Let's Have A Baby (Pt. 1)

From the Prince 3-disc album, "Emancipation," the title says it all...

I would like to make the announcement (to those that do not follow Jennifer on Facebook) that Jennifer and I are expecting our next child! We received the confirmation from Nashville Fertility on Monday and are thrilled about the news. There is a chance that she is carrying twins at this time, but we won't have the details about that for several weeks.

We are extremely blessed that we are now 2 for 2 in our IVF cycles. There aren't many couples in this world that have the ability to say they are batting 1.000 when it comes to producing children with each IVF cycle. There were definitely some trials and uncertainty that caused this cycle to be stressful. More on that to follow when there is longer time for me to post.

A big thank you to those of us that lifted us up in prayer.

As I Lay Me Down To Sleep

A perfect song provided by Sophie B. Hawkins...

It has been a long 5 months since last posting a blog and I am embarrassed that time has escaped my grasp. There is so much to tell about the transformation of the Rogerson family (Tennessee Chapter), but not enough time to thoroughly put it into words. I have made a decision to write more often, however briefly it may be. On to today's topic...

Gabriel is of the Rogerson mold- he loves music. He received an iPod from us on his 4th birthday and has loved listening to the Beatles as I drive him home on Tuesday and Thursday nights since he was in a infant carseat. About 3 years ago, he decided that he wanted to listen to music as he went to bed. With the breadth of my musical catalog, I created several playlists entitled, "Sleep Time 1-6" for variety. Each having about 8 songs, he enjoys them as he drifts into his dream world. A night does not go by when he doesn't hear a song from Mat Kearney and Jason Mraz.

As for Jacob, he is starting his own bedtime traditions. Initially, he would only want to go to sleep in his crib- he did not want someone to rock him to sleep. Because I only got a couple of hours with him before he went to bed, I began to rock him in his chair a few minutes and sing my favorite songs as lullabies. I wanted to be sure he had a solid foundation of music, so I began to sing a litany of Beatles songs as I rocked him to sleep. At first, his "playlist" only consisted of "Blackbird." After a few days, I added an additional song such as "Across The Universe," "Let It Be," and "The Long And Winding Road." After a couple of weeks, it became apparent that this was no longer a phase. Jennifer had attempted to lay him in bed like we always had before and he would start whining after 5 minutes in bed. I would pick him up and sing a couple of songs and he would sleep all night.

Jake tells me the songs he likes by resting quietly without tossing and turning. We have added "Octopus' Garden," "Yesterday," and "Good Night" into our Beatle repertoire. With his approval, I have added other artists such as Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Brett Dennen, but we always end on a Beatles tune as I lay him in his crib. I am not sure who enjoys this ritual more: him or me, but its the bond we share together at the end of his day. It seems to be a necessity for him, and a pleasure for me.

Sleepwalker

Good title from the Wallflowers for the first few weeks with a new baby in the house...

Baby here. Doing great. Beautful boy. Lots of hair. Jen well. Everyone healthy. Gabe likes little brother. Good big brother. Helps out a lot. Jacob eats often. Doesn't like baths. Lots of diapers.

Sleeping okay. Not enough. No time for blog. Jacob likes being held. Held all the time. Always sleeps on me. Doesn't like swinging.

Almost two weeks old. An inch taller. Back to birth weight. Doing great. Jen tired. Me little energy. Fall asleep while blogging. No time for anything. Baby sucking energy. Totally worth it.

Love to all.

Blowing In the Wind

The answer, my friend is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in the wind....

-Bob Dylan

Weather is putting the finishing touches on its portrait of autumn and changing the canvas to begin painting the dreariness of winter over the past week in Murfreesboro. We have gone through 3 stages of weather since I woke up for work this morning- cool and sunny turned to misty and breezy this afternoon, which has evolved into pouring rain and heavy winds into the night. This evening, the winds have been swirling around with thoughts of turning over trash cans at every home. Sting's lyric explains it best on a night like tonight: The hounds of winter are howling in the wind. Howling is a great use of personification for the wind. As hard as it is blowing tonight, it moans through each small crack between the windows and doorframes.

