Panic in Sacramento

We had our now weekly Dr’s appointment yesterday. Since Monday Jen has been having pains which she described as “contraction like”. Well in fact these were contractions and the Doctor confirmed this by telling us that Jen is now 3cm dilated. This is 30% of the way. So really it could be at any time. Those of you that went for an early birth in the sweep stake must be feeling pretty smug.

So I have the phone on EXTRA LOUD and I panic whenever Jen calls me. It looks like we will have a baby in time for Christmas. In the famous words of Clive Dunn's character in Dad’s Army “Don’t Panic, Don’t Panic”.

Congratulations: The Corfe's

Well, well, well. You wait years for a baby amongst your friends and then 3 come along at once. Not only are the Jacksons now on their 3rd (so we really haven't been waiting that long at all) but now Mr & Mrs Jurgen Corfe are in the club. Much joking about whether he really had it in him have passed and I would like to extend a heartfelt Congratulations to them both. Pictured are the Jackson 4 (soon to be 5, along with Mrs. B trying her hardest to get sponsorship from a well known coffee company) as I couldn't find a picture of the Corfe's together.

They are due in May 2007 and so when we come and visit them in July we will all be up to our elbows in baby wipes and nappies. I love the smell of talcum powder in the morning.

On a slightly different tangent, Jen & I are registered with Babies R Us for our baby so if you are feeling generous (hey it's not for me; it's for the kids) then visit http://www.toysrus.com/registry/index.jsp and enter Burr and California we should be the only one. And if you are interested I really want the baby Bjorn - not for the bump but so I can carry my pies around in comfort.

Well done Martin & Amanda, I expect to hear all your horror stories.

Nutcracker

On Sunday we went to The Nutcracker. This was the first time I had ever been to the ballet, and I am not sure I will go back again. After a while the lack of speaking got on my nerves. All I can say is thank god I had read the programme before it started or I would have had no idea why all these different nationalities suddenly started appearing and dancing in the second act. Also I noticed that neither the British, nor the Irish were represented, but then I suppose it was pre River Dance.

The whole experience probably wasn’t enhanced by Emma standing up and doing the actions to it, or the woman behind me with the broken ankle who insisted in putting her foot up on the chair next to me so that ever time I turned to towards Jen I saw some 50 year old woman’s flaky foot. At the interval I almost offered her a pedicure

Yule love this

On Saturday we went and got our Christmas tree and put it up and decorated it. This kind of activity makes you really feel like a Dad. I had to hack saw some of the branches off (bit of a bonus here as I didn’t lose any fingers or limbs) at the bottom and then put it in the pot. While Jen checked to see if the lights worked, I went out and finished my Christmas shopping. Now Jen is a really organised person and she likes to get most things done early, but I think this year we have done it even early than normal, for 2 reasons. The 1st is we have to send stuff overseas and so needed to get the presents in time to post them, and secondly with the baby coming we have had to make sure everything is prepared in case she pops out early.

So tree is up and presents are underneath, which the cat has taken as a sign that she can jump on the tree and lick the presents. Heaven knows what she is going to do when the baby comes home.

I have been asked a couple of times at work whether the British celebrate Christmas, and so biting my lip I have answered that yes the majority do, as the UK unlike the USA, has a national religion and that is Christianity (I was going to write the flavour of Christianity but I can’t spell it very well and it always looks like prostitution when I type it). People here are also very wary about saying Happy Christmas to anyone, and replace it with Happy Holidays. I am not religious but this seems a bit of a watered down soloution. I don’t care what you wish me as long as it is happy or merry. What would upset me is if someone told me to have a terrible Hanukkah or a Crappy Christmas.

Kernow Nadelik

On to Cornish Christmas. This again was pleasantly surprising, especially as when attending any of these events it is best not to get too hung up on the historical accuracy. We got there and finally after finding a place to park we walked into the town centre which had been closed to traffic and had stalls of food and crafts and other trinkets. There were also kids and adults playing musical instruments (including the well known Celtic instrument the didgeridoo), as well as some carol singers (pictured). It was a nice evening and Emma certainly enjoyed it. We met Santa again and had to explain to Emma how he was in Grass Valley when she had seen him last weekend in the shopping centre near our house.

