Sibling Rivalry?

Announcing we are pregnant to friends and family has been one of the most enjoyable parts of this whole experience.  Naturally everyone wants to know the due date, how Jenny has been feeling, whether we know if its a boy or girl, and if we're ready for an eight pound, two ounce wrecking ball to demolish our sleep cycle.  Okay, maybe not the last one.  But in our particular situation - as the initial excitement wanes a bit -another question inevitably follows:  How is Hamilton going to react?

Of course we are inclined to say that Hamilton will LOVE having a baby in the house. After all, species differences aside, it will be his little brother/sister, right?  Truth be told, we have no idea how Hamilton will react sharing his home with an attention hogging, midnight wailing, can't-play-fetch-worth-a-darn-with-those-teenie-tiny-baby-arms bundle of joy. 

Although we don't know for sure, Hamilton has given us some - albeit little - insight into how he will cope.  Our greatest consolation has been his manner with his one-year-old cousin, Mckynna.  He absolutely loves her, and despite his tendency to be a little...well, um..."enthusiastic," he has always been surprisingly gentle with her.  He has nestled up beside her while she slept, sneaks kisses whenever he can, and obsessively follows her every move. 

So we're in the clear, right?  Not so fast.  As soon as we saw the faded pink "=" on the pregnancy test, we embraced and we cheered and we danced about (but in a manly way, you know).  Hamilton had a slightly different reaction.  He crept into the bathroom, located the pregnancy test instructions, took them into his mighty jaws, and then ran wildly around the house tearing them to shreds.  Yes, this really happened.

Now, Hamilton is and never has been a destructive dog.  Energetic, a bit obsessive, terribly spoiled...yes, but he's never even so much as gnawed a tennis shoe.  As most of you know, he is very intelligent and constantly amazes us with his intuitiveness.  Therefore we are a more than a bit concerned that this was no random act. 

Was he acting out in symbolic protest of losing his title as "baby of the house?"  Only time will tell. 

He that is not jealous is not in love- St. Augustine

Introducing.....Baby Bean

Here are a couple of pictures from our first ultrasound, a little glimpse of life on the inside. In the first picture we learned BB was 8 weeks old. See the measurement? Stay tuned for a more updated ultrasound where BB looks more like well, a baby, not a bean, dog, alien or bat, like other adoring family members have suggested.

You don't take a photograph, you make it- Ansel Adams

Why Baby Bean, You Might Ask

Well for as long as I can remember my family has lovingly called me Jenny Bean Dolls, which slowly transformed into Jenny Bean, Bean Dolls and just simply Beans. In case you have made the connection or have ever wondered about the origin of my aol email address, jbdoll, it is a shortened version of jennybeandolls. Little did I know when I was a young adolescent creating my first email address that it would remain with me for so long. Next enters Jeff, who naturally becomes Jeffrey Bean after we are an item. So the day I told my mom I too was going to be a mom she instantly referred to her new grandchild as Baby Bean. In our household the baby has become known as BB for short. Now we have to decide on a real name.....we are open for suggestions :)
Jenny (a.k.a Jenny Bean Dolls)

Titles are but nicknames, and every nickname is a title- Thomas Paine