Gabe and I were having a lot of fun tonight catching up on some of what is turning out to be one of his favorite new shows: Mythbusters. The wacky things these guys do make him laugh and we make bets before we watch the experiments as to weather the myth will be confirmed, plausible or "busted." Later, we watched Clash of the Dinosaurs, which is a new documentary series that explains the design of different dinosaurs from physical and mental aspects. Finally, it was bedtime, which is when the winds started howling the most.

It was quite blustery as Gabe laid down for bed. I turned on his iPod and set his playlist entitled, "Sleeptime III," and Ringo Starr begins to croon (as much as he could), "Good Night." Gabe starts to worry about the noise and begins to feel a bit scared of sleeping amongst the noise beyond the walls. Trying to ease his mind and help him rest for the night, I tell him the same story he has heard dozens of times in the past: The Three Little Pigs. At the end of the story, we both come to the conclusion that the only house the wolf did not blow over was the one built with bricks. Since our house was made with bricks, our house will not fall down either.

This is truly the first moment in his life in which he has shown the dichotomy between the his amazing intellect and reasoning and immediately thereafter, showing childlike naivety which steals your heart.

After hearing the story and realizing our house was made of bricks, the paused for a moment and remarked, "but Mom's house is made of wood..." After calming his restless energy, I went back into the room to let him know I was taking down the welcome flag on near the porch, only to hear him whimpering. I asked him if he's okay and with tears in his eyes, he says that he was praying for all the non-brick houses, "so they don't fall down." Putting him to bed once more, he asks, "Our house won't fall down because of the bricks, but what about the windows, since they are glass?" I was completely dumbfounded. I simply had no more answers for him tonight. He then said the most adorable thing of the past several months: "Hey, Dad. The glass won't break because the blinds will protect it, right?" All I could do is smile, kiss his head, and tell him is is absolutely right.

What a great evening, which I owe to my son. Evenings like these make the irritations and monotony of the day's events worthwhile.

Sing A Song

A little Earth, Wind & Fire for you for this post...

Jennifer is pushing the 20th week of her pregnancy this week. How fast this summer has flown! We just read that this week the baby can actually hear sound, which is the the start of the best part of the pregnancy. I believe that despite the inability to hear earlier over the past several weeks, the baby can feel the vibrations of my voice when I get close to Jen's belly. I have been chatting it up with Jacob here and there, mostly late in the evening prior to Jen going to bed. Giving him a primer of becoming a Rogerson: believe in the Yankees, love football, and being kind to his mother. This week, we have added a new part to the mix: music.

Over the past few days, we have been playing Jacob music from my iPod via headphones strategically placed on Jen's belly. It started out by playing something with a strong beat so he could feel the vibrating rhythms of the Gap Band, Earth, Wind, & Fire, and Michael Jackson. No response from Jacob. I am guessing that he was a little freaked out by the cacophony of new sound.

Tonight, I tried a different mix. We started with The Beatles' "Yesterday," Emerson Hart's "Green Hills Race for California," and Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind." I think that Jacob enjoyed this more than yesterday. We finished with another Beatles tune, "Goodnight," from the White Album. I thought it appropriate finale for the evening of his education through music. My goal is that he hears the Beatles and is instantly soothed when he cries in the middle of the night. Gabe turned out great- he loves my musical tastes. He is becoming an avid fan of The Beatles and AC/DC, which is alright with me...

If you haven't seen them before, they now make an album series entitled, "Rock-A-Bye Baby" which are famous artists set in the form of a music box for babies. It is quite possibly the cooles thing I have heard in quite a while. They have music box versions of AC/DC, Metallica, The Beatles, U2, The Cure, Pink Floyd, and several others. It sound bizarre, but they are quite captivating. Seriously- a baby-friendly version of "Master Of Puppets" sounds ridiculous, but its quite enchaniting. Far better than listening to the other garbage that is out there, for sure. Jen and I plan on getting most of these albums for Jacob to enjoy in the crib and car. Rock on, little Jacob!

Playing this music for Jacob has me itching to pick up the guitar and learn some new material. I haven't played too much lately- life has been too busy and I end up doing other things to keep myself occupied. I really want to learn some material so that I can sing and play for him while in the crib. It is also something constructive that has forces the brain to fire the synapses on the creative side of the brain, which doesn't happen all to often throughout the day.

