Malcolm Flynn

Well, I could give you all a minute-by-minute recounting of Mal's arrival to the world, but I won't bore you with the details, since some of it was quite gruesome (and far bloodier than I'd expected).

Mal was coming up on 10 days overdue and the Doc had suggested inducing labor on Monday night around 7. We called in to confirm and were told that a flood of ladies who were in natural labor had arrived, so we were put on the waiting list. "Call back in 12 hours or so" they told us. Morning arrived and we called in, only to be told that things were still busy and they'd check with our OB about things. The OB insisted we get in there, so we checked in at 11am or so on Tuesday the 14th.





Lyzz got started on a drug called Cytotec, which was supposed to help efface the cervix and perhaps start contractions. Much waiting ensued. Early the morning of the 15th, about 8am, the doctors added a Pitocin drip to the IV and things took off. Contractions got more intense and Lyzz got a lot more unhappy about the whole labor idea. Dilation proceeded and by 8:39pm Mal was pushed into the world amidst a bunch of fluid and blood. Gross.

We got transferred to a post-partum room to give Lyzz and Mal some time to recover, and so the nurses and doctors could prod and poke the poor little guy. A good night's rest (relatively, anyway), and more tests, doctor's questions, etc. awaited. For Lyzz and I, the whole thing was still kind of surreal. The fact that this little guy is OUR child hadn't really sunk in yet.

Once this morning rolled around, we started to feel pretty good about the whole "parent" thing. Of course, this means that we actually have no idea what we're doing. However, we are finally starting to realize that Mal is our boy. As much as the thought of being responsible for another human being freaks me out, I'm excited for this new adventure. I can't wait to take him to the beach and go tide-pooling.


Merry Christmas indeed.

Mal's Cartoons

So I'm 2 days late. I'm anxious but not worried. I have my next doctors appointment tomorrow at 2:40 pm so we'll see how things are then. Anyways, Sam and I have had this idea in motion for a while, longer than we knew that Mal even existed, cartoons. We wanted to created our own cartoons that Mal could grow up with. We would decorate his room with them, and even write stories and books for him. Although, for a while, we had no idea which types of animals or cartoon style we really liked. But finally we have finished the first designs for them. And here they are. The only animals I knew we would have were a panda and orangutan. The rest of them just kinda fell into the idea. Mal's room ended up being monkeys and lions, so we added a lion. The elephant has a funny back story so we decided to add him as well. And well the giraffe and fox... no idea. Just like the way they were drawn.

So here's the break down. First there's Zaius (named after the orangutan from Planet of the Apes). He's the bold adventurous type with the typical orangutan style of being able to get out of anything. Then we have Tusko (named for an elephant billed for being the meanest). However he doesn't actually have tusks so he over compensates by being a bully with a squishy center he tries to not let anyone know about. Zara (named after the giraffe given to Charles X of France from Muhammad Ali of Egypt in 1827) is the "princess" of the bunch, however overly clumsy. Ying is a silly panda who tries to be as daring as Zaius, but just doesn't have the charisma. Kit is a foxy fox who tends to be the one who gets Ying out of her predicaments she gets into by following after Zaius. And last but not least there's Nemean (named for the lion Hercules had to defeat for part of his trials). However, Nemean is not actually a lion. He's just a house cat that tries to be every part, tough and brave, like his name's sake. He wears a faux lion's mane and tail to look the part.

So that's what we've got for Mal. I think it's a great cast of characters for him to get to know. We'll see how these preliminary character types stick. They may change overtime but this is what we've got so far.

I just hope Mal decides to show up soon. I'm sick of being pregnant.

One week

So it's one week until Malcolm is due and I thought I'd update everyone on what's been going on.

First off, this condo is absolutely fantastic. The house stays warm so we only have to keep the thermostat at 55 to keep the house warm. We've rearranged Mal's room and finished all the decorating except the few paintings I want to do for him. Sam put up glow-in-the-dark stars and planets around Mal's room. He had them when he was a kid and wanted Mal to have stars to look at while he falls asleep, too. The room finally looks like a baby's room. We've got his bed and a rocking chair next to the heater to keep both of us warm, his changing table and a futon for if either Sam or I need to crash in there. Mal's closet is filled with his dresser (so glad that fits in there because there is NO room for it elsewhere), the smallest clothes I've ever seen, blankets from his friends and family who are so excited to see him, and a large amount of extra diapers and wipes that Sam and I are VERY grateful for. The less we have to go out in the first few weeks for things like that the better. Thank you to everyone who helped out.

