We have reached the 34 week milestone in the pregnancy leaving us with just a little over 40 days. Here are some quick stats about Will’s development. He is about 20 inches in length and weighs about 5 pounds. It is fun to look at illustrations or pictures of babies at 34 weeks because they look like fully developed babies.

Will has been a real wiggler during this pregnancy. There are times he moves from one end of Anne’s belly to the other just rolling, wiggling and kicking around. I feel like I have felt Will much more than I did with Jack. It looks like Will is eager to get out and start catching up to his big brother.

Well, the hospital suitcase is almost fully packed. It is currently sitting in our room eagerly waiting for the moment it will be hurriedly thrown into the back of the car and then raced to the hospital. Will’s clothes, my clothes and our snacks are already neatly packed away. I assume within the next few days, the suitcase will also include Anne’s clothes and the packing will be complete. Being prepared is not an issue in the Horch household (At least in Anne’s side of it.)

Today we can officially say that Will will be coming “next month.” And in just a few weeks we will be able to say “in less than 30 days.” The reality of having a second child in the house is becoming more and more real for Anne and I as we begin the final preparations. The great thing about the early stages of pregnancy is that you can have the excitement of another child without the anxiety. But once you reach that final month you begin to say, “Wow, in just weeks there will be another little boy living in this house!” There will be sounds that aren’t coming from Jack. A cry that is new. A sleeping schedule that is turned upside. And for the first time Jack will not be the center of our attention.

Next month it all changes.

This evening Jack and I were upstairs and Jack spotted the blue suitcase I have out to pack for our upcoming road trip. As soon as he saw it, Jack pointed at it enthusiastically and blurted out “bah-pah! bah-pah!” (That’s Jack’s version of “backpack! backpack!”) Jack has a book that has a picture of a blue backpack, so I knew immediately that was what he was thinking of. I said, “Good, Jack! That does look like a backpack, but actually it’s a suitcase.” After a couple minutes we went downstairs and I started doing things in the kitchen while Jack went into the living room. A minute later he walked up to me carrying a book he’d picked out of his bookshelf, saying loudly “bah-pah! bah-pah!” and pointing at the blue backpack in the book. I was so impressed!! A moment of brilliance. It was exciting to experience it with Jack firsthand!

We are exactly two months until our October 16 due date. Two months until we will have two kids. Two boys. And a family of four. According to our pregnancy book Will is 18 inches long and over three pounds. He should do a lot of growing over these next 60 days. I am hoping for a 10-pound boy. Anne doesn’t share my same enthusiasm in this area.

The big question we are asking is one we never really thought about with Jack. What color will his hair be? Now that we know that red is a possibility, will we have another red head? I think it would be fun to have two red head boys running around the Horch house.

A new family moved into the house next door to us the other day, and Jack was obsessed with keeping an eye on the giant moving truck parked just outside our front window. Perhaps someday Jack will launch his own “Jack & Sons Moving Company”?……