chilling out?", my response, well don't know what do with ourselves. Though we really have been enjoying the time together, me and my playmate Megan. We were discussing at dinner that in 18-20something years, when the last of X amount of kids is leaving that for college that they'll be all worried, and wondering what Mom and Dad are gonna do now that they are gone...I looked across at Meg and said "shoot, Megan and I know how to have fun! In fact the 4 years before you were born we had such fun playing together!, so don't go feeling sorry for us.".... of course I'm sure this next phase will be a blast in its own right, but man we've had a good time.

So alas, Obama has issued an Orange Alert baby warning and he is "calling for" a potential increase to Baby Red Alert here in Salisbury. But until then "No baby, No baby" has been the way i've started every conversation and likely will until....

Cheers, JRG

Baby not here yet...will he wait for my midterm? hmmm

So, our little baby is not here yet, well he's mostly here, just chilling out in the most comfortable place on earth...in utero...we are due Friday the 25th, but with the doc saying that she was looking early (which we actually believed) we have found ourselves with a little bit of extra time on our hands. Sort of. I have a midterm this wednesday for the MBA and another on monday, so it is a semi-hilarious position to be in...what do you tell the profs? The conversations have included a good amount of shrugging as I explain that the baby might come any time, including during their class, and perhaps during their midterm. We've made contingency plans, but they all come with a wierd "maybe" clause attached. So the wierdest tentativeness of my life has led to 3 different contingencies that are all quite gray. So my study approach is...study now, then shrug and see what happens. My two profs have been delightfully accomodating though, and for that I am blessed.

So that is what is in my brain. Also I've heard often people saying that I seem calm, in the face of a major life change. Sure...major life change. But really, God is good and God is sovreign, what is anxiety in the face of change going to earn me?

Quote of the Day: "Wow, look at this, just 3 more pages left..."

Megan says, as she makes some of the final entries in her "Belly Book", the book she has kept, documenting the pregnancy. Well, that's about how we feel, certainly "anticipatory" (the word I recently coined on the phone, while talking with Anne Eshelman) she in good form, offered an alternative word..."expectant"... ah yes... expectant. So here we sit in the advent of a major life change, not sure what to think, just certain that if the rumor holds, it'll be wonderful.

The recent changes here, are that the kid ("the baby" as Mom Voss prefers us to say) is still kicking and hiccuping like crazy. Megan is increasingly tired, but because she is Megan, her nesting was ferocious and early and our house is beautifully set up...we even have our carseat, so we'll not only be able to bring the kid into the world, but we'll be able to bring him home. Speaking of the carseat, at a baby shower several of Mom Voss' friends got us a beautiful Travel System stroller...we were stoked, a Jogger Crossover with inflatable tires, that had the babycarrier that clicked in and served as a carseat also. When we returned to Salisbury, we thought we ought to make sure it would work with our lifestyle before opening it, and we have friends with the same one, so we went to their home with Meg's 1994 Honda Accord, and folded up the stroller to have her try to put it in the trunk (weight was the concern). Well, glad we checked, the stroller didn't fit through the opening of the trunk, no possible way to get it in there...so back to Babysrus. More research and we found a simlar one, 3 wheels, really cool, but smaller lighter and more maneuverable....and able to fit in our trunk, we are quite pleased.

In other good news, we now have our Crib....not any crib, but the same crib that Charles Otis Voss (Meg's Grandad) slept in when he was an infant...he's in his nineties...also sleeping there her dad and sibs, Megan and sisters...and now little Blankity Blank Garrity. It is cast iron and so classy, especially invogue as some of the older styles are SO back in. It was painted white generations ago, and Mom and Dad Voss got it Powder Coated and painted again, so it is like a new white car...it is beautiful...see! (pic coming)

August 10th Photos of Kicker Garrity - All Growed Up!

