David has started a blog.

So why don’t you go visit and you might see pictures of his adorable daugter! Welcome David (and presumably Gina) to the blog, now your life will never be the same!

I made a quick video from a few quick clips from recent visits of our newest (newborn) friends, Charlotte and Emma. They are both so small and cute, Dominic take note! But you’ll have to wait 18 years or so to start dating! :)

Today was our Family Baby Shower held at the Pizza House.

There were probably 35 people at peak (mostly women). I showed up about an hour and a half into it and came just in time for the tail end of food. We had a great spread of food like usual and it was a fun time. I am overwhelmed with the generosity of those who came today, we got a lot of nice and thoughtful stuff.

After the shower we returned home with both my truck and Lori’s car filled / packed tightly (should’ve got a picture, it was a bit comical) and we unloaded all the stuff into Dominic’s room and began to loosely sort stuff. We have a crib full of diapers that will need to be sorted and packed into our hall closet and we will have to start washing his mountain of cute clothes and begin putting them away, woo Memorial Day!

I must say it’s all really starting to feel very real and I’m getting super exciting and nervous waiting for the moment of birth to arrive, or as I’ve dubbed it, it’s like waiting for ticking time bomb to explode!

¡Odelay Vero! Cuz like, Dominic gots his new Doyers clothes, and pretty soon he’s going to get his black sunglasses, his knee high socks and then he’s going to grow a weak mustache and then he’s going to want to take his little `Charo` to a game, fool! So you tall her she better be ready, all right?

Here we are a little more than 6 weeks away so that puts Lori in her 33rd week! It’s all happening so fast now and I’m super excited to meet our little boy! Here’s what’s happened in the recent times relating to Dominic being on the inside.

Almost two weeks ago we had our last monthly doctor’s appointment and now have been put into the 2 week pattern, this Friday is our next appointment.

This last Saturday we visited the hospital we hope to deliver in. It’s a smaller Kaiser that seems to be tailored well for birthing. The birthing rooms are large, private and very nice (they also have these cool robotic lights embedded in the ceiling.)

The post/recovery rooms are also private but a bit smaller but they have a pull out bed hidden in the recliner type chair for the dad (wow, that’s me!) to sleep in. Oh and they also seem to have free Wifi all over the place!

The hospital has a good philosophy regarding birth and post birth. They state that after the birth (and if all appears to be well by a quick pediatric check) they encourage (and will enforce for you) 1 - 2 hours of privacy/bonding for the mother, father and baby.

They usher out everyone and allow this time to be as uninterrupted as possible. After they do the blood tests and then any other necessary procedures. The cool thing is the baby stays in the room as much as possible. The staff seemed to be very nice and appeared to be helpful and enjoying their job.

We also found out that day what our co-pay would be for the hospital stay… it turned out to be $0!! So far I think we’re in it for two $5 co-pays during this pregnancy! God Bless medical insurance! I don’t know how people do with out it!

Tonight was our last of five, 3 hour lamaze / birth education sessions. While I’m glad the class is over, I did learn a TON attending it and contrary to popular thought, it’s not all breathing funny and sitting on the floor hearing people fart (that’s maybe 20% of the class) the remainder of the class is all educational. You will learn about EVERYTHING you want (and not want) to know about giving birth!

This weekend starts the first of three baby showers. We are getting close!!

Congrats to Gina and David on the birth of their adorable baby girl, Emma Rose Higginbotham! Rest well, you sure have earned it! OH and she totally looks like Gina, Sorry DAVID! :)

which is probably mostly due to the crappy band and the mo-ron sound tech who had the level up WAY to high while the guitarist doing some noise / tuning thing…

Last night Rich, Don and I went to see The Vandals as the HOB in Anahiem. The Vandals were great and reminded me of a few things. Warn is a great guitarist and all-around funny dude. Josh Freese is still an amazing drummer who can keep PERFECT timing and he reminds me that I’m feeling WAY overdue to see Devo again (he’s the drummer for Devo also). I felt like I was 18 again though the same dudes 10+ years ago were much crazier but still very entertaining.

Rich, Michelle and I started off the evening by going into Disneyland to grab a bite and we ended up riding the Pirate ride. Being back in the park and walking around further put me in a nostalgic mood. I have some crazy stories and memories of working there I should write about sometime before I forget!

With baby coming soon, I guess I’m starting to feel old and nostalgic! So it was nice to go to a concert and see the same performers you watched and listened to while in High School and College.

After getting home and laying down for bed (my ears were still buzzing and I was still a bit wound up) I reflected on the evening and thought about life before I was married and now about to have a baby.

I have to say I do miss or feel nostalgic of my crazy and carefree *youth* days from time to time but I realize I like them better as memories and not as the present. I don’t think I would ever want to go back and relive those days even if I was given the chance to. I am very pleased with where my life is now. I have an awesome wife, a good job and I’m SUPER excited for the next huge step in our life, Dominic!

Previously I wrote about Top Gear. Here are some updates:

Regarding the American Adaptation, NBC decided to pass up on it, citing they couldn’t get a cast together! Well I have to say I’m relieved they didn’t try with a subpar hosting crew and then *Americanize* (read, *rice rocketize*) a fantastic show! If you watch(ed) the show you know how important the hosts are and they probably account for 80% of the appeal, though there are some SWEET cars they test!

I really only have one regret regarding this cancellation, well maybe a few. After I heard about the adaptation and I was naturally skeptical, I heard they had signed Adam Corolla, who I think is funny, to host. I think he would’ve been a good Clarkson replacement.

The other regrets are related to the coming *downers* regarding the UK version. They have announced a new season will not be beginning on June 15th!!! In fact there’s no word when it will return. The word so far is it only has been slated for 6 episodes! Also, those 6 episodes will not be filmed in HD so we still don’t have an HD source for Top Gear!

For now I’ll keep busy with reruns, but they’d better get to production soon or… I guess I can’t do anything!

BOOO BBC!

Iron Man lived up to my expectations. Looks like it’s going to be a great summer blockbuster season.