I began learning the chord progression for "Yesterday" and "Something" tonight. Let me just say that the brilliance of John, Paul, George, Ringo, and Sir George Martin will never be exaggerated. The chord progressions and melodies are quite eloquent....

Over the next few months, I'll be trying to build a repertoire of tunes in preparation for the February birth of Jacob. Let me know of tunes you think I should learn...

Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)

John Lennon said it best!

Jen and I found out yesterday that we hare having a baby boy! Thankfully, Gabriel was with us because he was very excited. You see, he was at the zoo with Jen and her mother and he put a penny in the hyperbolic bowl and wished for a boy. Realizing what he had done, Jen's mother put a dime in and wish for a girl. Apparently, the logic is that a wish on a dime would overpower wishing on a penny. Gabe immediately said that his penny was first, which trumped the dime in his mind....

Looks like he was right. While watching in anticipation, I asked the nurse if the baby looked healthy. She said, "He looks great!" I was relieved hearing that the baby was healthy.... Then replayed the words back in my mind- he was fine? Why did she say "he?" The nurse showed us the reason for her choice of words. Sure enough- a little boy is on the way.

Jen was as heartbroken as Gabe was happy. She was certain that it was a girl. She had everything picked out and knew exactly what the room was going to look like. I warned her about the dangers of doing that, but those warnings went unheeded. She said the thought of a boy never crossed her mind for the past month or so. As stated in an earlier post, I think that I had become so at peace with having a daughter, that I may had convinced myself that a daughter was coming. Initially, I had thoughts and feelings of another boy. Maybe I was preparing myself for a girl, but I must say that I was slightly shocked by it all too.

It was really awesome to have the opportunity to see the baby and know it was a boy so early in the pregnancy. We got to see the evidence of a little boy using the 3D ultrasound yesterday afternoon. Disturbingly enough, we could see more clearly using the standard ultrasound. We will definitely go back again later in the pregnancy to really get a good view of the baby before birth.

It's going to take Jen a day or so to fully wrap her mind around the events of Saturday. We are now working through the list of names for our boy. We are confident in using Jacob, because that is what my Dad has always called me. I am not sure why, and if you ask him, he doesn't know either. He just started doing it one day and never stopped. We thought it would be nice to name him after me, but without naming him Michael. We now are searching for middle names.

I have scoured the history of the New York Yankees to find an association that Jen would use without any success... Thus far, she has said no to the following:

Jacob Mickey Rogerson/Jacob Mantle Rogerson (Mickey Mantle)

Jacob Louis Rogerson/Jacob Gehrig Rogerson (Lou Gehrig)

Jacob Joseph Rogerson/DiMaggio Rogerson (Joe DiMaggio)

Jacob Thurman Rogerson (Thurman Munson)

Jacob Jeter Rogerson (Derek Jeter)

Jacob Reggie Rogerson/Jacob Jackson Rogerson (Reggie Jackson)

Jacob Whitey Rogerson/Jacob Ford Rogerson (Whitey Ford)

Jacob Mariano Rogerson (Mariano Rivera)

Jacob Yogi Rogerson/Jacob Berra Rogerson (Yogi Berra)

Jacob Martin Rogerson (Billy Martin)

Jacob Casey Rogerson (Casey Stengal)

The only one that has worked thus far is Jacob Alex Rogerson. A-Rod better bring me home a World Series this year and be a major contributor this year...

Jacob Liam Rogerson is the frontrunner right now. Your thoughts and name combos are welcome. I will compile a list of all the names we receive from everyone and comment on each one in a future post if people contribute. I would encourage you to do so!

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. Another post soon!

m

Sweet Child O' Mine

Nothing like a little Guns N Roses to start off the next post...

Jennifer is 15 weeks pregnant as of today. We are going to have a 3D ultrasound tomorrow to finally find out if we are having a boy or a girl. Initially, we were scheduled to go on Monday, but we really wanted Gabriel to be there for the event. It is important to be as involved as possible and he is as excited as we are.

We are going to make an event of it. We will be traveling to Franklin tomorrow midday to eat at my favorite restaurant, Noshville! If you have not been there, it is the closest thing to a NY-styled delicatessen as there can be in the south. The best food and cheesecake imaginable. Afterward, it on our way to 4-D Peek to see the baby.

