Baby Says Hi!

We had an ultrasound done yesterday. Right before Thanksgiving we got a call from the Doctor's office saying that one of Meredith test, the one for Down's Syndrome, came back a little abnormal. They scheduled an ultrasound at the University of Virginia to check things out and be certain. A little scary, but we remained for the most part optomistic. So we get there and we end up talking to a "genetics counselor" first. Turns out we didn't have to worry about Down's. The blood test Meredith had tests for 3 things: Down's, Spina Bifida, and some other that I can't remember. It was the Spina Bifida test that was off. We were told that the higher level of the test could occur from sereval reasons, including blood between the uterus and placenta, twins(!), Spina Bifida, and the membrane covering the intestines not forming properly. Plus it could be something completely unknown. A False Positive I guess is pretty common with this test.

So anyway, on to the ultra sound. They measured the baby, and everything there was normal. They got a good look at the top of the spine, and there was no cause for worry there. Heart looked and sounded great too. Unfortunately, the little bugger decided to move around a lot, so we couldn't get a good look at its tummy or lower spine. Based on what they saw, the doctors said the baby looks fine and that they have little reason to be concerned. Just to be completely sure, they scheduled another ultra sound 4 weeks from now, just after Christmas. It'll be bigger, and therefore easier to see everything. The funny thing is we had our normally scheduled ultra sound scheduled in 2 weeks. It's unnecessary now, but we'll probably still go just because AMC has those cool 3-D ultra sound machines. 3 ultrasounds in the span of a month! How's that for unusual? At least we get plenty of pictures!

Christmas Time Is Here!

My family has this little tradition where we put up the Christmas tree sometime around Thanksgiving. My wife and I have taken this tradition as our own, so on Friday, I brought up the artificial tree from the basement and we set it up. Usually I don't get into the Christmas spirit until the first snowfall, but since I moved to Virginia I've had to adapt to long periods without the white stuff. Putting the Christmas tree up has served as the perfect substitute. It's fun to take out the ornaments and remember fond memories about how they came to our possession. (Latest addition: a cute pair of "Parents To Be" chickens, courtesy of my family. One can only imagine how many "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments we'll get next year. The only part I don't like is that our limited space forces us to move the living room furniture around when the tree comes up. The bright, blinking lights of the tree make it all worthwhile. Now if only we'd get a little snow....

Happy Turkey Day

A Happy Thanksgiving to all who view my little blog! Today we're off to the in-laws for some fried turkey, yams, and other assorted goodness. I have much to be thankful for this year.

Name That Baby!

Naming things is hard. Naming a living creature is harder. Naming your child is even harder, much harder than I would have thought. However, we did it. My wife and I have narrowed the choices down and have decided what our son/daughter will be called for the rest of his/her natural life. The girl's name was relatively easy. So, should I be the fortunate father of a little girl, the world wil be introduced to...

Victoria Grace

It's a nice flowing name, with a princess like ring to it, which is what Meredith wanted. I myself like it because it's not a common girl's name and well, just sounds nice.

The boy's name was much harder. I really didn't want a common name that is very popular. I prefer names that have a story to them. We came up with a good one. If we're blessed with a bouncing baby boy, he will henceforth be known throughout the world as...

Mathias

I know, strange name. Meredith had suggested early on naming it after me, but to be honest, I'm not very keen on the whole "junior" concept. Mathias is not only a variation of my name but also my Confirmation name. In a way, the child would be named after me too - when I told my mom the name, she told me that when I was little, her Aunt Julie would call me Mathias, and nothing else. I never knew that before!

You may have noticed there's no middle name with Mathias. We're still deciding that. truth is Mathias doesn't lend itself well to a second name - very few names sound good with it. We came up with a few, which I've posted in a poll below. Vote for your favorite, and if you have any further ideas, please let us know! Right now we're leaning towards Xavier, but we're open to other ideas!

Baby Keppel's Middle Name (Boy) Mathias James Mathias Thomas Mathias Xavier Something Else View Results Make your own poll

Election Day

There's nothing harder than standing up for what you believe in, especially when you're standing up against the very institution you were brought up in. Today is election day, and in Virginia we get to vote on a proposal that would define marriage as a union between a man and woman. Despite the official Catholic stance for this proposal, I voted against it. As Catholics we regard marriage as a sacrament and therefore hold it to a much higher standard than most people realize, so it's easy to see why there is support for this. But as much as it pains me to say, I feel the Catholic Church is looking at this the wrong way. The weird thing about it is that the reason it's wrong really has nothing to do with the whole gay vs straight issue. As worded, this proposal is unfair. It essentially states that because people fall within a certain group, their rights as individuals should be limited. That's discrimination, pure and simple, and THAT is against my religious upbringing. Go ahead, read the proposal, and for every reference to sexual orientation, replace it with one of race or religious belief. If the proposal defined marriage as a union between a white man and white woman, would we be so quick to support it? In the end I must do what I feel is right. It appears this measure will pass in Virginia, but at least I can sleep at night knowing I did what I felt the Lord wanted me to do.