Greetings from Dallas

What a day. We looked at over a dozen houses today, ranging in price from $134,000 to $189k. We’ve been fretting over how to make the $134k house work because it’s such a great deal but it just doesn’t have enough space. It’s adequate, but cramped and we’ll be here for 4 years.

We’ve found several very nice houses that suit our needs wonderfully and range from $160 to $172k. Although that will seem high to our friends in Cadillac, it’s terribly reasonable compared to housing in Seattle, Atlanta, and many other metro areas. That’s about as good as can be expected for a nice home within 20 minutes of downtown.

Greetings from Oklahoma City, OK

In the spirit of being footloose and fancy free, on Sunday evening we decided to pack up and drive to Texas to buy a house. Yesterday we left home around 1PM and spent the night in St. Louis, MO. Today we once again got up bright and early (9:45, just in time to catch breakfast) and got onto the road by 12:30. This traveling with a baby takes a wee bit longer than we’re used to. If all goes according to plan, we’ll arrive in Dallas at 9:45PM this evening.

Tomorrow we meet with Jack, our realtor. We’ll spend a day or two house shopping and then return home. Unfortunately, I did forget my Compact Flash adapter for the laptop, so there won’t be any photo uploads on this trip. Kayla is a good traveler. The motion lulls her right to sleep. We wake her to feed and then let her go back to sleep.

Evidence found.

After my water broke on Friday night, we had a couple of hours before heading to the hospital. We packed our bags and Matt finished baking the cookies. Today evidence was found that yes Matt is susceptible to impending birth jitters. I found the unused cookie dough in the pantry next to the chocolate chips instead of in the refrigerator. Oooops. Obviously a few more important things were on his mind. 🙂

Is a name important?

Apparently so, because everyone wants to know our little daughters name. I was of the opinion that I wanted to meet her before giving her a name. If she came out screaming and insufferable, a name like “peace” obviously wouldn’t be a great fit. No, that name wasn’t a consideration, but you get the point.

For months now Jen has wanted to have a name picked out for each gender, just in case. She had a list of boys and girl names all ready to go. I have maintained that I’d rather not name our baby until after meeting him/her. Today, the lady from records came and visited us to fill out the birth certificate. We still hadn’t settled on a name. We had also verfied that you don’t need to pick out a name and have an “unnamed” birth certificate issued. You simply file a $40 form to change the name at any later date. The only catch is that we’d have to apply for her social security number after choosing her name. No big deal.

Ironically, after knowing how easy it would be to not name her, Jen had really warmed up to the idea of taking some more time to consider a name that was “most” fitting for her. However, there is absolutely no harm (and no extra cost) to give her a name for the birth certificate, and then simply change it later. We had “almost” decided on Kayla and unable to settle on a full name, minutes before our official discharge, I made an executive decision.

Our 6lb bundle of cuddles and snuggles is named Kayla Marie Simerson. If mommy decides that there another name she’d prefer more, we’ll just change it later. However, we are both growing quite fond of the name.

It’s a girl!

We got exactly what we prayed for, a healthy mommy and baby. Little Miss Junior arrived at 3:46PM, weighting in at 6 lbs and measuring 19 inches. We couldn’t be any more pleased with the outcome.


There are no words to describe what it’s like to bring a new little one in to the world. It’s surreal, magical, and altogether wonderful. In one instant, my entire world view changed. While driving back with dinner, I passed the park where three young girls (13-14 years) were hanging out. I thought “I wonder what kind of influence those girls will be on my daughter.” Yesterday, I just saw three kids.

I couldn’t wait to get back to the hospital. I cannot explain why after being gone for just 20 minutes, I was pulled so strongly just to be back here with my two girls. Something new and powerful awoke within me, and I just wanted to be back here.

Status update

10:03AM Since we aren’t “supposed” to use our cell phones in the hospital, we won’t be “answering” incoming calls reliably. I will continue to keep this page updated as we progress. Current we’re 100% effaced, and the cervix is dilated to 4-5cm. That’s progress, but the epidural slowed things down a bit, which is a very normal occurence.

Nap time is over

3:45AM. Nap time for papa is over. Serious contractions have started and firm lower back massage is the order du jour. We’re up to 4 cm and contractions are regular so things are progressing well. The IV has been started and the epidural is on order.