April 21

April 21 is Lyla Joy's due date. This is the first time I've actually had that due date in my head. It happens to be Easter time, so there have been a lot of jokes about Lyla being our little bunny. It's so nice to know the baby's gender ahead of time and to call her by name, which is nothing we were able to do for our kids. In the video we took just before Kelsey's birth, Kris says her name will be Kelsey Barbra or Kyla Ruth, or Jonathan Daniel if it's a boy. We just lived with the uncertainty. It's so nice now not to call Lyla "it" or "the baby", we can call her by name like the person that she is. Mark and Katie has a block letter sign in their street-facing window that says "JOY". I wonder if this just because of Christmas or on purpose because Mark's mother was named Joy and Lyla's middle name will be Joy....

Personal borders

Today, we met Katie, Mark and (of course) Lyla. I immediately touched Katie’s stomach, but within 10 minutes Katie told me sh was sicknof everyone touching her stomach. Whoops! Lol, I assert my rights as Grampa.

Lyla pre-visit

Today we drive up to LaGrange (aka The Great Blight North) to see family for the holidays. The good news is that all the kids will be there too, including Lyla Joy in-utero with Katie and Mark. It’s fun to see how much she’s grown each time,and how much bigger Katie’s belly is. Last time I could feel Lyla Joy move a little, but I bet it will be much easier to feel this time.

Life after Lyla

Kris and I puzzle over what life will be like after Lyla arrives. It’s hard to imagine. For sure, she will be at the center of our lives, but it’s hard to tell how this will manifest itself. We rent an apartment in SC, and a bigger one in KY right now, which, admittedly, is kind of crazy. We think about buying a little house in Altoona, but how will this work with everyone else living in Kentucky?? What if Courtney and Daniel move? What about the Littles? I think we’ll leave this in God’s hands because I can’t make sense of it on my own.

The Loch Ness Monster

The latest thing with Lyla is that Katie keeps trying to catch her on video moving. The result is a series of bad videos on the family group text where we see Katie's stomach for a second with no discernable movement. It's pretty funny. I do remember that eventually as Lyla grows those movements will become bigger and easier to record, but for now they feel bigger to Katie than they look on video. Last night on the group chat there was a short discussion of genetics (Mendel would be proud). Katie correctly observed that she and Mark have a 25% chance of having a blonde, blue eyed baby-- just like Kris and I did (that would be Courtney, thank you very much). Can't wait to see Lyla in person!

Rats

Katie called yesterday and reported that Lyla was moving around a lot and kicking. The baby is at the point where you can feel it moving when you put your hand on her tummy, but it won't pick up on video yet. I remember when Kris was pregnant, she had a dream that she had two rats in her tummy that chewed their way out, and she was running around trying to catch them. Kris told Katie, it felt just like having a little rat moving around in her stomach. In other news, Katie is a little sad these days because her "baby bump" isn't big enough. This is pretty funny because before she knows it, her stomach is going to be HUGE!

Lyla Update

Katie and Mark went in for another ultrasound today. Lyla is 14 OZ, when she's only supposed to be 12. Her head size is at the 93rd percentile, and her femure length is a the 70th percentile. Sounds like we have a good basketball player coming along, but we'll need to keep her Dad away from her for that- he's terrible at basketball! Most importantly, her heart is working perfectly in all 4 chambers. Katie reports Lyla kicks all the time. We're happy she's strong and healthy.

Gender Reveal Video

Gender Reveal Done!

The Big Gender Reveal was last night, and it's a girl! I would have been just as happy either way, but I'm selfishly proud that I've been saying the baby was a girl since we found out Katie was pregnant. (Unless they change their minds) it will by Lyla Joy Biem, which is a beautiful name. "Joy" is named after Mark's mother who passed away last year. We never met her, but I think there's something perfect about remembering her with this beautiful name for her granddaughter. We like the tradition of middle names from the family. Our kids were Kaitlin Kristine (after her mother), Courtney Rebecca (after her Aunt), Kelsey Barbra (after her Grandmother) and Kurt Gary (after his Grandfather). It was really a wonderful day, but I have to admit that the day before Kris and I were convinced it was a boy. Katie and Mark were keeping it secret until Thanksgiving, but we peppered them with questions and tried to get hints all night. We thought they acted funny everytime we said maybe it was Stas (the boy name). They also said the Ultrasound Technician knew right away, and sometimes this means it's a boy. The funniest one was Grandma Frymier. Kris called her Thanksgiving morning and told her we thought it was a boy. She said "well, just let Katie and Mark have their fun", so we thought it was a boy for sure. At the "reveal" we set off poppers all at once, everyone was there- Kris and I, Kurt, Courtney, Kelsey, Aunt Karen and Jim, Colleen, Brian, and Alex- and I was stunned to see pink ribbon come out of the poppers. For a second, I thought I wasn't seeing the colors right (I don't see colors all that well most of the time) because we had been fully bamboozled by everyone into thinking the baby was a boy!

Pre-Gender Reveal

So, this is the day of the big gender reveal! We didn't have these back in the day, but it's the big thing now. For the record, I'm Team Girl. No real evidence supporting that, I just have a contrarian hunch. I don't care either way, I'm just happy to be a Grandfather. For Katie, the Doctor told us she was a girl months ahead of time, but I was so sure she was going to be a boy I was shocked when I saw her that she was a girl after all--- so I guess my track record isn't so good! It will be good, happy news today either way.

First Baby Picture

From last night's 3D Ultrasound. I'm in love!

Baby Announcement

The baby announcement video referenced earlier. Listen carefully to hear Kurt say "Is it a dead animal?"

3D Ultrasound

Katie and Mark are having the 3D Ultrasound tonight. They should know the gender of the baby, and the "Gender Reveal" is planning for Thanksgiving Day around 4:00. The 3D Ultrasound is a relatively new technology, and has only recently become available in most places. I've seen video where they can actually make out the baby's face, and I hope that's the case this time. I do have to say that the first ultrasound picture definitely looked like the baby had my tiny little Grossman/Heltzel nose, so here's hoping it does on the 3D!

They call me Grampa

A couple months ago, I found out I was going to be a Grandfather for the first time. I have to tell you, I had a feeling about it. Katie and Mark were engaged and their wedding was coming up, and I just had a feeling Katie might be pregnant by the wedding. I said something to Kathy at work the week before and made several comments to Katie the day she announced it to us. I didn't really "know" but I definitely had picked up on something. That evening, I could tell they were stressed about something. I was tired and wanted to go to bed, but they were trying to get me to stay up until Kurt got home. I guess Katie had texted him to hurry home from work because she had big news, and he ripped in the door like Kramer on Seinfeld. Still, I know Kurt had no idea, because when Katie and Mark handed out packages to everyone Kurt said "Is it a dead animal?" (only Kurt would say something like that). They were actually T-Shirts that said something about being a Grandparent, Aunt or Uncle. Min said "Grandpa Dogs". It was a very good night.