And if a great day could get any better...

As if having a wonderful baby boy wasn't good news enough... Here's an excerpt from a letter Adam received on Monday:

On behalf of the Northeast ADSA/ASAS, I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected to receive the 2008 Young Scientist Award for Research for the Northeast section.

Congratulations on winning this award in recognition of your outstanding contributions to animal and dairy science.

Baby Jack in full technicolour!

NOTE: Okay, so officially he's John, but he will be known as Jack by all who love him. :)




Greetings from the happiest household in town... or is that on the planet? :)

We're all doing really well and Baby Jack is thriving. Luckily for us it seems he's the happiest little soul as well.

Here are some pictures for all those who've been waiting in anticipation...

Our New Arrival

Jayne and I are pleased to announcd that John William Lock was born yesterday morning (June 23, 9.49 am) weighing 7lb 7oz and measuring 21 inches.
Baby and Mum are doing great and all being well will be returning home on Wednesday morning.
More soon once Jayne returns home.

Expected delivery date and still no sign of Bubs...

Well, I was never on time for anything so why should Bubs be any different?? :))

Today's check up went fine - Bubs seems well as does Mum-to-be so we're not too concerned about anything. Some slight progress in the right direction but nothing to get excited about just yet... it could be a week... it could be tonight... who knows!

Anyway, a lovely sunny w/e just gone and some experimenting with plaster of paris yesterday makes for a couple more pics you might find interesting...

No change here - Safi makes short shrift of a stick she found by the lakeside... that's it in bits by her feet!

Look Saf... there's another one!



Safi shows no fear and leaps right in - quite a difference from her, "Don't laugh, help me I'm drowning" days.

Yup, she's quite the swimmer these days. No requirement for Adam to strip to his undies at a moments notice... much to his disappointment. ;)

See, look how wistful he is thinking back to Rutland Water that time!

Yup, defs still pregnant!

Still smiling tho... actually, I'm not too sure what this face is doing!? I'll call it a smile, but maybe it was more of a grimace... another Braxton Hicks perhaps??

Now then, what's all this...

The supplies are gathered and Adam is at the ready...




... some time and much gloopiness later...

TADAAAH!

One belly cast - done. Okay, so it was boobs too but we figured you don't all need to see that bit!

Once the cast is properly dried out we'll maybe get round to putting a pic of it on here. It was good fun to do, really messy but worth it.

It was quite fascinating and a bit emotional [or maybe that was just me - J] seeing the cavernous interior of the bump, and to realise that Bubs is still safely nestled in there... hopefully not for too much longer mind.

The plan is to put Bubs's little hand and foot prints inside it whenever he/she decides to come out... not sure how tricky that might be tho.

That's it for now. We'll keep you all posted on progress when we can. Wish us luck!

Vermont on Tornado watch!

Okay, so it's still sunny, over 90F and horribly humid here, but not for much longer it seems...

The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch (!) for all of Vermont until 6pm this evening.

Apparently a strong cold front is crossing the region this afternoon with widespread thunderstorm activity, and conditions are ripe for many of these to become severe, along with damaging winds, large hail, and the possibility of tornadoes.

Current temp is 92F and sunny, tho I can see clouds rolling in and trees are stirring in the wind that is already picking up...

UPDATE: Okay, so the storm was pretty spectacular but thankfully short-lived with no tornadoes around here, and the hail only got as large as quarters rather than the golfballs the news had mentioned! No damage to report, no pics either tho despite Jayne's best efforts to catch some of the lightening coming down... pregnant reflexes just ain't quick enough! At least the temps are back to a more tolerable 78F today.

Great news for Adam!

Last Friday night was made waaaay better than your average start to the weekend when Adam received a call telling him he'd been awarded the US Department of Agriculture National Research Initiative (USDA NRI) grant he'd applied for back in January. It was a double pat on the back to also be told his application had been ranked in the top 5 of all those considered, which is virtually unheard of for a new investigator. OUTSTANDING! :) :) :)

In short, he will receive $350k to explore 'The impact of milk fat derived bioactive fatty acids on the foetal programming of atherosclerosis' in a three-year research programme.

Adam is the principal investigator and will be collaborating with colleague and friend Prof. Andy Salter at the University of Nottingham.

The final countdown...

... well, assuming Bubs has paid due attention to his/her expected delivery date!

Pretty much one week left now so excitement/anticipation/trepidation is building in the Lock household, and across the pond with the rest of the family.

A steamy 91F this weekend made being outside a very short-lived thing for Jayne who was finding the house's central a/c to be a big lifesaver. However, we ventured outside briefly for some last bump shots in the back yard. Needless to say it looks and feels quite a bit different out there compared with the winter pics.

And here's a pic of the lovely nursing chair and foot stool we bought for Bubs, courtesy of Jayne's grandmother. Thanks again Nana! The chair will move from our room into the nursery as and when the extra spare bed moves out of there.

38-week check up

All is still well with Jayne and Bubs according to today's check up. We're officially classed as being full term now so... anytime Bubs... whenever you're ready!

Still head down and lying in a good position (relief!), tho' our obgyn reckons he/she is certainly on the larger side of average... eeks! (well, no surprise there with us two as parents)

So, now we wait...

Two weeks to go...

With pretty much only two weeks left til Bubs's expected delivery date we actually think we might be organised! The nursery is finished (except for us still waiting for the nursing chair to arrive) and the hospital bags (yes, bags... plural) are packed, and after a late evening flurry of hormone-induced nesting activity on Friday the house is quite ship-shape for once as well. :)


Adam has been a super-star and has weathered Jayne's hormone storms pretty well, all things considered. He's learned very quickly not to react when she's being an unreasonable @#!*@!, to provide instantaneous hugs when the tears have flowed for no apparent reason and not to laugh (well, mostly) at the ridiculous things that seem to fall out Jayne's mouth/brain at any given moment.


[Now all he has to master is NOT writing anything whatsoever on my endless lists of things to do and remember to pack last minute... they're mine, ALL MINE and if there's so much as a mark on 'em I'm afraid I'm gonna melt down! - J] And yes, I have gone slightly cuckoo.


So, here's some more pics for those that have been asking...

What's going on 'ere then?

Ah yes, the car seat...

Now, which way does it go again?

This pulls up this way, right?

And then goes in here...

Safi was quite bored with all the car seat/seat belt antics... yawn... when are we going for a W-A-L-K?

Upstairs the nursery is now complete with crib, drawers/changing table and spare bed (so Adam doesn't get disturbed every night when he's working). Just waiting for the gliding nursing chair thingy... oh yes, and a baby! :)

Bumpilicious!

Welcome to America!

Today we received notification that our application for permanent residence has been approved and our green cards are finally winging their way to us... Woohoo! :)