The Announcement

Originally uploaded by peach plum bear

This is how I learned that my beautiful bride had transformed into an expectant mother-to-be. It was a little after 9:00 on Monday evening. I was in our basement laying down carpet pad. My wife was upstairs. When I heard her calling my name, I sensed immediately that something was up.

After three years of marriage, I have learned to interpret her different hollers so that I know what to expect when I respond. For example, she has a certain type of yell that means she has been startled from discovering a bug, and wants me to murder it immediately. More usefully, based on subtle inflections of timbre, I can tell if an angry shout means that she is furious with me, upset, or merely peeved.

But the sound of her voice that night was unlike I had ever heard before. It was a nervous mixture of fear, excitement, and something new. I met her at the bottom of the stairs and she showed me the pregnancy test with a plus-mark in the results box. And that's when I knew that nothing would be quite the same again.

Welcome

Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm a 20-something-year-old husband. My hobbies include watching horror movies, playing video games, drinking booze, and getting tattoos. I like bicycles, motorcycles, and muscle cars. I work full time at a start-up, volunteer at a non-profit, and run a small business on the side. And I just found out that my wife of three years is pregnant.

So.

I'm starting a new journal for this new adventure. Yes, it's another "dad blog." I need an outlet to record my journey during these strange times, to seek counsel from those who've gone before me, and to commiserate with other rookie dads.

My whole world is about to change. I can hardly wait.

About us

This blog is about me and my family. I've been happily married to my wife Jenna for five years. Our daughter Natalie was born on June 18th, 2008.

A snapshot of our life right now (updated 2/12/10):
Natalie is walking and talking, and still amusing us with her great sense of humor. She enjoys reading books, playing with our Pug, and making messes. I work outside the home selling robots to the military and my wife is a stay-at-home mom with a full-time graphic design job.

In our spare time we run the St. Paul Craftstravaganza, a large urban craft fair. This year I'm also starting an indie comics festival called MIX which I'm super excited about. We live in the city but use our yard to grow flowers, vegetables, and fruit for jam. Some day we'll sell our house and move to the country, but for now I am content to stay where we are.

I'm glad you found us! Introduce yourself in the comments or send me an email. I love meeting people, especially other new parents. It's a weird voyage we're all embarking on.