On Tuesday I had my weekly doctor's appointment and I couldn't tell if Dr. Mora was kidding or not when he said, "Well we definitely wont see you by Thanksgiving, but I might see you this weekend. Yeah, this weekend would be great." When I told Sam he kinda freaked out about it, excited yes, but definitely freaked. We were both just hoping I wouldn't go into labor during the movie last night. If I had, Mal would be keeping with family tradition. Sam's mother went into labor for him during a double feature of Flash Gordon and Conan the Barbarian. Explains a lot doesn't it? Ha ha.

Well Harry Potter 7 part 1 was a great movie. It was paced well and considering the last HP movies have to compete with themselves, it was very good. It ended about where I expected it to. I don't think the fans could have handled Doby, Fred, and Snape dying in the same movie. I'm glad it ended when and how it did.

So now Sam and I are just going about our days as normal just trying to not freak out over the fact that Mal could show up any day now. We decided to brave Target yesterday (yikes) because we realized we didn't have a few things that we will need when Mal gets here. Luckily it was only 2-3 things and the express lanes were nearly empty. I can't believe how many people actually go shopping on Black Friday as a tradition. Personally, unless absolutely necessary, I think that the entire Thanksgiving weekend should be spent with your family. And I understand that it is a family tradition to go shopping. But that doesn't really leave much time for actually family time. The chaotic rushing around trying to get the best sales, or even just trying to find a parking spot is the worst head ache ever. It was so bad that Sam had to drop me off to go in to get the few things we need while he tried to find a spot. Well that never happened so he just came right back around and called me to see if I was about out. We will never go near a major shopping district on Black Friday ever again. No thanks.

Sam's working hard to be able to take his whole 80 hours off without worrying about being able to pay our bills. "Paid days off" for Sam right now, since he hasn't been with Wave for a year, means that he gets just the base pay for the two weeks he takes off. We've put quite a bit into savings so we will be fine. Especially if it happens to be that Sam's two weeks off aren't for the same pay period.

We are very excited for Mal to arrive and I can't wait to not be pregnant anymore. Bumping into things with my large, baby-carrying stomach, having to change position while sleeping just to not get a cramp in my back or side, and not being able to sit comfortably on the couch because Mal keeps kicking me in the ribs. Oh for the day when I can hold Mal instead of feeling him in uncomfortable places.

Well until then. I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and didn't have to much trouble with the snow.

Slug Juice

Well, it's my turn to update the blog, and I've been a slow panda, so here we are a month later.

First off, we moved into our new place in North Bellingham area. It's weird living this close to the mall and the major shopping section of town, but convenient when a late night run for kitty-litter or extra cream cheese is in order. The condo's still kind of a disaster, since we spent the first ten days not even living in it (I'll get to that momentarily), but we're slowly unpacking boxes and figuring out what stuff we actually want/need. It's been amusing to have our three cats all back under one roof again. Rei is still our little oddball and instigator of much kitty wrestling on the stairs.

Now, the reason we didn't live in our new place for 10 whole days was because we were house-sitting/nannying for the Userys in the Ferndale 3rd ward. They have two boys, 10 and 12 years old, as well as an older daughter, who is 18. Normally I think their daughter, Charly, would have been able to handle things, but she's in high school and the two boys have varying school schedules, soccer practices and games, etc. so it was not feasible for her to watch them the whole time. It meant Lyzz and I were up far earlier in the mornings than we've been for quite some time (7am as opposed to our usual 8-8:30 am). Dexter, the 10 year-old, and Josh, the 12 year-old, were easy to handle and basically did all the chores, homework, and other things they needed to without coercion. The whole experience was really kind of a look into the future for us, and I think it overwhelmed us both a little to be taking on such a hectic schedule all of a sudden, as opposed to it just happening organically as our little guy grows up.

Along the lines of our little guy, Mal is continuing to be healthy and normal thus far. Lyzz is getting more and more pregnant looking (finally), but without the lower back destroying pregnancy waddle. We had to take a 5 week long class about birth and parenting that the Tech College runs. It was basically an evening where we picked up flyers and informational pamphlets, and then saw a few short videos about car seats, breastfeeding, medical procedures (like epidurals, joy!), and ways to calm a baby (loudly "Shush"-ing in their ear is apparently extremely effective though unsettling to witness). I suspect one of the highlights of the class for both of us was another couple's Bernese Mt. Dog who waited in the car during class but ran around with us afterward. We're totally getting one of those somewhere down the road.