We finally got to see Kicker and boy is he going to be a chunker!
In true Garrity form, Kicker is taking after his dad with a noggin' that is measuring 35 weeks and 1 day while the rest of him is measuring 33 weeks and 1 day. This, coupled with the fact that he is weighing in at 5lbs 4oz and is projected to be at least 8lbs when he is born, makes Megan a little apprehensive about delivery. But either way, we are very thankful to God that he is healthy and everything is in working order.
Jimmy got to enjoy the ultrasound show from a leather couch and watched the whole thing on a huge flat screen T.V. We laughed when the technician showed us the "family jewels." As much as we tried to move Kicker around so that we could get a full face 3-D image, he was "out for the count." His hands were smooshing the right side of his face and he was sleeping very soundly. The technician said that Megan must have worn him out at the gym that morning.
Kicker seems to be growing a whole head of hair (which makes sense if you follow the Old Wives' Tale, because Megan has consumed 450 tums in the last 7 weeks of pregnancy due to indigestion and acid reflux!) and is having no problem plumping up. You can see his chubby little cheeks below! You cannot see his hair by the way, even though it looks like he is wearing a toupee, that is his head touching the top of the placenta and we were unable to get a full head shot.

Nursery is Complete...Ready for Kicker!

Empathy Belly...

I don't know if that is right word, but I can certainly sympathize now...this thing was 35lbs, and they put a constrictor belt around my chest super tight so I couldn't breathe. It seemed like a fairly adequate representation....only had to wear it for 15minutes though, not 9 months.

More Pictures...Finally....of The Lovely Megan Garrity

It is DECAF...Don't worry :) (29 weeks)

TUMS...when purchased in such quantity...just get too expensive...hence the store brand for Megan's pill popping habit... the baby has made her stomach the size of a racquetball...well really small.

Cute! (27 weeks)

"ok meg, now put your hands up" ... "why"... as she does the following... exactly!

Cute! (26 weeks)

What can Brown do for you? (25 weeks)

What's he going to be like?

So I often wonder..."what is our little guy gonna be like?" It almost hurts my brain to speculate, because personalities are such complex phenomena. Just think, we probably all know someone we think has an excellent personality, and we may be prone to think, I want my kid to be like ______, trouble is, our kid will not be like _______, rather he'll be like himself, and even if I want him to be like another, he won't be, and that wouldn't make sense anyway.

But being given to the temptation to want to know, and knowing that literally only our God knows our son at this point, we can only speculate and/or play fun games with fun spreadsheets that random people anonymously generated. Try it here!

Question! (What bear is best!?)

Question: What do you get when you cross a pregnant woman, with her normal rain coat on a stormy day?

This!!!!!!!!
Then if you chase her down the hall to get a better shot at the belly you get...This!!!! (note the little smile ;)

Soon we're gonna need a rain coat that unzips a little from the bottom. This one impressively fits everywhere but my little guy is busting at the zipper in the tummy area!

I am the Paparazzi!

So it seems the only photos I can get of my pregnant wife are via guerilla, stealth tactics...and while she is absorbed in a phone call. Here are 2 I took this weekend, the first (left) is as we were outfitting her in maternity clothes, the second (right), as she was observing our garden through the back window of our home. Click Photos to view fullscreen.

I think she looks incredible these days!

Kicker Garrity

Driving home from a function in Ocean City, Megan in passenger seat with seat belt securely fastened around her growing midsection. All of a sudden, in grand Garrity fashion, was not one kick, but an onslaught...kick, kick,k-ki-kick, kick, elbow, knee, elbow, elbow, knee...this could not be gas! Kicker even caused Megan to worry a bit and ask her stomach "is everything ok?!?" We presume it is, and that he just likes the car.

Since he's been a bit more active...though not ALWAYS moving, he's been active, in the car, on the couch, at a band concert, in class... only when Megs sitting though....at least he's polite and he doesn't do it when she is trying to sleep.


Photos: Left (20 weeks), Right (19 weeks).

Sonogram Check Up II - 18 weeks and 6 days

The check up went well and the technician took loads of pictures. Every thing from the brain, (you can see both hemispheres) to the hard working heart (you can see all four chambers of the heart pumping away!) The spinal chord was fully developed as well as the tiny little toes! While pictures were being taken, the following conversations between Megan and the technician:

Megan: "Wow, are those the legs?"
Technician: "Yep, and you can see that the baby is sitting Indian style directly on your bladder."
Megan: " Oh, well how thoughtful. Man, those look like some long legs."
Technician smiles.
Megan: "Well, I guess my husband is 6'3"."
Technician: "Oh really, well that makes more sense now. (chuckle) I was measuring all the other limbs and getting normal numbers, but when I got to the legs I was a little surprised."
Megan: "Yea, I think the longest part to my husband is his shins!"
In walks Jimmy
Megan: "Your baby has long legs."
Jimmy: "Yessssssss!!!!!!!!!! They're gonna be a kicker!"

