After the long wait, Nina Margaret Woods was born on May 24th, at 9:53 in the morning.

In between a doctor’s appointment and a visit to the hospital for a sonogram, John and I took a walk in Central Park. We made a movie of the event using our new Flip Video recorder. I produced this short film and am very proud of the finished product.

We’re still awaiting the arrival of Baby Woods. Today, because I’m past my due date, I had to go to the hospital for some special tests. Not a lot of fun - although we had a nice lunch and walk through Central Park. And we got these photos of the baby’s face, via ultrasound, as a souvenir!

We’re watching movies as we await Baby Woods. So far, we’ve seen two good ones: first, Safe Men, which was written and directed by the same guy who wrote Meet the Parents and Zoolander. I’d never heard of this movie, but it’s hilarious. I don’t know why some of the reviews are so weak. I especially liked Michael Showalter’s brief appearance as a taco store operator at the beginning of the movie.

The other movie we watched was The Savages. What first attracted us to this one was the beautiful poster by Chris Ware (if you haven’t read Ware’s graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, you really should). But I was dreading the movie because I’m tired of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s hangdog, wretched characters and because the subject matter — nursing homes — seemed truly miserable. The movie did serve up its fair share of misery and squabbling — as well as some hackneyed writing here and there — but it also did a nice job of illustrating how our lives, for better or for worse, are shaped by our parents, even at the point where communicating with them is no longer possible.

I was thrilled to receive this hand-made baby quilt from an old Augusta friend. She made it with fabric that replicates patterns from the 1930’s. I like this aesthetic. Maybe I should look into what else people were into back then, as far as design. I guess there’s Art Deco and the Empire State. These quilt patterns make me think of Tin Tin, which I just learned that Herge started drawing in 1929.

The belly keeps growing.

Here is my friend Justin, trying out some of his new lyrics. Seems like the ladies really like it.

My husband and I just discovered a yogurt drink called “kefir.” It’s pro-biotic, which we don’t really understand. All we know is that we are addicted. The plain unsweetened is a good smoothie base.

Presenting, as my first blog post, some manga about pregnancy. My friend Sarah sent a couple volumes by cartoonist Uchida Shungiku as a pre-baby gift. A few days away from going into labor, I am struck by the page below. Labor seems intense. But happily, the baby emerges less than three pages later, and mommy seems no worse for the wear.