As Mal's due date draws near, I'm getting more and more excited about the whole "daddy" thing, though randomly have moments of "Who said this was okay?!?". Mostly I'm looking forward to the adventure of raising a little person. The part that's freaked out is me wondering how I can screw things up. Part of what's really making Mal's arrival "real" is the collection of stuff in his bedroom upstairs. We painted it a nice light green color, officially called "Christopher Robin's Swing", and now have a crib, changing table, millions of baby wipes, a pile of diapers, and more clothes for the kid than Lyzz and I own combined. It'll be a neat baby room. Apparently, boy baby stuff is officially jungle themed this year, so we have a lot of lions, monkeys, giraffes, frogs, etc. on clothes and other things. My favorite Mal-thing is the hoodie towel with a little monster face on the hood.

Lyzz continues to find ways to keep busy, and look beautiful, while I drive around three counties selling cable and internet services. She's been reorganizing our things, working on a photo album, finding last minute baby things, chasing the cats around the house, drawing, etc. Oh! I may have gotten Lyzz a paying job designing a logo for a company called Puppy Stairs. I knocked on a customer's door on Camano Island and ended up talking about Lyzz's artwork and such with the lady. She showed me her pamphlets and info pages for her business, which sells to customers all across the USA, and said they might be looking to redesign their logos and such. She liked a few pictures I had downloaded to my work phone, so she told me to have Lyzz email her. SWEETNESS!

Yesterday evening we spent the night with my family at WWU's Ryan Stiles show for Family Week, which is when the parents of students come visit and do cool things around campus with their kids. The place was packed, so when Lyzz raised her hand to volunteer for one game we didn't really think much would happen, but sure enough she got called up to do "Moving People" on stage. The game somehow involved racing mutant slugs and ended with one guy getting attacked by his giant slug while the other smeared speedster slug juice all over his face. Yeah....

Counting down in 8.....

So the count down has officially begun, and I am freaking out about it. However, since I know that babies never arrive on time, I've decided to count down til I'm officially full term, November 13th. Which is in 8 weeks exactly. And the things going through my mind right now are, "Who the hell deicided it was okay for Sam and I to have a kid??", "YAY MAL'S ALMOST HERE!", "Oh man I cannot WAIT until I don't have a little person kicking me all the time,", etc. The thoughts and emotions are very random and different. Fears of every kind are swimming through my head and it's really hard to keep them all under control. Will he like me? Will I be a good mother? Again, who let Sam and I have a KID?! But things are definitely looking up.

Sam's job is going well, and we just signed lease stuff for the condo we're moving into on Oct. 4th. Happy birthday Sam! You get a new apartment! Yay! Lol. The current tennant is moving out on the 30th, and then we'll spend the 1st and 2nd doing the walk-through and painting the baby and master bedroom, and then finally we'll move in on Monday the 4th!

We are really lucky to have such great parents/inlaws to let us stay in their house for the entire summer. Mary and Kim are great. And I have to admit, although I loathed coming here, I think it's been a really good experience for all of us. I've finally been able to learn how they work, how such and odd family can possible work without really much communication. They're a fantastic family, and what I've learned is this; they communicate usually only when it's really necessary. This tactic is something my family has never heard of. We are always up in each others business and trying to know whats going on with everyone. While some of us have tried to escape this very annoying family trait we have, most of us are still stuck there. For me, living here with Mary and Kim and seeing how their family works close up has really helped me realize how unspoken communication is just as important as when it's spoken. They're not a very talky bunch, unless you get Kim started on something he's really interested in, but other than that they're really mellow.

Although I really think Mal has helped a lot with bridging gaps between me and Sam's parents. The excitement and terror of being first time parents has really helped us reach a little bit more to Mary and Kim in their advice, and Mary is SO EXCITED to have a grandchild. She's not an extroverted person, at least not around family, but the little things we've done together for Mal has really opened my eyes to what a wonderful woman my mother in law is. I've even learned a little cooking! Kim is still hard to read, but I get the feeling that when Mal is actually here, he'll show a little more excitement. Mal is going to have absolutely wonderful Grandparents.

