Travelling

Here is a picture of the inside of Whitby Abbey, up in the north east. It is famous for being the landing place of Count Dracula which is really all I know about the place. I find this disappointing! I travelled a long way and paid a sum of money to get inside the place and never made the effort to learn about it. This is very sad and has made me realise how important it is to actually fully take notice of everywhere you visit. God knows if I will ever make it there again. I took some good photos as well with no information to back them up. Needless to say, a lesson has been learned. I am popping down south for a long weekend soon and I will certainly make more of an effort when I get there to actually learn something about wherever I go. But how many of us do this? Go and visit a place and come away none the wiser about it, only moaning about how much it cost or whether it was raining and cold. I'm sure I'm not the only one. And I won't allow it to happen again! What would my kid think?!?

Another scan

Here are two black and whites of the results of a night of passion with Gill. Pretty good, eh? He or she moved around quite a lot during the scan and wouldn't really stay still to get a really good shot, like it was doing aerobics or something. But at least I managed to spot it a bit better this time. There is only one in there which is a relief as I'm a twin and so is Gill's mother and I have to confess that I was a little concerned that I would have to be thinking of two names instead of one. We still don't know what the sex is but the next scan is due on christmas eve and we hope that they will be able to tell us then. Should be nice before christmas. I am struggling with names at the moment. It is important to get the right one as the little tyke will be stuck with that handle for the rest of it's life. I'm welsh and part of me would like a welsh name but some of the would be difficult to pronounce (eg Llyr, Llifon etc) especially if I stay living in England. All suggestions greatly appreciated. I quite like the name Bethany if it's a girl as Bethan is a common name in Wales and it's still got that english feel to it. I've got plenty of time to think about it though as it isn't due to make an appearance until May.

Making improvements.

Here is a more relaxing and scenic picture of a rock and the sea just to prove that I'm not just into the gory stuff. I am actually having fun trying to work out how to get all of these little bits onto the page and it is working so far. I haven't destroyed the network! All I need now is for some one to read it!

More things

Had some more dates through for scans that I have been told to attend or else! I think the main reason for my being there is to pay for the pictures because I know nothing about the scans and find it even harder to see anything remotely resembling a baby in them. However, I have been assured that it does get easier as the baby takes shape. I'm actually looking forward to discovering what sex it will be so that I can either practice my football or improve my shopping techniques accordingly. As long as it is healthy. That's the main thing. Even if it's got two heads, as long as it's healthy it will be fine. As long as it's a boy. I don't know if I would be able to handle a daughter, especially when she gets to 16. I was 16 once and know what it's like and it's scary to think that she will be exposed to people like me and my hormones as they were at that age!

As you can see, the above picture has absolutely nothing to do with babies. It was taken at Chester Zoo recently and it was one of those moments that was too good to be true and one of the first pictures taken with my new digital SLR. Now that I know how to get them on to my blog, I hope to put some more on display.

Baby Scan

There it is! My baby, somewhere there in the middle. You do have to use your imagination a little bit, but if you've ever seen one before you won't have too much trouble spotting it. Not sure who it takes after though.

oops

Well, as with all my past attempts at keeping a diary, I have missed a few days. I'm a busy man, you see.
All is well with the next generation of me. Gill went to see the midwife who filled in some forms and took some blood samples and did the things that they do and then she went to see her consultant gynaecologist who was quite happy with everything, even to the point of being impressed with the size of the baby at this stage. He also wants her to try and have a natural birth and can't see any problems so far but he will have a better idea after the 20 week scan has been done.
So every day takes me closer to being a dad. But even so, I can't seem to get too excited in case things go wrong. I'll be a lot happier after the birth but then I shall no doubt start worrying about the kid's future etc. I've always considered myself an optimist and quite laid back and now I am the complete opposite with regards to parenthood. Is that normal? Is that how everybody feels? This is without doubt the most significant thing I have ever done in my entire life. It's understandable, I suppose, that I am inwardly panicking. Panicking always makes me seem to act cooler and more detached than normal. Fortunately, I don't have any hair to go grey!
I haven't stopped smoking yet but Gill is still going strong without her ciggies which is very impressive considering how much she used to smoke. I only hope that she will continue even after the birth. I have cut down a lot though. I've only got one pouch of baccy left and then I can stop properly.
Need to get back to Gill's knitting now.