After a few more detailed pictures we arrived at the sex of the baby.
Drum roll please........................ITS a BOY!!!!!!!!!................

Megan's current due date is September 25 and she is now 19 weeks and 3 days pregnant!
Go Baby Kicker Go!

"PREGNANCY AT PROM! "Who would have thought this could be a good thing?!"

The LOVELY Megan Garrity at 16wks pregnant at HER highschool prom (see if you can google that one;) But man!...does she look it... I submit that she does not! The picture to the right is of Megan and 3 of her class officers.

So the PROM: "Bienvenue a la Moulin Masquerade!" was a huge hit. Meg has been working as the Junior Class sponsor since they were freshman. They have been fundraising and had built up quite a nest egg with which to throw the prom for the seniors this year. Meg did an awesome job allowing the students creative juices to flow and to just keep them on track and be the ears and eyes for good deals and event planning savvy to get it done.
The event was held at the Clarion Hotel in Ocean City, MD and the highlight for me was definitly the 1. Baked Brie 2. Hot wife ;)
To the left is a picture showing the canopy that they had built over the dance floor in the center of the room. Its hard to see, but the stage for the LIVE BAND is at the far edge of the tent. To the right this picture captures a bit of the feel... red, and black, classy. It was pretty neat, we had debated trying to get the kids to order masks and go after the masquerade part, but instead Meg just got a bunch of them offline to use as decorations. By the end of the night though almost all of them were in use on the faces of students as they danced and relaxed.

And finally a picture was captured of us partaking in the masquerade.

So no big deal...this spring, while pregnant, Megan has taught school, directed the middle school play, thrown a prom for 160 kids, and done so with NO caffeine!!!!!!! (as to protect SMALL CHILD) GOD IS AWESOME!

We find out the sex of Gbaby tomorrow :D Kinda excited!!!

I (the husband) LOVE pregnancy aversions!

We all know that as spring approaches, one of the best desserts is Banana Pudding Trifle (banana pudding, vanilla wafers, coolwhip, bananas, etc). We also know, well I do anyway that Meg makes some of the best there is!!! Well how about this: she made some for a party Saturday. Because it was cold and rainy, guests went for the comfort food (brownies, cakes, etc), the banana pudding is usually the first thing gone if its warm outside cause it is light and fluffy and summery.

So not much was eaten there, and to my benefit Megan wants NOTHING to do with the LEFTOEVERS...is she insane?!? :) Nope juuuuust pregnant... and boy am I pleased about it.
So, I've had Banana Trifle at/before/after every meal! LIFE IS GOOD :)

CRAVINGS!!!!!!! a Metamophosis

"Jimmy, on your way home can you stop and get me a McDonald's ice cream cone?...wait...I think I actually want breadsticks with ranch dressing."

"ok, should I stop by Dominos?" says me

"no, just go to Food Lion and then call me from the appetizer section...and HURRY!" meg encourages.

"Ok, I'm here, and they've got, spinach artichoke dip, wings, corndogs, hotpockets..."

"no, nah, can't have that, uh uh..."

"I think I want MEAT!"

my head spins

"hold on" i say "let me look with the frozen pizzas...." "aha, breadsticks..."

"NO, that sounds flavorless."

"????"

"Do they have pretz...?"

"aha, pretzals"

"yeah, with salt, and ranch!!!! Hurry, hurry, hurry!!! 450 degrees?... I'll preheat!"

So that is the tale of how Icecream became Pretzals.

Hello SMALL CHILD!!!!!!

Check out the most recent pics.... En route to Salt Lake City, Utah for a wedding (where I, Jimmy Skiied in the Big Awesome Utah mountains) we stopped by Annapolis to get this ultrasound done. It was quite cool... as you can see the little INDIVIDUAL has a considerable amount of room to squirm and as I've been saying "FLAIL"... Meg promptly corrects me... "I don't think she/he is "flailing", but I persist.