We feasted on “pasties”. They were nice and the closest I have seen to ones from the UK, but on the menu they were spelt pastie, which sent shivers down my spine. Apparently a pasty in the US is a tassle that a stripper wears on her nipples, so they have changed the spelling to avoid confusion! They were a bit on the small side too, not like the huge ones I used to get in Mevagissey.

The most realistic part of the whole event were the youths that hung out on the street corner pushing each other and shouting and running about, it brought back ever Christmas Eve I have ever seen in sunny Saltash. Except this being America there were actually police there and no one was drinking underage. Lightweights.

Nick Burrlan and T-Rex

The visit to Petroglyph was actually a surprisingly enjoyable experience When I first got there I had no idea what I should paint, but wandering around the shop I stumbled upon a T-Rex figurine, which I just knew that Emma would love. It was harder work than I expected, but rewarding. I am going to give the figure (which doubles as a piggy-bank) to her tonight so will let you know if she throws it on the floor. I am also going to try and dig out a photo of the figure.

Friday, I'm in love

Just a quick update as I am about to leave for another team building event. This time we are going to a place called Petroglyph where we get to decorate our own pottery. For those of you that know my artistic skills this won’t be fun at all.

Last night Jen & I had our last parenting class, and I have been giving thanks ever since. There were some useful parts of the course, but for every 30 minutes of use I had to sit through another hour and a half of other stuff.

We have a busy weekend ahead of us. Tonight we are off to Grass Valley to see a Cornish Christmas. I am intrigued having grown up in Cornwall what a Cornish Christmas is like. According to their website it involves a Cornish Christmas Choir (try saying that 10 times fast) and jugglers, musicians, Tommy Knocker Ringers (?) and arts and crafts. This is completely different to the Christmas I knew in Saltash which involved 26 pints, a kebab and a fight out side the Brunel Pub. But when in Grass Valley do as the Grass Valleyians do.

Then on Saturday I need to get my hair cut so that I can look my best for when the bump finally arrives, then we have to get our Christmas tree and decorate it, and then on Sunday we are off to see the Nutcracker by the Sacramento Ballet Company. That is a side effect of having girls in the majority.

So I will have lots to report on and of course there is always the possibility that the bump may come!

Waiting for the girl to come

The hospital tour went well, we got to see where all the action will take place, and they had a good cafeteria which is obviously important to me. They also had a TV and a video player so I will be well entertained while Jen is getting on with what ever she needs to do.

Of course I am joking I will be very involved throughout, giving support, massaging and generally encouraging. I am very worried that I will cry once the bump comes into the world, as I am a deeply emotional person, I once cried at a Ground Force episode for goodness sake!

Tonight have yet another doctor’s appointment. These are great from the aspect that we get to hear the babies heartbeat, but we are usually done in 5 minutes, and are normally kept waiting about 20, so it is a bit boring waiting around for the doc, but I guess worth it in the end.

As we get closer to the event the more I realise that I have absolutely no control over this event and it could come at any time. I have to keep my mobile with me at all times, which is not something I am particularly good at (as most of the readers will be able to attest). My work want to know when I am going to take time off but there is just no way of knowing when the baby is going to come, maybe the appointment tonight will shed some light. Also the prize is fantastic so anyone that wants to submit a late prediction please do so now.

The final countdown

We are now only 4 weeks and 4 days away from our due date. We have now finished the baby’s room, and we have a bag packed and ready to go. Tonight we go on a tour of our hospital and have a look at one of the rooms that we will be using.

Jen was 3 weeks early with Emma and so potentially the baby could come at any point from then. I also learnt that a baby that is 3 weeks early is not considered premature but full term.

Our doctor’s appointments are now weekly and they made us make some for the day we are due and then the week after as well.

It has really sunk in that I am going to look after another tiny human being, and be responsible for them for the rest of their life. Eeeck.

Picture this

We had a very quiet weekend, so there really isn’t much to report. We did write our Christmas cards so if we like you expect to receive one. If you don’t receive one it is probably because I don’t have your address. That’s my excuse and I am sticking to it.

One thing that I have noticed is that people here send cards with a picture of their family on it, and so I warn you now the card you may receive will not be pretty. Luckily we did not use the photo you see here, not very Christmassy is it?