Crunch Time

Our due date, November 10th, is rapidly approaching.  As the day gets closer, we get more and more excited about the arrival of our baby girl. We cannot wait to meet her to see what she looks like, to see if she got her mom's pretty face, to see if she got her dad's big ears, and to see if she'll be ready to enter the WNBA draft by age 14 (we have an inkling that she might be tall ;).

On the other hand, as November inches towards us comes at us in leaps and bounds, Leigh and I realize more and more just how much we do not know about what we've gotten ourselves into - needless to say, the nerves have set in.  Yes, we have a great support system of family and friends that will be there to help out and to answer pressing questions at 1am; yes, we realize that every other set of parents IN THE WORLD have gone through this with varying levels of success; yes, we are smart people who already love our daughter more than anything in the world; but, we are still getting quite nervous.

Amid the mix of excitedness and nerves in our house, Leigh and I have discussed our hopes and dreams for our daughter.  I hope she follows in my footsteps and plays the piano,

 but I also hope she becomes an astrophysicist and gets to go to Mars one day. 

 Leigh hopes that she is a strong and independent woman who grows up to be Secretary General of the United Nations. 

My father, on the other hand, has recently been exposed to a world that was once unknown to him and our family, and has his own dreams for his granddaughter.  My dad hopes that we encourage his granddaughter into the world of pageantry.  His newfound love for "Toddlers and Tiaras" on TLC has spurred on this excitement. 

He especially loves the likes of Honey Boo Boo Child and was thrilled that she recently landed her own reality television show.

I think he has aspirations of fame and fortune (or perhaps just seeing himself on television).

Unfortunately, we are going to have to refrain from urging our young child in such a direction.  I'm not sure there's enough Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dew (aka "Go-Go Juice") to make either of us a crazy pageant parent.

Baby T will be encouraged to do just about anything else that she wants, just as long as her parents can overcome their own nerves about welcoming her into the world! :)