It's a girl.

I added that Mozart quote when it looked like she was going to be born on the 27th. I was going to add one a day and people we're going to be all, "ah, he's quoting all these people who were born on the same day as the girl. Now I get it."

As it turned out, this girl is perfect at one thing: defying expectations. We thought maybe she was going to be born early and she was born late; we got to the hospital; the contractions slowed down; we thought Anna would be pushing for 3 hours, the baby came out in an hour in a half; we asked for a hospital baby photo, the girl woke up and opened her eyes five minutes after it was taken.

As for the experience of seeing your own daughter come out of your lover's body, let me say only this: the cliches are all true and at the same time nothing you can say about the experience really does it justice. They say that when the baby is finally pushed out of the mother’s womb, it is receives, as a parting gift, the most monumental adrenaline high of its lifetime. Maybe there is something about witnessing a birth that summons memories of that earlier rush, because the feelings I felt on seeing GG arrive were a bit like that.

All you want to do is kiss her. All you can think of is her impossible, fragile perfection and how lucky you are to spend even a minute in its halo. She can do no wrong. No ill can befall you. You have no idea what on earth you are doing, and you suspect that you may be inadvertently removing a finger as you struggle to slide her first shirt over her head. Your life will never be the same. You know it, and the thought makes you profoundly happy.

"To talk well and eloquently is a very great art, but an equally great one is to know the right moment to stop."

--Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Have you ever come across art work that simultaneously justifies all of your artistic dreams, while making you envious to see them first realized somewhere else? If I had held off on dentistry school and instead pursued my dreams of rock & roll stardom, I'm quite convinced that this is what I would have become.

No baby yet, nor any signs of an imminent arrival. Looks like this kid's going to be a monkey.

Holding out for a monkey

January 22 marks the beginning of the Year of the Monkey, and though today is Anna's due date, we're starting to think it might not be such a bad thing if Trucker could hold out for another five days.

OK, I don't think it's such a bad idea. Anna, however, is bending over and picking up anything she can get her hands on -- in between vigorous walks, showers, baths, sex (doctor's orders, in fact) and many glasses of wine. Janie asked someone to help her move around stuff while she was vacuuming today, and Anna practically pushed me out of the way to get a shot at it.

Though my girl is definitely tiring of this whole pregnancy thing, this has been a really nice time for the three of us. Hanging out, cooking (Janie), eating (me), and wondering when this latest and greatest miracle is going to happen. They say you're supposed to get sick of people calling you and asking if you've that damned baby yet, but I still like it. This feels like such a beautiful tranquil time in our lives. I'll be happy to see it end, but I'll look back on it fondly, too.

No baby yet, though the diaper service made its first delivery yesterday.

Thought of the day
How come you can't cut paper with a paper cut?

No. No baby yet. Stay tuned.

Fun with the baby

Celebrity crocodile hunter Steve Irwin triggered outrage when he held his 1-month-old baby while feeding a snapping crocodile during a show at his Australian zoo.