well hello there. anyone out there? crickets? mom?
here we are on january 3, st vincent quietly piping through the bose speakers. incense burning. one last night with an illuminated christmas tree. the dogs are in their heavens, which is to say my bed, and sparky is poking away at my belly button from the inside.
i will begin the first entry of 2008 on the subject of sparky, naturally. i'm pushing 17 weeks now, and am practically a seasoned pregnant woman. my belly is growing firm and round, quickly now, and in the past week, sparky has made her existence known through a series of bubbles and flutterings deep in my belly. [note: we are using the universal "she" until we know what bits sparky is wearing.]
i am still having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that i'm growing a human, one who is my son or daughter, and that in five months i will give birth. and yet sparky continues to poke me. but every day, i wake up with a calm sense of being, of breathing and fearful joy enfolding me. hello baby. we are so excited to meet you. grow and grow and become who you are. we'll be waiting on the outside.
sparky received a book of nursery rhymes for christmas, inscribed with these words: “never has a child been so loved before arrival." exactly.
we heard the heartbeat today for the second time. loud and measured and so very alive. the midwives are taking bets on sparky's sex based on that heartbeat, but helen and i simply held hands and smiled.
on january 14, we will see sparky on the bigscreen, and hopefully adjust pronouns accordingly.
meanwhile, we're spending our efforts on creating a spacious, healthy nest for our little spark. if the underwriting gods at the bank look favorably upon us and our humble request for a loan, we will be moving into this house sometime in february:

1630 sqft 3BR/2.5BA + study + big backyard + stained concrete floors downstairs + all new appliances + nominally more expensive mortgage than our current rent amount = yay.
that's how we've figured the math, anyway.
so, as you can see, we've begun 2008 with a bang. we may not have jumped into barton springs this year, but my goodness, we've jumped into the investment of our future.
happy new year, friends. this is a big one.
Posted by bananie at January 3, 2008 9:40 PM | TrackBackWow! Home ownership? Our little bananie is all grown up...
xo
Posted by: beonkey at January 3, 2008 10:46 PMThird time trying to post... hi. This is GREAT news. I am very excited for you. I hope the bank treats you well, and I'm looking forward to another post on/shortly thereafter the 14th...
Posted by: Carlen at January 4, 2008 5:26 PMI'm SO rooting for you. This has given me lots of hope today. Looking back, even 6 months ago...you've been graced, B. Thanks for the blog-style update.
Posted by: flibbityflu at January 5, 2008 12:45 AMI've always associated home ownership with true adulthood. I have been married and I have had children, but I'm still that little boy who used to live across the street until I own a home. Now your all growns up and I've been looking at Realtor listings. EEK!
Posted by: Adam at January 10, 2008 9:00 AMCongrats on the house, Bananie! It's really darling! I can't wait to attend your housewarming!! ;-) I do hope it's not too far away, though...
Posted by: Vanessa at January 12, 2008 10:33 AMNow THAT'S a house! Look at the tiny tree in the front yard, it practically beckons a brand new family to move in.
Posted by: shanny at January 18, 2008 11:29 AM