Just so you know, Jen has even bought a couple of girl outfits! I keep daring her to keep buying things for a girl as if it will jinx her- "Go ahead and buy it, honey." Then adding a wry comment after the fact like: "Just be sure to keep the receipt!" That said, EVERYONE is hoping for a girl. Everyone in Jennifer's family. Everyone in my family. Everyone, except Gabe and I. We are sticking together and this is shaping up just like we like it- us against the world! Gabe wants a little brother and I want another boy too. Why? Because I am afraid of having a girl...

Everyone tells me that daddy's LOVE little girls. They say girls cling to their fathers and fathers adore their daughters. Fathers will do anything to make them happy. They cannot get enough of their daughters and I always hear that a man's life will never be the same. That is EXACTLY what I am fearful about!

With Gabriel, I do my best to treat him like a little man. As an example, I recently taught him how to use my power drill as he helped me rebuild our fence. He loves helping me change the oil the cars and motorcycles as well. As he gets older, I will teach him how to be a gentlemen to women and a leader of men, holding steadfast to the foundation being laid on a daily basis.

With a daughter, I turn into a pushover. The easy mark for a daughter to get what she wants, even if Mom has told her "no" already. I have seen glimpses of this over the past two years while coaching Gabriel's baseball team. Last year, there was a beautiful girl named Kaylee that stole my heart. She had long flowing blonde hair, brown eyes, and was always smiling and have a great time. She made me melt without even trying. I commented to Jen at that time that having a girl wouldn't be so bad if she was like Kaylee...

This year, I had a very shy, introverted girl named Claire on our team that was very quiet. I did everything I could to make her open up and by the end of the season, she was awesome to be around. However, Sloan was my pride and joy this year. Each week she would come to practice and games with her pink batting helmet and bat. She was adorable with her bows that she used to tie her sleeves up on her shoulder. More than just a pretty little girl, she was a remarkable player too! Very gifted athletically, she was chasing after the ball, scooping it up, and hurling it across the infield to get outs. She had graceful movements for a 6-year-old and thoroughly enjoyed playing. She never stopped hustling at a practice or game. She truly stole my heart. Sloan made me truly acceptant to having a daughter- as long as she was like Sloan...

We will be bringing home pics and videos of the event. I will post a couple online ASAP for all to see and enjoy.

Will post again soon!

m

Choice of Words...

My Dad sent me an email which stated that he was thinking of starting to use curse words because he is at an age where no one can tell him what to do anymore (except Mom, of course). Obviously he was joking, but I decided to write him a response rife with foul language to get a good laugh from him. Here is a excerpt:

"You can learn to do something new! Hell- I think you could get pretty f$cking good at cursing. It takes a lot to practice all of that bull$hit to cruse like a bast@rd sailor, but damn it- I think you can pull that $hit off!"

That said, his email did cause me to reflect on the use of language in our society today. I have always subscribed to the notion that cursing looses its effectiveness if used too often. If they are used in the proper manner (that doesn't sound right...), the words can instill anger, fear, and motivation. All too often a person intending to inspire others use the words so frequently that the words loose their "punching power." The best example I can give you is my father. He is a man that rarely uses foul language and would rather not hear it at all. There have only been a couple of times where I have heard the words he despises spewed from his mouth. Once uttered, everyone within earshot knew- now is not the time to mess with him. As a matter of fact- the president contacts the military to issue DEFCON-1. A two-hour hiatus occurs before returning to DEFCON-5.

Furthermore, I believe that curse words are used by less-educated people that lack the cognitive ability to articulate themselves in a more dignified manner. (How eloquent was that?) How often do you hear someone describe an object with f$cking (insert adjective here)? What about the world-famous simile, "like $hit?" You know- "their new album sounds like $hit," or "that lasagna tasted like $hit." There are numerous ways to formulate thoughts. Those that continue to use such language on a continuous basis are telling others, "My vocabulary is severely limited and I cannot carry an intelligent conversation with others. Can't talk now- Maury is on and I want to see if any of the 5 guys on stage is this kid's father!"

When my 5-year-old son gets older (much older in fact), I am going to give him the 2 Rules of Cursing:

1. Never use curse words in normal conversation. It is uncalled for at all times.

2. Only use curse words for emphasis or to show that your intensity has been raised to the highest level.

Actually- these rules are a lot like my rules for fighting, but that is for another post...