In The Beginning

In the spirit of the times, Stephanie and I want to share with friends and family information and digital media about Number 5. This blog (a horrid contraction of the words "web" and "log") will serve that purpose, despite its etymological inadequacy. But before any content, let us explain the name.

Names for pre-children are an awkward subject. We've chosen to not know the baby's gender, so even were there final choices, we could not accurately use them. And rather than speak in ambiguous, impersonal nouns such as "the baby" or "it" and perhaps because of my warped senses of humor, we're calling the baby by the meta-name "Number 5." Why? Well, the five comes from he or she being the fifth chronological member of the family: there's Stephanie (number one), me (number two), Max & Arrow (numbers three and four), and, well, number 5. It's also pleasantly coincidental that, "Number 5 is alive" and the movie's main character is Stephanie. And I can tease that she's "assembling" or "manufacturing", all of which she's begun to see in the proper humor. In the absence of a true name, this one works well for us. Over on the wiki we're working through names more apropos for shouting just before the word, "No!" (Hrm, maybe "Doctor"? "Oh?" I'm warped.)

Stephanie and I have chosen to not know the baby's gender until arrival, opting for a more traditional experience. This has the unintended consequence of conflicting with most retailers' requirements for us as shoppers and our peers find it quaint, but we're happy with our choice. Most of the things we need to purchase in advance are gender-neutral anyway (furniture, stroller, books) and there are plenty of soft and ... Stephanie tells me to type "cute"... clothes available in greens, whites, and yellows.

And so we launch into things. Number 5's flight should arrive in mid-November. Pleasantly, the initial estimate was 18 November which is Stephanie's mother's birthday and my grandmother Opal's birthday. I'm told these dates tend to drift, but Brownian motion should keep it in this vicinity. All is well with Stephanie and number 5 as manufacturing continues. Unfortunately, this means we'll be indisposed for travel this holiday season. But every cloud has a silver lining, and, fortunately, this means we will have more time to stay at home by combining our vacation with holiday.

Our friends John and Mandi have been invaluable resources and pathfinders in this process. You can read about their son Jacob who's now about five months old.