So a few people know now. We’re keeping it light, mostly because there’s a lot of concern that we might not be able to carry this baby to term. It’s Alex’s first pregnancy, and we know a lot of people who’ve had trouble. There’s no reason we should have a cakewalk of this.

So far, the full list of those in the know include:

• Colette (one of Alex’s coworkers)
  She kind of figured it out on her own after Alex had a total pregnant-brain moment.
• Cathy and Craig
  We told Cathy because were trying to get Mom and Janice on the phone at the same time (three-way calling) and needed Cathy’s coordinating help.
• Tamara (and Dan, by association)
  I told Tamara because I need her help making a video to tell everyone else when the time is right. (And frankly, I thought she could use some good news for a change.) I freely admit that I suck at these tools, and she can do them a lot better than I. She just about cried (I told her at the reception yesterday) and squeezed the heck out of me.
• Allen and Jean
  We had a belated Christmas with them yesterday, and the last present to them was a card with a copy of the ultrasound. Jean was beyond excited. I’ve never heard Allen that animated. I can tell that they’re both eager to be grandparents.
• Mom and Janice
  They found at the same moment, once we managed to get them both on the phone (through three-way calling) at the same time. Mom’s already a grandmother, so this wasn’t a terrible shock to her; Janice was definitely pleased with the news.

So why haven’t we told anyone else? We’re mostly concerned about the chance of losing the baby. That’ll be hard on Alex when people ask: “So how’s the baby doing?” Once we’re past either the first prenatal exam on the 25th (if Alex is feeling positive enough about it) or the official three-month mark, we’ll tell the world, of course.

And this entry, and those that came before it, will go public. I can’t wait…

On Tuesday, 2 January, Dale Garraway passed away at the age of 57. His funeral was today, attended by several hundred friends and family.

I didn’t know Dale all that well — he was still Mr. Garraway to me — but I’m close friends with his daughter, Tamara. She’d been my housemate for over two years and we’ve known each other for about six and a half years. We’ve seen each other through quite a bit.

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Grr.

So much for local dev and test, and upload to live server. It’s not behaving, which is frustrating me immensely. So bear with me while I make K2 work properly.

Alex went for an ultrasound today. She’s had them before for strange pains she’s had in her abdomen, but this was for something very specific.

As you already know, Alex had a positive pregnancy test on 31 December (see [[Enter: Parenthood]]). That alone was a surprise. It was something I hoped for a lot, but I admittedly don’t put a huge amount of faith in store-bought tests. There’s just something … too easy about them. The big thing for me would be an ultrasound.

Alex had a doctor’s appointment yesterday, and because she works in the health field managed to sneak into an ultrasound exam today. There’s a beating heart in there. Well, the beginnings of one (it’s called a “tube” at the moment). But it means there’s life.

Life that I helped create.

That’s what makes me sit back and really realize for the first time just how much of a miracle life actually is. A few cells somehow manage to merge, and there’s a spark, somewhere, that kicks it all off. A heart starts beating on its own, a nervous system forms and creates pathways for the body to operate. All in a few short months.

Hell, a few short weeks!

Six, to be specific. That shocked us more than anything else. Six weeks already! How the heck we went that long without noticing (you can joke if you like, but you don’t know the truth) is beyond us.

Needless to say, we’re happy. Stunned, but happy. Let’s hope this goes as well as can be.

It’s taken me a few months, but I’m finally back up and running with something a lot better: a new blog format (and technology) and a new host.

Okay, so first the blog…

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Y’know, it never seems to fail — just when I think I’m going to have a relaxing holidays, it ends up being a total whirlwind of activity.

Given, there was an upside to all of this: we got to see a lot more family this year than we would have normally seen. The fact that this was due to the death of a family member isn’t so positive, but it certainly could have been worse.

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