Mary Kate has arrived!!

Mary Kate was born at 1:42 am on Tuesday, September 27th, 2005. She weighed 6lbs 1oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. Both Jenny and the baby are doing great. They hope to be home sometime Wednesday, so look for more pictures toward the end of the week.
Love, Aunt Jennifer

Tour De Nursery

The nursery is complete! Well, it still needs a baby, but we might be closer to that than we think. Here goes the closest thing to a virtual tour that I can do.

Standing in the doorway, you can see the crib, the wall hanging, and the bookshelves:



Then the window, with the rocker and basket of baby toys (disinfected, washed five times each) on the floor:



Then, a shot of the rocker with the bean bag ottoman-thingy at the foot, and the corner of the squishy floormat that fronts the changing table:



Next, the changing table! Plenty of storage, and from the same nursery set as the crib:



Finally, the dresser was in Jenny's nursery when she was a baby. She actually refinished and painted the drawers the sage color to match the rest of this room. Notice Box#0000000001 of Huggies to the lower right:



As I said, all it needs now is a baby, and we will pick our date to be induced on Friday of this week. It sure does take a load off to have the room ready - while I was shooting the pictures Aggie walked in and told me that she approves of the place:



16 days and counting until the due date...

Christmas Comes Early for Brian

I must be doing something right in life. Why, you might ask? Three days, three great barbecue places, that's why! It all started Thursday when I had to cover a hearing in federal court in Newnan, Georgia. That's right, Newnan. I'm not sure what pops into your head when I mention the name of that town, but in my mind the word "Newnan" means only one thing:



The best in Georgia. Case closed. Click here to be as close to the action as possible.

The very next day, Friday, Jenny and I made a trip with my mother up to Chattanooga to pick up a last-minute gift for Jenny's shower on Saturday. Great town, Chattanooga.

HISTORY NERD NOTE: Know why it's called Chattanooga? That was the Cherokee Indian word for Lookout Mountain, which overlooks the city.

Anyway, mountain or no mountain, one thing always jumps out at me from the cityscape of that fine town: Sticky Fingers. You know, there's something to be said for a BBQ joint that passes out hand towels when you walk in the door. Not a paper napkin in the house. A thing of beauty. Tremendous ribs.

The VERY NEXT DAY, Saturday in Rome, while Jenny and the women go to the baby shower and the Dawgs take care of business in Athens against the lowly LA-Monroe Indians, I hit the target range with my father-in-law and Matt Stewart, a good friend from college. On the way, just like three boys from the south, we made time for lunch:



Just reading the marquis should let everyone know that this is a classic joint. Not to mention the fact that I can't go into the place without running into an old high school buddy. I might be ready to crown this place the best in Floyd County, especially since Two Feet's in Cave Spring closed down (moment of silence).

So it's Sunday now, and it looks like my barbecue streak will come to a close. Three days wasn't bad though. Who knows, maybe I'll get a wild hair and drive down to Dreamland tonight for the best ribs in the solar system....oh wait, we're saving money because a baby is coming.....more on that later....

Aggie Joins the Cause

It seems these days that Jenny and I do something every night to get ready for Mary Kate's arrival. Whether small or large, there is always some item to check off of some invisible list. I guess Aggie notices this, because recently she walked up and asked us if she could get her hair cut short, so we wouldn't need to worry about her grooming when the baby comes. Since she had begun to resemble a little hippie dog, we said OK:



As you can see, I took these pictures with a bright flash as she was in her dark, warm, cozy crate TRYING to go to sleep, while at the same time resisting her primal urge to spring forth, decimate my camera, and maul my face. Thankfully, she is much to sweet to do any of that, and just settled for pretending to be asleep:



22 days until the due date and counting.....

Forecast: Showers!

One down, two to go. We realized last night that it is entirely possible that Jenny could have this baby before her final two showers. Wouldn't that be something? It could be, like, Mary Kate's "zero" birthday party........anyway, as my Greek professor in college used to say, it's possible, but not probable. At any rate, the shower was a great time for Jenny and everyone else. Many thanks to the Klempner's for throwing such a great party! Jenny and I also had a fun weekend with two of Jenny's friends from college, Leslie & Brianna (including Aggie & Brianna's son Caden; Leslie's son Caleb didn't make the picture):



I'm glad that Jenny had such a great time with Leslie and Brianna, who are both moms with little babies and could pass along tons of wisdom to her. Saturday night carried a strange vibe through the Bojo house...three women in deep conversation, two baby boys laying around and doing their thing, and Texas/Ohio State on the flat screen. You like diversity? Look no further.

