Rutabaga

It’s Presidents Day and we’re at 25 weeks. According to our weekly email update from Babycenter.com, we’re having a rutabaga. If you’re like me, I had to look up rutabaga to see exactly what it looks like. Wikipedia says it’s also known as a yellow turnip, “a root vegetable that originated as a cross between the cabbage and the turnip.” Apparently its leaves can also be eaten as a leaf vegetable, and rutabaga pie is one of my dad’s favorites. Among the vegetables and seafood to which Babycenter has compared my child, a rutabaga is probably the least attractive. I think we’ll stick with “the Bean.” At 25 weeks, it’s now a pretty large bean—1 ½ pounds.

The state holiday allowed me to be at home today, to catch up on homework and buy materials for the wall that’s being constructed for the nursery. As I type, our handyman Leon is dividing our extra room in two. One half will be the guest room/office and the other will be the Bean’s room. In both a symbolic and necessary move, my desk has been squeezed out of the office. There’s barely enough space now for the guest bed and Katie’s desk. I’ll graduate in two and a half months, while Katie will dissertate in to the fall. It’s a clear sign that my days as a formal student will soon be over. The 20 hours or so per week I’ve spent studying finance and accounting will soon be dedicated to changing diapers, burping, and figuring out how I’m going to invest enough money for the Bean to go to college in 2027. Leon is busy painting primer now. The bright red we put on the walls a few weeks before our wedding will be covered by a soothing shade of light green. Not to be confused with the yellowish-green hue of a rutabaga.

Here are some recent pics of Katie’s beautiful, growing belly. We’ll send photos of the nursery as soon as its done.