It is strange because for the last few weeks prior to this photo, Meg's only complaint was "I don't feel pregnant!" in fact, I feel better than I've felt in a long time. "Is there really something in me?"

So you can imagine our excitement/surprise when this totally formed human being was sitting there having a good old time! And like a good Frith descendant the child, though squirming, and not paying attention, did a quarter turn at the last and struck the pose you see above!

Alas... we're pleased. Everything seems to being going fine, and we have made this all public info now.

One AMAZING fact that I was reading (pray NOW for this) is that our kid will undergo MORE CHANGES in his/her life from week 10-13 than ever again in its life... so if you're gonna pray for someone... do it when they are between 10 and 13 weeks old and you are likely to get the most bang for your buck.

1st Visit to Delivering OB

Yesterday we went to our first appointment with the Obstetrician who will deliver the baby.

Objective 1: Meet and ask questions.
Objective 2: Don't run into any of Megan's pregnant friends, or other important people while at the OB/GYN together.
Objective 3: Try to hear heart beat.

Results:
Ob #1: Met doc, very nice, the nurse was even nicer and was able to answer many questions and both offered to be available to heed any questions we may have along the way.
Ob #2: Pulled in, parked, made it into the waiting room. No friends! Waiting, reading, look out thru the window, and OHHH NO!... here comes one of Jimmy's colleagues...we were compromised, but wait....so was she :) "We won't tell, if you don't tell". We did consider making up some story about Cervical cancer (but why's Jimmy there you ask?...) Thats a question for either Allison Ochs or Laura (Anderson) Walbert.
Ob #3: Heartbeat... doc said it was probably a bit early but we'd give it a try...Loud and CLEAR!!!... Sounded just like this at top speed!!! ( Turn up Volume and Click Here)

Yep, We're Pregnant!!!!!

These are photos from the weekend where we told our families our fun news! We made them work for it however....with a little word game!

With Jimmy's family we played at the Green Leaf (In Williamsburg, VA). Providentially both parents, Paul, Hannah, and Richard, as well as Paul's friend Erin were all at the table. We expained the game as a word game that we were going to use at Bible Study on that Wednesday, and we needed to try it out. (lies, lies) The family was pleased to be the focus group.

The premise was that each person drew a card from the pile and played it in turn, the objective in the end was to assemble a SENSIBLE sentance using only 3 colors, and no more than 3 of each selected color. The progression followed something like...

...dog
...dog on ball
...way on ball, dog
...we have a dog on ball
...we have a dog in the oven
...we have a bun? in the oven

Dad Garrity "We have a bun in the oven...you do?"
Jimmy "We do..."

Everyone..."What!!!!!!!!!, What!!!!!!!!! you're pregnant!!!!!!!"

On the Voss side, it followed similarly around the coffee table, after they bought the story about the game it began...

...dog
...the dog on
...the dog is on the way
...the oven is on the dog
pause

Then Tommy started getting wise to it...in a flurry...

...we have bun in oven (ignoring all the rules about colors, number of words, etc.)

Silently and quickly he bent across the table and embraced his daughter. Then it hit 'em all!

Susan..."I thought I'd never hear those words!"

Meg... "but mom, you can't tell anyone for 3 more weeks!, I mean it!"
Mom V... "No one? Not even MY mom?!"
Meg... "NO"
Mom V... "Ha, but I can call the Garrity's, I have to tell someone!!!"

She left they chatted and when she arrived back Mom V reported that she'd forever be referred to as...........

GRAND DEVA!!!!!

This of course was all in the midst of an ad hoc Mardi gras party that the Voss's threw, so we went back to wearing masks and celebrating, now with newfound reason!!!

Join us as we cheer on our little baby celebrating God's Awesomeness

I had to PEE SO BAD for this! It was HILARIOUS/ PAINFUL ... her bladder was pretty much the size of a grapefruit...you could totally see it on the computer screen!

The instructions were to arrive at X time with a full bladder... well when is the last time you SUCCESSFULLY asked a pregnant women to HOLD IT (full mind you) for 30 minutes as she sat in the waiting room while the hospital ran behind schedule. I couldn't even focus on the goofy action movie we were watching cause SHE has to pee soooo bad.

But alas, we saw out little guy/girl and he/she measured in at about 1cm... henceforth...I've been cheering Grow Baby Grow!!!!