Priya Renee cuddling

Here is Priya Renee cuddling with Mom. She is adorable and doing great. She weighs 7 lbs 2 oz and I think she looks a little like Dad. Hopefully, for her sake, I am wrong.

Priya Renee Wallace

Priya Renee Wallace was born at 7:08 pm. Ami did an amazing job. Priya is beautiful and just made it back into mommy's arms.

Getting closer...

This spectacular rainbow appeared outside of our labor and delivery window. In the background you can see The Pearl district of Portland and the Fremont bridge over the Willamette river.

Ami is dilated to 8 cm and is doing great. She has been able to get some rest since the epidural was placed. As I type, they are bringing in all the gear for delivery. Hopefully, it will happen soon.

Making progress and Making Ami happy

Ami just got her epidural and she is so thankful. The baby is posterior and it was just wreaking havoc on Ami's back. Her pain with contractions went from 10 to 0 after the epidural was placed. She is currently 4 cm dilated. They say 1 cm an hour from here on out, so maybe we will have a baby by late afternoon!

Are you gellin?

We just finished visiting with the OB. Even though Ami's cervix is still closed (damn stubborn cervix), we are still going to go ahead with the first step of induction - prostaglandin gel - as the amniotic fluid is getting low. After a quick monitoring of the baby, we will apply the gel onto the cervix and hopefully it will quickstart things. The plan is to apply the gel around 6 pm and then again at midnight if necessary. If still nothing by morning, we will move on to pitocin. We are at the birthing center now, will update as things progress.

Free Cone Day!!!

If you happen to not be delivery a baby tomorrow, I remind you that it is free cone day on Tuesday at Ben & Jerry's!! So make sure and stop by your local creamery for some free ice cream. I recommend Phish Food and Ami prefers Chocolate Fudge Brownie. The baby would obviously choose a slow churned flavor! What's your favorite?

Knit/Purl

My mom made this amazing sweater for the baby! (Notice how I keep withholding the name? Those that know it - keep it a secret!) She does some incredible knitwork. We also have the coolest blanket that she made for us with alpaca wool. The only problem is it is so nice that we hesitate to bring it out, especially with the cats around. But, this sweater will get plenty of use. She also made a cute little blanket and booties. She spent her time here teaching Ami and Ami's mom how to knit. I chose not to learn because I didn't want to show everyone up (such a gentleman).

I hate to keep bringing up the weather this weekend. But, after 8 months of rain and cold I don't care what you think. This weekend's weather was superb - highs in the upper 60's and low 70's (our second day this year in the 70's!). Not as good as 2 weeks ago but great nonetheless. The rain even held off today and we managed to meet our friend Aaron out in the Pearl for happy hour. My only gripe is that Portland has incredible scenery but does not seem to take advantage of it as far as restaurants are concerned. No restaurants along the waterfront. No restaurants with park settings. No restaurants in the hills with views of Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, or Mt. Adams. We can see all three mountains from right near our house; they should be able to find a lot with a view for a laidback spot for a drink.

Almost "Go Time" last night!

It was a nice warm day yesterday in Portland. So, we spent all day outside. After spending the morning and early afternoon on the back porch, we headed south to visit the Tulip fields in Woodburn. We return to Portland to have the best Tex-Mex in town at Esparza's.

I don't know if it was the spicy Tex-Mex or running around all day, but Ami woke me up at 4 am. She had good contractions every five minutes for over an hour. I got excited. I called the Family Birthing Center and gave them the scoop. They advised that she eat and walk around to see if they would subside or increase. Unfortunately, after doing so they waned. But it WAS progress. The contractions have continued today but not as frequent or intense. I guess we better head out for a nice long walk and some tamales!!

Unfortunately, my mom had to head back to Seattle on the train this morning. She leaves on Tuesday, so unless this baby comes tonight or early tomorrow, she will miss the birth. But, she will come back ASAP.

Nonstress Test #2

Ami had her second nonstress test today. The whole crew went - me, Ami, and both grandmothers. We all worked on crosswords or read the paper while Ami rested quietly. Everything is fine. The baby has a great heartrate and is moving plenty. Ami had a couple of good contractions during the test. We have a gorgeous afternoon with sunny blue skies and a temperature in the low 60s. We are enjoying some time outside on the back porch. Hopefully the weekend will be more of the same, but I wouldn't mind being in the hospital all weekend either!!

Two Bored Grandmothers

Grandmas Patel and Wallace pose in front of the empty crib! Ami's mom has been here for almost two weeks and is already threatening to leave early. My mom took the train in from Seattle yesterday and has to head back on Sunday or Monday. Hopefully, baby girl will make it before my mom has to head back.

What did we do today instead of going into labor? My mom and I took a long walk in Forest Park with Sona. Then we all headed downtown for lunch, a dessert crepe, and a quick trip to the fabric store. Exciting times.

Concert Review: Hot Chip

I bought tickets to last night's Hot Chip show at the Crystal Ballroom several months back. I have been wanting to see them for a couple of years now. I had tickets to a show last year in Seattle, but a last minute job interview caused me to miss it. So, even though I knew this show was right around the baby's due date, I figured I would buy tickets anyway and see what happened. When Ami found out I had bought tickets she was none too pleased. But, this was the first benefit of our baby's holdout.

