So, we're officially spreading the news now: my wife and I have baby #2 on the way now. 8^) Current due date is 15 Feb 2010. We've had the "Nurse History Appontment", which was little more than an orientation and paperwork. The first ultrasound is scheduled for this afternoon. This one is just to try to pinpoint the fetal age, and verify how many are in there. 8^) It'll be a few more weeks until we can find out the gender. This time, we're thinking about actually TELLING people the gender before the baby is born. Last time, we were concerned about people going overboard with gender-specific gifts. But we have the basics now, and this one isn't going to be quite as big a deal as KatieBeth was, since she's the first granddaughter on BOTH sides. Since there's at least one girl now, but already plenty of boys, whichever the new baby is isn't going to be quite as earth-shaking. (Gender-wise, that is. Every baby is a wonder. 8^)
I'm not sure if I have a gender I'd really prefer or not. On the one hand, I'd kind-of like to have a boy this time, so we have one of each. But, on the other hand, another girl would be somewhat more convenient. While a lot of KatieBeth's clothes are fairly gender-neutral, there is still a fair amount of girly clothing. Of course, my sister has plenty of little boy clothes she'd be happy to give us, so that's not really that much of a factor. However, another girl would mean that the two kids could sleep in the same room longer – if we have a boy, we've been thinking we may have to get an additional room put on the house, eventually. We'll be happy with whichever this baby turns out to be, and we'll love the new baby just as much either way, so it's probably a wash either way.
For some reason, though, I have a feeling it's going to be a boy. I have no real good reason to think this way, except for the fact that juujika has been feeling differently during this pregnancy, so far, than last time. It would also be somewhat ironic (not sure if that's quite the right term, but I can't think of anything better) if it was a boy; KatieBeth is, as I mentioned, so far the only granddaughter on both sides, and if the new baby is a boy, she still will be. Not that I necessarily *WANT* her to stay so – it would be kind-of nice to have more girls in this generation, but it would be ironic if it didn't happen.
So, totally unrelated... 8^)
The city we live in – Westland, MI – has just recently started up a curbside recycling program. I've been hoping they'd start one for some time now. I've been saying for years that, if only there was a curbside pickup, I'd be all over it. I like the concept of recycling, I'm just a bit lazy. 8^) There has been a recycling center around here for quite a while, but I've never been able to gather up the motivation to actually go out and take stuff there.
So, we've gotten an enthusiastic start on recycling. Our first pickup was last week; they dropped the bins off a couple weeks before that. It's a pretty large bin – it comes up to mid-chest on me, and being 6' 2", that's saying something. We managed to fill it to the brim for the first pickup, and I'm expecting the next one to be just as full.
The fact that this program is incentivized is just gravy for us. We'd be participating even if it was entirely voluntary, but the company the city is running this with offers "points" based on the weight of the material in the bin each week, which you can then trade in for coupons and gift certificates to "local and national businesses". It looks like it will take a while to build up enough points to get anything good, but that's to be expected. With what we got last week, we could get a coupon for $5 off a $50 or more purchase somewhere, but by the end of the year, we could probably get a $10 movie gift certificate. Might be good for a birthday or anniversary celebration or something. 8^)