Saturday will be round two of shower season, this time in Rome at my Aunt Janice's house. We also have another doctor appointment on Friday with Dr. Lance "the man" Wiist...Jenny goes once a week now until the baby comes, which means we could show up, Wiist could check her out, and we could get the "So, do you want to have the baby today" talk. Okay, so not very probable, but for some reason I constantly feel like I'm in the tunnel before a championship football game, ready to run out onto the field and do battle. I translate my adrenaline into many miles of running (still getting ready for that Atlanta Half Marathon). We are very excited...and covet everybody's prayers...one final picture with Jenny & Brianna, this time Aggie smiles for the camera (yep, that's a smile):

Baby Progress

36 weeks today! How time flies....here's the 36 week shot:



In other news, we are approaching shower season, where we will most certainly add to our ever-expanding collection of baby gear. Most of it came from my sister, who hooked us UP with some of her old stuff. The stroller and car seat are great, along with the baby-sling-hands-free-carry-your-kid-around-on-your-hip thingy. As you can see, we've already tested it, and it works like a charm:



And, the nursery is a changing table away from being complete. Oh yeah, it needs a baby too, but she will show up soon enough. Mom, here's the rocker you gave us - Jenny & I stripped & sanded it, and then painted it a sage color. It's perfect for the room!



We have a shower this weekend, next weekend, and the week after in my law office. It's cool to relive those feelings we experienced going into wedding showers, but in a different, perhaps more mature way. I mainly look forward to Jenny getting to see so many women who all care about her, have had and continue to have some significant positive impact on her life, and wish her well with the baby. Speaking of those women, we have two coming to stay at our house this weekend, both of whom are bringing small babies. Trial run, having babies in the house? We'll see...

Question & Answer...

QUESTION: You're in downtown Atlanta with three other lawyers from your firm, you have all just been sworn in to practice before the Georgia Supreme Court & Court of Appeals, you have a mountain of work back at the office, swearing in took much less time than you thought, so what do you do?

ANSWER: Visit the Coca-Cola Museum!!!

Meet the Prestons!

On the way back from Savannah on Sunday, Jenny and I had the privilege of stopping in Dublin, GA to visit Keith & Brianna Preston, our friends from college. Keith is a youth pastor in Dublin, and Brianna stays home with their son Caden. Brianna and Jenny were roommates in college, and she's the kind of friend I'm glad my wife has. Here's a shot of Jenny & Brianna:



And their son Caden:



Keith and I were apparently too ugly to make it into any pictures...

Savannah 2005

In one last getaway before the baby comes, Jenny and I hit the road for a few days in Savannah, Georgia. We usually take this kind of trip around our anniversary every year, but wanted to do it earlier this year since our bundle of joy would render this year's trip impossible. Before we go any further, James Edward Oglethorpe, who founded the state of Georgia, said to tell everyone "hello":



The trip was fantastic. We generally took it easy, walked down to River Street, took a breezy trolley tour of the city, and took in some history. Since I just finished the biography of George Washington "His Excellency" by Joseph Ellis, I was floored when I realized that the bones of Nathanael Greene were two blocks from our hotel:



HISTORY NERD NOTE: Greene was a general in the Continental Army, whom most historians consider to have been the brains behind Washington's military success against the British.

We stayed at the Marshall House, a bed & breakfast in the historic district that was converted from an old warehouse. It was voted the top B&B in Savannah for 2005 - we highly recommend it.

The part of our trip that made our mothers the most jealous was eating at Paula Deen's restaurant "Lady & Sons" on Saturday night. Haven't heard of Paula Deen? Don't worry, neither had I, but apparently she's some big shot on the Food Network who specializes in Southern cuisine (translation: cook everything, EVERYTHING, in butter, and lots of it). One thing I now know - the lady can flat out cook. Fried chicken, pot roast, black-eyed peas, green beans, collards, lima beans, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, peach cobbler, and of course, sweet tea - everything a growing Southern boy needs. I will run a LONG way to pay for the feast I had in that place. PLEASE go there if you make it to Savannah. You won't be sorry. Here's a shot of me & Jenny in the restaurant:



What a great trip. Now we can focus on getting the baby here, which isn't too far away! Thirty-five weeks & counting...and on that note, here is Jenny's thirty-five week photo, taken in front of the fireplace in our room at the Marshall House: