Get Ready, Get Set....Wait.

Today marks the completion of week 37 of Ashley's pregnancy. Thus, if the kiddo were to come anytime after today, he would no longer be characterized as premature. This is a good thing because it means Ender is almost his full size and weight and could come at any day. This is also a frightening thing because it means Ender could come at any day. That being said, we each packed a hospital bag. Ashley packed stuff like comfortably jammies, an outfit to wear home, toothbrush, etc. I, thinking I was showing great foresight, had packed all six Star Wars DVD's (in case of a long labor). Ashley was not amused and has banned all Star Wars related items from the delivery room. This ruined my plan to have the Empire Strikes Back cued up such that I would press play when the nurses hand Ender to me for the first time. Ender would look at me and hear Darth Vadar say, "I am your father." First impressions are important.

A lot of people have been asking us if we have a name picked out. Yes, we do have a name. However, we feel we need to actually see the boy first to ensure the name suits him. After all, it is possible Ashley could take one look at him and say, "He really is an Ender." Doubtful, but entirely possible. Or she could suddenly have a change of heart and think Pigot is a good name (Pigot is an old Rankin family name; it is pronounced with a long i). Also doubtful, but possible. However, we do know the kid won't be named after me (there's only room for one J.S. McGuirk in this world), nor will he be named after any of our family members. In fact, we don't think anyone in our families has this name. Nor is the name in the top 1,000 baby names from 2000 - 2006 on the social security data base http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/decades/names2000s.html. And no, we didn't take a common name and choose some crazy spelling. As a hint, I will say a character from a movie in the 1990's had this name. Not the lead in the movie but certainly integral to the film (and no, Obi-Wan, Morpheus, or Hannibel).

Now, some dog pictures. First, me and the little pug. Hopefully we'll have a similar picture in a few weeks of me and Ender; in all likelihood, Ender will then be wearing a hat and hopefully won't have fur or weigh 20 pounds.

Note the massive stack of pillows behind me on the bed. Now imagine a pregnant Ashley, a one-eyed pug, all those pillows, and me, sleeping on the same bed. Also, realize even though Ashley is pregnant, I am still the most massive. Yet of all of the above, who do you think gets the least amount of space on the bed? I've become quite adept at being able to will myself awake just before I fall off the edge.

Finally, a not-so-flattering picture of me and Auburn lying on Auburn's sleeping area. Note how plush and wide-spread her bed is. Maybe I should start sleeping there

Pleasant day.