On a sillier note, Yume looks like an Albino Ewok right now. She has a sore the size of a quarter on the back of her head from a food allergy. Switching the food to one that has no corn has helped alot and it's starting to heal, but she keeps scratching the scabs off and then they bleed and then it's just a vicious cycle. So to help the healing along, I made a hood for her out of one of my socks to keep her from scratching so much at it. It seems to be working. I'll be glad when she's all better. I don't enjoy making my cat.... Oh no wait, yes I do. When Sam gave me the idea to use a sock as the hood last night at like 1:30am, we could not stop laughing when we actually put it on her. We were tired, yes, but Yume was so not happy about the entire situation it was just too funny. And Miyuki seems to be mocking Yume ever time they passed each other. Oh kitties, I love you.

So Mal is growing strong, we start the birthing and parenting classes on Monday, we have our condo to move into in October, and living here at the Hancock's has been a real blessing all around. Life is good, and I'm excited for the adventures that await us.

Finished Quilt

So it's been a while since we last posted anything. Sam's job is going okay. He's still looking for something a little more stable. We hope for the best! Other than that, I've had some abdominal pains from Malcolm, got our little Rei home for a week before we needed to find another place for her to stay until October, and the most exciting news of all...

I FINISHED MALCOLM'S QUILT! First one I've ever made! ^_^ My mother-in-law, Mary, helped a lot. She's much more experienced in quilt making than I am.


The best part is, there's a bumper to match! ^_^ Making Mal's first crib set is loads of fun. I can't wait till he gets here! He'll have a nice warm blanket to come home in. I definitely think I've found a new love. Making quilts is loads of fun. Especially baby blankets. I may have to do that for Christmas presents for the boys/girls this year. Blankets for all!

Oh, and we're headed to Weird Al's concert at the Lynden Fair on Tuesday! Thanks Mary!

Anatomy Ultrasound...

IT'S A BOY!!!

Malcolm Flynn Hancock. Ain't he cuuuuute? Oh yeah, this kids gonna be the cutest guy ever. I mean with parents like Sam and I, how could he be anything but?

We found out today at about 10:30am. And within the first 5 seconds of the ultrasound we see BABY JUNK! Very much a boy. He was kicking and flailing his legs around. Lemme tell ya, that kid likes to move his feet! He was sucking on his left arm and had his right arm up around his neck, just relaxing.

As soon as Sam saw exactly what the baby was, he looked at me and said, "Malcolm" and got the biggest smile on his face I've ever seen. I think that actually knowing what the baby is and having a name for them already makes it a little more real for Sam.

The ultrasound took about and hour, and it was definitely a good way to spend an hour. I mean just look at this kid! He's absolutely handsome! His cute little nose, and you can't tell by this picture, but I think he's got Sam's chin that he had to grow into. Ha ha.

One thing we were kind of worried about was if our baby would have the proper number of limbs and fingers/toes. Since my twin brother is missing his arm just below the elbow and my newest niece has a fully functioning extra toe (both birth defects) this really what was the ultra sound was about. As much as a girl would have been a nice change of pace for me, I'm honestly relieved he's a boy. I have LOADS more experience with boys. Seeing as how I have 7 nephews ranging from 10 to 2. Sam is just giddy. He really didn't care what the baby was as long as it was healthy. But, as you can see from pictures on Facebook, he has all his limbs and, so far as we can tell, proper number of digits too!

Sam first called his mom, who was at home, and she is very excited. Although I don't think she cares what the baby is, just that she's getting her first grandchild for Christmas! Then as a vast amount of texting went out to let everyone know, we also called my dad, Grandma McNab and Brenda, and of course Grammy. Oh Grammy. I love that woman. Here's the trick about Grammy, when you meet Sam you can tell right off the bat he's no ordinary guy and you may wonder why. Then you meet Kim, his dad, and then you say, well that makes sense. But where does Kim get his quirks? ...And then you meet Grammy, and everything makes sense. For example. Byron Ford has flirted with three generations of Hancock women... Grammy started it.

Today was just a really good day. We went to Sandwich Odyssey, which has the most amazing roast beef with au jus. Then we came home and washed our cars. And I accidentally sprayed myself in the butt when I dropped the hose. THAT WAS REALLY COLD! But felt really good too. So Mighty Mouse, the Blue Beetle, and the green van are all nice and clean!

We'll finish the day off with dinner with the Gardiners and The God's Must Be Crazy II. My media knowledge has gotten far more... strange... since meting Sam. I blame Kim. They're definitely good music/movies/operas/etc. but they're definitely on the strange side.

I really can't wait until December. I don't like being pregnant and I really want to see my son. ... That sounds weird. Ah well, I've got another few months to get used to the idea.