I was just realizing today how lucky our baby will be. She'll have not one...not two...but FIVE little baby friends all her age. Yes, that's right - four of our friends are expecting this year, and including Claire, that makes five adorable playmates for our little one to hang out with. Who knew that making friends would be so easy? Instant social group right there. It brings back tons of good (and bad) childhood memories of growing up with my parents' friends' kids. I can put my daughter through my own version of the Joy Luck Club....HA!!! I think it'll be great.

Now that we've officially passed the halfway mark and are trudging our way towards week 40, Felix and I have started looking forward to the end. We looked at cribs this weekend (man, there are some terrible designs out there), and I've been scouring the web for consumer and parent reviews on everything from rattles to car seats. It is outrageous how much baby/toddler/child stuff there is in the world. Watching the parade of baby wipe warmers, kick n' play bouncers, and John Lennon crib sets go by, I suddenly realize how expensive having a little pumpkin can be. The good news is that I'm not easily swayed by the latest technological/developmental advancements in 0-3 month products. I've seen and played with my niece and other friends' babies; there ain't much in the world they need. Some colorful Tupperware and a noisy jar of dried beans - our baby will be all set.

My downfall will be clothing. There's something about teensy-eensy clothes that I just can't resist, and my heart melts and my wallet opens everytime I go into the store. Now that I know we're having a girl, I'm having an even harder time. Everything is just sooooooo cute! Our local Carters outlet and I will become the best of friends, I'm sure. I just hope Felix can hold me back.

Aside from my daydreams of adorable dresses and tiny jumpers, I've also started pondering what our baby will look like. I have brothers, so I know what girls and boys look like in our family. Felix, though, only has Tim. I've been pondering what a baby girl would look like with his hair...or more worrisome, his eyebrows. Hmm. Lots of images for my imagination to chew on.

And I've been trying to build "talking" and "singing" to the baby into my routine. All the books and websites indicate that the baby can totally hear already, and it's a really good idea to talk or sing. Apparently, if you sing or play the same song over and over, or read the same book repeatedly, your eventual screaming baby can often be soothed with that same bit of music or book. Sounds great! I mean, who wouldn't want to have as many tricks in their arsenal as possible to stop their kid from crying? The problem is...I feel silly! I just can't get over the feeling that I'm talking to my stomach. Sigh! Perhaps as her kicks get stronger and stronger (they're certainly building in strength), I'll feel less weird about it. Otherwise, we'll just need to go with ol' fashioned techniques on the tantrums.