He's here!!

Okay, Brad was right. I'm making use of my wi-fi.

Our son was born at 1:34pm today. He was 10lbs and 5oz. He's 20.5 inches long.

His name is Jack Hayes Bunch. Here's my little boy!!!

Check out Eric's blog for more pics...

It's 11:30pm on December 19, 2007, and tomorrow my son will be born!! I should be sleeping rather than blogging, since I have a feeling tomorrow will be a little bit draining...

Because my wife is petite, and our baby, apparently is not, Becky will be delivering via C-section, and we're scheduled for tomorrow at 2pm! The estimation was 9lbs 6oz on Tuesday...we'll see what the "little" guy actually weighs once on the outside. Whatever his weight, it will be a great day!

I will, of course, try to update the blog for those of you who are not close enough to come to the hospital, but it might take a few days...so be patient!

PB

...so...still here.

Jim and I invented a new head-to-head betting card game last night. We still don't have a name for it, and we are taking suggestions. Be prepared for this response, "That's ONE idea...". Jim hands that one out quite a bit. (by the way, we've trademarked this game, so don't even think about trying to sell it to the Nevada Gaming Commission).

Anyway! Here's how it goes...The object of the game is to turn cards one by one until the sum of all cards shown reaches 31. The person who turns the card that makes 31 gets the pot. If you flip a card that pushes the total past 31, your opponent gets the pot. To begin, each player antes, and the dealer places 1 card face up and 8 cards face down as shown:

The player opposite the dealer then pays (a predetermined amount) into the pot to buy a card of his choice, and flips it over, increasing the community sum. The players alternate by paying (their bet) and flipping until 31 is reached, a player busts, or neither player is willing to flip another card. If the current player does not wish to flip a card (for fear of busting and giving the pot to his opponent), the opposite player has the same opportunity to flip or pass. If neither player wishes to flip, the hand is a push and the pot stays remains for the next hand.

In any given hand, once the sum of the cards is equal to or greater than 25 (ie 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, or 30), any flipped card that does not bust wins the pot. If the current player passes, the opposite player again has the opportunity to flip or pass.

Side notes: Aces are worth 11 until the sum reaches 25. At that point, any Ace flipped is worth 1 point.

T + 4 days...as if Becky was birthing a rocket ship.

Today is Monday, and I'm at work. I did not expect to be here today, but apparently, our son is just too comfy to leave his current home. We're looking at the positives...a full weekend with no dirty diapers and no midnight feedings. However, we are just too excited to meet our son for that positive thinking to hold much ground. We have an appointment with the doctor this afternoon, and we are hopeful that she will give us some great news. But really, I hope to get a call from Becky before that, so I can rush home and take her to the hospital! That would be neat.

Anyway, thanks to all for checking in on us, and I will keep you posted on our "progress."

...and a special hello to my aunt Marilyn, who, until today, I did not know was reading my blog! We miss you guys! Can't wait to introduce our son to you!

PB

It's D-Day...AND NO BABY!

I hope you will all join us in WAITING!

Just wanted to add one more picture to the great memories of Sunny!

Well...

No baby yet! Becky had a check-up with her doctor today, and there are no signs that this baby is coming any time soon. 3 days till due date, and it looks like he might be late. All we really care about is a healthy baby, so he can come whenever he wants...but this is the husband talking, not the 9-month-pregnant-momma.

Just for fun...Becky and I went to REI yesterday and I made her try on this jacket.

10 DAYS and counting...

Hard to believe that Becky and I could be mom and dad at any moment. Just refelcting on a few thoughts while I'm awake enough to have them!

-When I was a little over a year old, my dad started writing letters to me. From my first moments till my 18th birthday, every few months he would express what he was feeling about my life, our relationship, my accomplishments, my failures, his successes, his failures, great family moments, etc. in these letters and then file them all away in a notebook for me. I recently had a chance to read through them again, and I was overcome by their significance throughout the notebook. I think they took new meaning for me now that I'm actually getting ready to be a dad. I would encourage any of you fathers out there to do the same for your kids. I certainly intend to do it for mine. Dad - I know I've told you in person, but thanks again for these letters. They are precious...in a very manly way.

-I'm in love with my wife...and I like her too. There are so many famlies in this world that start because the partents made a "mistake" or they are trying to fix a failing marriage by having kids. I'm so blessed to be married to my best friend, and to have the chance to welcome our son into the world together as a team. I know she'll have the hard part of actually bringing him into the world, but I cannot wait to experience the joys and heartaches of parenting with her. I am overjoyed that God chose to unite our hearts in love, in ministry, in frienship, and in the decision to raise children. Baby - I love you! I can't wait to see you holding our son.

