I WAS THE SADDEST DOG YOU COULD EVER SEE…

Well it’s been a pretty crazy week here at soon-to-be-parentville. Where to start?

For about a week, the Bookish Girl has been saying, “Honey, come feel… she’s moving.” I’d jump up from whatever football game I was watching/beer I was drinking… scattering dogs and cats in my wake to get to the belly before the event concluded… but every time… nothing. “Man, you just missed it,” the Bookish Girl would say.

But finally (twice actually), I felt a little “thud.” It’s hard to describe and not quite how I imagined it would be. I guess I envisioned a tiny female Jackie Chan in there doing some Ju Jitsu… her tiny foot stretching the Bookish Girl’s belly until I could see the little footprint (just like on the banner). WHACK! HI-YAH! But it was more like, “Excuse me… I’m rolling over… here’s my elbow real quick if you want to feel it. Missed it? Too bad.”

So yeah, finally it happened. I think I was reading both times. Wendy’s been encouraging me to read to her and said I could read whatever I wanted. Ironically, Elisa and Mike recently gifted us with The Digging-est Dog (just like Elisa to give US a gift on HER birthday). As it turns out, The Digging-est Dog was one of my favorite books as a child and I can still remember my mom reading it to me. It’s a sad story with a happy ending. And so it was… the Digging-est Dog… baby’s first book... baby's first "kick" (for me).

So, I made quick work of the Digging-est Dog (speaking into the Bookish Girl's belly as she rested on her left side) and then moved right on to my favorite book of all-time: On The Road. Maybe I’ll feel completely different once she’s out here in the real world… but at this point, I have no problem reading to my unborn baby girl about sex, drugs and rock and roll (or Bop, as they called it back then).

So anyway, last night, as I’m reading the part where Montana Slim has to take a piss over the side of the big flat truck the blond Minnesotans are driving on their way out west… our baby girl decides to start jumping around like crazy. Is she laughing? Is she protesting? Every time I would stop reading to feel her move… she would stop moving. Pretty funny. Wendy said, “I think she likes your voice.” I’d start reading… she’d start moving. I’d stop… she’d stop. Mmm, mmm, mmm... but I finally felt another good thump. Sweet little "thump."

Right now I’ve got the headphones out and a stack of CD’s ready for her to listen to in utero. Most of our CD’s (six or seven boxes) are still packed away in the basement. But I think we have just enough to get through. I’ll keep you posted. Also, stay tuned for baby’s first concert experience (in utero). There are a TON of good local shows coming up in the next month or two… Ralph Stanley, Jay Farrar, Bob Pollard, Centro-matic… and CHEAP TRICK!!!

How lucky can one man get?