Non-Baby News

Yes, it does seem odd that things other than baby news are getting posted, but I wanted to share with you another award that my previous campaign has just won. The Ballot Initiative strategy Center has awarded Citizens to Restore Fairness the first ever Ballie for Most Underrated Campaign:

Whether through standing up to wealthy special interests, protecting the environment, raising the salaries of low wage workers, or protecting the rights of minority populations, progressive groups had a lot to celebrate at the ballot box in 2004. The Ballot Initiative Strategy Center is proud to recognize the achievements of the progressive community's most influential and cutting-edge ballot initiatives. Although traditionally a tool of right-wing interests, progressives are starting to reclaim ballot measures for their own devices and 2004 exemplified the best of this trend. Recipients of the Ballie Awards represent some of the best strategic visions that our community has to offer.

Most Under-rated Campaign:
Although most initiative campaigns that grabbed the spotlight this year were state-wide in their scope, there was one local campaign that seized our attention for the honor of most under-rated campaign. Citizens to Restore Fairness repealed a decades-old anti-gay law in the city of Cincinnati by 54% despite being outspent by $500,000. In a year dominated by fervor and anxiety over anti-gay marriage ballot measures, this little known local measure was the sole victor of the positive gay rights campaigns in 2004. Proponents ran a two-year long grassroots campaign that mobilized over 3,000 volunteers and thousands of donors, and built a broad coalition of business, civil and religious groups. Citizens to Restore Fairness raised $847,000 while their opponents spent $1.3 million, thereby proving that in politics you can't always win by throwing money at a problem.

For more information visit: http://www.ballot.org/ballies.html

The car seat is ready...

Just waiting to put it to use.

Still waiting...

We are still waiting for the little one to arrive. We went to the doctors yesterday and while there was some progress, it looks like our boy will not be arriving early. As of Friday, Susan was still dilated just one centimeter, although she is thinned 90%. Any day our little boy wants to come we will be happy to have him!

Also, Justin has made some modifications to the site in preparation for the Grand Arrival. Notably, we will be posting pictures, audio messages, and other announcements as the time arrives. Off to the right you will see a link where you can enter your email address. If you subscribe to this site you will receive automatically an email as the first pictures are loaded. Be the first to see our new bundle of joy, subscribe today! (Note for those who want a text message notification: Instead of entering in your e-mail address, you can enter in your text message address!)

UPDATE: Bloglet will only send out an e-mail once a day, usually about 2 in the morning. So if you subscribe to the site you will get email updates, however they will NOT happen as they are posted. If you want to receive updates on a more frequent basis, get a News Aggregator and subscribe using the feed link.

Baby Shower

Last night some great friends from the campaign hosted a baby shower for us!

Lilly

What big eyes!

We are at the end of 37 weeks and can't wait for the baby to arrive.

Here is a close-up of the round belly! Susan has been having contractions all week. We go to the doctor tomorrow. She is currently dialated one cm. and we will find out if there has been any progress.

And here is the view looking towards downtown. More pictures to come latr today. We are off to finally pick up our rocking chair!

It's snowing again! Downtown is always very beautiful when it snows. This time it should only be a light dusting. This is the parking lot accross the alley from our building.

So we are way behind in updating everyone and posting pictures. This is from Election night. It was a long night this year but very exciting. Susan was 6 ½ months pregnant when this photo was taken.

2004 was a good Election cycle for us and we are so grateful to have been part of the repeal campaign in Cincinnati. Most importantly we are grateful for all the wonderful people we met. As a side note, the campaign is being awarded the Wendell P. Dabney Award for Diversity as part of the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau 2004 "Spirit of Cincinnati Awards"

In late November we took in a weary traveler who was lost in the cold. This is Pumpkin BFC and he was found outside our apartment building just before our first winter storm hit. He was very traumatized and in need of a home, so we took him in and began a search for his family. While we have yet to find the people who he has lost, he has been a welcome addition at our house. BFC (Big Fat Cat) is very sweet, although very skittish. Lilly was not sure what to think about this new visitor at first, but the two of them are starting to play together. Lilly, who weighs no more than 7 pounds soaking wet, definitely exerts her authority in the house and has no problem bossing around this 17 pound cat.

Just before Christmas a big snow storm hit the area. Downtown was a ghost town for a few days as all the roads were closed. Some areas near here received over two feet of snow. It took almost three days to have the majority of roads plowed so that business could resume. This was on day three, when we could finally go to the grocery store. While the roads leading to the store may have been plowed, the parking lot was not. This was a detail that Justin was none too happy about. If you have ever seen someone get their car stuck in the snow, just imagine getting a full grocery cart stuck in the snow!

37 Weeks and counting! We are definitely ready for the baby! Justin's SUV is cleaned, and the car seat installed. The bedroom has been remade into a nursery, and lots of diapers are just waiting to be put to use. Three weeks to go!


By way of comparison this is 33 weeks along. For those bad at math that is just over 8 months.