My Two Cents: Oh, Baby.

To the parents of two children, I nod to you. To the parents of more than two, I bow. To the parents of just one child, I smile because I know you have no idea how luxurious it can be to have just one child to reckon with. I didn't know either. I thought I knew, but I had no idea.

Doesn't matter now, I have two children. Two beautiful children who can light up a room with their smiles and send you slamming your car into a concrete wall with their simultaneous wails. And I'm stuck with their precious little faces. Well, until they turn on me. Then their faces aren't quite so precious, but I'm stuck with them anyhow. And before I sound too negative, I am so blessed to have two adorable children in good health who are just a little bit smarter than me (which is saying something, because I am really gosh darn smart...look at all my college degrees!!...and my student loan debt!! Oh, wait).

Back in early October, the Mr. and I learned that we would be welcoming a little bundle of joy sooner than we could afford (isn't that always the way?). We had no nursery, no baby gear, and no plan. Mr. Almeda had no job. But this baby was coming, so I got to work on what I do best...planning.

Did I mention we had no nursery? We did have an extra room, but the 18"x18" closet would be inadequate. It could fit a thin coat (if you angled it just so). So, we began the construction process. Long story short, the process cost us more money than we budgeted, the loss of a friendship, and three different contractors, but...I love how it all turned out. It's easily the best room in the house.

When it came to announcing the impending addition, I decided to get a little creative. With Fallon, I called everyone announcing my pregnancy before I even took a test. I just knew. I even knew she was a girl. Man, that was a long pregnancy. This time, I opted to wait a bit longer (drove me nuts holding it all in) and make something of a big to-do about it.

My initial plan was to have a get-together a few weeks before Christmas with several of our good friends and surprise them at the party. Unfortunately, one of the things with having friends who have lives and families of their own is that sometimes these things get in the way of our social endeavors. Two people showed up. On to Plan B.

Christmas cards. We hired Viktoriya Evich Krudu to join us at Stone Mountain Park for some family pictures, and brought along our little announcement piece. She did an absolutely amazing job, her rates were very reasonable, and she doted on us like we were her own family. I totally, totally recommend Viktoriya.

Well, by Christmas, the world knew that we'd be having us a baby. But what would we name him? Or her? Would it be a him? A her? A boy? A girl? A prince? A princess?

Well, since the theme with this pregnancy was to milk it for all it was worth, we opted for more shenanigans. Enter "gender reveal party." First, we went for an ultrasound and had the sonographer write down the gender on a card and place it in an envelope. We then took the envelope to the Publix bakery and had them make us a cake. If the card said "girl," the frosting between the layers would be pink. If the card said "boy," the frosting inside would be blue. We would find out the gender of our baby along with everyone else as we cut the cake.

Our party was held at Carrabba's, and thankfully, more than two people showed up this time. In fact, when we cut the cake, we had the whole restaurant joining our party.

The baby was going to be a boy.

Time to plan on a name! (I love planning things)

Over the next few months, we had a small baby shower (three people were able to make it), and I couponed my way to furnishing the nursery and stocking up on diapers, wipes, and other baby essentials.

Finally, at the end of June, I was tired of being pregnant. My doctor was tired of seeing me. So, we decided to bring the little guy into the world. My mom came down on Saturday morning and we headed to the hospital on Saturday night. On Sunday, June 30, at 2:26pm, Maxwell Lee Almeda entered the world weighing 6 lbs, 10 oz, measuring 19 inches long, healthy as an ox.