My favorite part of seeing bands for the first time is that often I have no clue what the band members look like. This was the case with Hot Chip. So, I was pretty surprised when the nerdy crew took the stage. Especially the lead singer who looked straight off of Beauty and the Geek (pre-geek makeover episode!). But they could bring the heat nonetheless. The padded floor of the ballroom was definitely bouncing as Hot Chip worked through 90 minutes of their own brand of electro-dance-pop-rocks. The main set was pretty much a dance party, especially when they hit the hand drums. The singers voice wasn't as crisp as on their albums, where there is obviously some production work involved. But, they did stretch out a few tracks which lead to some serious footwork from a Portland crowd often know for its shoegazing at shows.

The encore was a little bit of a letdown as 2 of the 3 tracks were pretty mellow. And they didn't play my favorite track (The Warning off of the second album of the same name). But, I and the rest of the crowd left tired, sore, and satisfied. Check out Hot Chip's albums. The Warning is my favorite; and the latest, Made in the Dark, is also a great album. You know what else was made in the dark.....?

Just like Clay Aiken...

This baby aint coming out!!!

Just got back from the OB. Cervix is still closed. Took a quick look under ultrasound and there is plenty of fluid. Went over to the birthing center and had a nonstress test - everything is fine. Ami is actually having small contractions, but nothing worth getting excited about. So, we wait. We head back for another nonstress monitoring on Friday. OB again next Tuesday....

The room we used at the birthing center was beautiful though. Wonderful view of the West Hills of Portland. We could almost see our house. Hope we get a west facing room (hey, I can be choosy).

I was able to switch with a partner again for work tomorrow. I continue to stockpile days off further down the line. So, I will head in to work tomorrow. My mom arrives from Seattle on Wednesday, so this is it for work for the week. Hopefully, baby is just waiting for Grandmama Wallace to arrive and then out she comes. Will keep you updated!

Knock Knock.

Who's there?

Ima.

Ima who?

Ima gonna stay in here, it's cozy.

Today is Ami's due date. But, just like her mom, this little baby girl is gonna be late! No news. Everything seems good - baby is moving. She loves to stick her but out at us, especially if I rest my head on Ami's belly.

We head back to the OB on Monday afternoon. Will update then, unless...

The picture above is our nephew Shrayen at Mt. Hood last thanksgiving. I put that up because we have a nice coldfront in Portland this weekend, with a possibility of snow!

ACL Festival Lineup - weak?

The lineup for this years Austin City Limits music festival came out today. Check it out at: http://www.aclfestival.com/lineup.aspx

Overall, I think the lineup is a little lackluster compared to previous years. The only headliner I am excited about is Beck - who continues to put out exciting and relevant albums and puts on a great live show. The Foofighters do not interest me and seem a strange fit for headlining ACL, especially the last day. Robert Plant and Allison Krauss put out a great album this year, but headlining ACL? I think that is a lifetime achievement award for Robert Plant. Maybe some of his "friends" will make an appearance.

The second biggest weakness is the amount of A level talent. The Raconteurs and David Byrne should be good. But John Fogerty? Gnarls Barkley may be entertaining for 10-15 minutes tops. I hope Mars Volta gets a late time slot, because Mars Volta in the heat at 3 pm just doesn't sit well.

I do think there is a great range of mid level indie bands with the likes of Vampire Weekend, Hot Chip, Band of Horses, CSS, Silversun Pickups, Tegan and Sara, Iron & Wine, etc...But I was really hoping for another set with Ghostland Observatory (see picture) after last years set full of lasers. By the way, I saw them last week here in Portland and they had the lasers pumping in a small 2000 person club. Awesome.

All in all, I think the lineup is a bit disappointing. But, I think it will provide an opportunity to enjoy a different approach to the ACL Festival this year (I have only missed 2 festivals which I think is pretty good considering I have never lived in Austin!). This year it will be more about enjoying spending time in Austin and spending time with friends. Of course, I may have no choice with the new one on the way!

Fort Knox

We just got back from the OB and Ami's cervix is not budging. The baby is superlow (+1 station for those in the know) but the cervix is still closed. The plan is to return to the OB on Monday; and if things are not moving along by then, we will head down the induction pathway over the following week.

We made our final visit with a local pediatrician today as well. I think we have come to decision on which pediatrician we will use. He grew up in Dallas, even went to Richardson High School (sup E*Train) and UT Southwestern for medical school (sup Lil*E). Small world.

Still waiting...

Ami is over 39 weeks pregnant and our baby girl is due Saturday. We make our weekly visit to our wonderful ob/gyn tomorrow. As of last Wednesday, there was no progress and she has not had any labor pains yet. Ami has done a great job with the pregnancy. Even this weekend we spent the majority of the time outside enjoying the beautiful weather. I am really proud of her. Plus she is beautiful!

I will try to update this regularly leading up to and after the birth.