-Last week at church, we had a baby-dedication service. Parents who want to commit to raising their children in a God-centered household, came up on stage and made that commitment publicly to the church. I've been a part of these services before...as a member of the congregation and as an uncle. But, once again, now that I'm about to be a dad, it took a new meaning for me. I can't wait till the next one, when Becky and I get to hold up our son, and proudly commit to behaving biblically in our household, and passing on the knowledge of our Savior on to him. Early on in our pregnancy, I read the story of Samuel again. I was impressed more than ever, that even though Samuel had to make a choice for himself whether or not he would serve God, his mother made the decision to dedicate him to the Lord, and made the effort and sacrifice to place him in a position to succeed. That's my goal as a father...among other things...to set up my son for spiritual success.

Okay...this was longer than I expected. Maybe this will by my first letter to...What's-his-name.

PB

Up a little early this morning. But instead of driving to work, I'm driving to the mountain with Eric. We're off for a little climb and ski in the new snow!

I'm enthused, and I wanted to share that with you :-) Thanks for allowing me.

Jim - I'm sure were going to have a terrible time.

PB

At the request of Michelle, here is a Becky + Baby update:

23 - number of days till baby boy is due.
23 - number of croissanwiches Becky has eaten during her pregnancy
2 - number of weeks early which Becky believes he will be born (which equals next Thursday...)
5 - number of ultrasounds we have had for baby boy
14 - number of letters in his full name
3 - number of golf clubs he already owns
1 - number of bedding sets that becky has bought and then resold on craigslist
15 - number of times we giggled in birthing classes
6 - approximate number of pounds that baby weighs right now
15 - age in months by which I expect baby to perfect parrallel turns

PB

I found the window resize function of my blog template to be a little obnoxious. So I fixed it. I hope you are less annoyed now (as am I). I hope this relieves you of some extra clicking to get your browser back to full screen.

...and since I took the live feed off my sidebar, here you go:

My Baby and my baby...

As I mentioned, I had my first "Senior Session" scheduled for yesterday. Not sure If I really want to get into that branch of photography, but for now, it will help me buy new gear! What do you think?

Just Kidding! Here are a couple shots from my afternoon with Garrett. I think they look pretty "seniory".

I've got a lot of image processing to do in the next week. I did a session with Sarah, Eric, and Ethan (and Makayla) Thompson on Tuesday, I have my first Senior Portrait session tomorrow, and another family session on Saturday! I'm going to be looking at the monitor for a good chunk of time...

I haven't gotten to all of the Thompson's pics, but this was one of my favorites, and I couldn't wait to post it...

Hello blog-readers,

I'm in Memphis! Crazy, I know. Just a quick update on my evening on Beale Street last night. It was so much fun. You walk down the street and turn in to whichever place sounds the best to you. They've all got live blues bands playing. My buddy Ed and I stopped in to hear this band, Delta Highway. They were hot! (musically...not physically).

This is me in the alleyway that leads to the Rendezvous rib joint - where we had dinner. it's off the main drag, so you have to know where it is. You walk down the alley and turn into a little doorway that leads you downstairs into the place. Thanks to Eric for the tip...

And I had the best dry ribs ever!

The tables are owned by the servers, so they serve you quick! We ordered our apetizers and literally he brought them out in about 30 seconds. Then for dinner, the ribs were off the grill and on our table in about 1 minute...no joke. And they were tasty!

Fun night...

TTFN

Okay...just so I don't have to post everytime there's a great shot of snow on the mountain webcams, I added the image permanently to my sidebar.

--------------------------------------->

So now, you will all know what the conditions are like on Mt. Hood, just by checking my blog! And if you click the picture, it takes you to the US Forest Service Page with a larger image!

My blog is not nearly as "tricked out" as the Bjournal, but it's a start!

PB

I know, I know. I gotta stop. But seriously??? Look at this!

As soon as the first flakes started falling on the mountain last week, my brain started transitioning to skiing mode...as you can see from my previous post and my new avitar.

So, in preparation for the quad-burn that is powder skiing and run-after-run down the canyon at the Bowl, I started working out again today. I arrived a few minutes before Jim, so I stairmastered for about 10 minutes before doing a light circuit on the weights. We were both hesitant to really hit it hard, so we stopped early, but felt like we needed to do something more. So Jim said, "lap around the burm?" Why not! So we did a leisurely two mile loop around campus. I was tired by then end...mainly becuase it has been months since the last time I ran...but my motivation was the deep snow...and this:

This is December 16, 2006. For the second season in a row, Jim and I had hiked (cross-country skied this time) into White River Canyon, found a powder covered hill, climbed to the top, and skied down. It's been one of the greatest days each year for me. Jim blogged about it last year and you can see pics of the decent here.

So as I'm struggling through a run, or the last few minutes on the stair climber, this is my motivation.

I can't wait to clip in.

PB

YES!