We're having a boy!

We recently had the 20 week scan and discovered that we're expecting a boy. Of course, we'd be happy either way, but it is quite nice to be able to say 'he' rather than finding ways to avoid saying 'it'.

It was wondrous to watch the screen as the sonographer talked us around meeple's body. Taking measurements for some of the bones and organs. And then hearing each time that everything was fine.

It wasn't until we got home and I started reading the report that I realised that one of the measurements is the EFW, or Estimated Fetal Weight. So at the moment they estimate that meeple is 309 g, which is about 10.9 oz for the imperialists among us.

I mentioned on my nature blog that it will be exciting to see what our little lad will be interested in and what phases he goes through as he grows up. I'm very much into plants and the natural world and hope that he'll put up with his dad going on about how to identify plants and understand how they work. But equally, I hope that he'll put up with me mentioning the family tree and telling him things about our family that have interested me over the years.

I've started a writing project for meeple. It begins with a little bit about how me and Lucy met and an abridged history of our relationship (abridged because I've written about it in Family Tree Maker). But the real story begins with the pregnancy where I add some flesh to the dates I've been recording throughout the pregnancy.

I'm not sure where I'll stop, but perhaps it'll continue through the first few years of his life.

I scanned all the images the sonographer gave us and emailed them to family. I also called my Opa and Oma over in the Netherlands, who were very happy to hear that the baby is healthy. My Opa in particular was very happy to have a new boy in the family. It breaks the trend of girls, as we've had 6 in a row. I think he'll also be quietly happy that the Havenith family name will carry on.

Anyway, that's enough from me. Here's the latest photo our son:

Geneapalooza - A comic strip for Genealogists

I've been following this comic strip for around 6 weeks now and I'm really enjoying it.

This excellent blog was started by Esto Frigus in June 2014 with new posts are released every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Dreaming of my father

It's always sad when a family member dies, but we're lucky to have memories of them, either our own memories or memories that others have passed on to us.

My dad died over 12 years ago now. We had a difficult relationship and went in and out of each other's lives. As a child I was quite angry at the choices he made and how they impacted us as a family. But over the years I've come to accept, as every child eventually does, that our parents aren't perfect. Now, I only have love for him and I'm thankful for the memories I have of him.