Bob

All through my pregnancy, we couldn't help thinking of September as a little girl. It wasn't just that we wanted a little girl--though we desperately did! Try as we might, we simply could not imagine a third little son being nestled in my tummy. Of course, we were well aware that there was a fairly good chance that we were having another son regardless of whether or not we could conceive of it (no put intended), so we were eager for an ultrasound to clear up the mystery. As Andy put it, we couldn't wait to "find out if September is herself, or Bob."

But the ultrasound didn't clear anything up at all because September (or Bob) was a very modest little baby.

And so we embarked on the difficult task of finding the perfect name for a little person that we couldn't bring ourselves to believe might actually exist. After listening in on lots of conversations about "what do we name September if she turns out to be Bob?" the boys figured out that my belly was called "Bob." They would poke my blossoming tummy, gleefully saying "Bobm!"

We never could agree on a boy's name that we both liked, until one night I had a dream about giving birth to a little boy named Matthias Robert. The dream itself was one of those bizarre pregnancy nightmares, but we loved the name--and it was quite a relief to finally be prepared for the possibility of Bob.

After our little September-girl made her appearance, Dadders brought the wuggies in to meet their little sister. The boys tiptoed into the room, quiet and alert, almost reverent. Nathan came up to me, as I sat on the rocking chair with September on my lap. He looked at my deflated midriff, then at the squirmy little thing on my lap, and pondered for a moment. After considering the situation, he grinned and announced, "Bobm!"

The boys like Bob a lot... and the other day Isaiah spoke his first sentence. "Bobm wuggy!"

We wondered and wondered, and now we know. September is herself...

...and she is Bob!