Fish & Mrs. Crabby Hippo

Strange blog title I realize, but you will understand once you read on...

First big piece of news is that I felt the baby move last week. I'd thought before I maybe had, but this was definitely it. I was sitting in a room full of 75+ people at our system level Final Design Review, for the Orion Launch Abort System (LAS). The LAS is essentially a rocket, and during one of the talks about the motor, I felt a strange sensation. It was as though I had swalled a fish and it was swimming around my belly, flipping and flopping against the walls. It took me a second until I realized "oh my gosh, that was the baby." It was awesome and it "swam" around a little more during the presentation. Now, usually after dinner when I'm sitting still, I'll feel the little one moving about. I'm hopeful that in the next few weeks that Geoffrey will be able to feel movement from the outside of my belly.

And now to the Crabby Hippo. A little over a month ago, I got an email from Kevin stating that I would soon be looking like a hippo (I suppose its a nicer way to say that I"ll be getting huge). So from then on it became a little joke. He'd send pictures of hippos to me, which would always make me laugh. Then, while watching a VT game a couple Saturdays ago, I wasn't in the greatest of moods. I received a warning email stating that if my behavior continued for the next game, I'd have to sit in the "crabby hippo corner." Luckily, I haven't been sent there.

So, today I get home from work and there is a box on the counter. I know I haven't bought anything online recently, and open it, wondering what it could be. Inside the box I found this:

If you click on the picture, you can read the note, which reads

"TO: Mrs. Crabby Hippo FROM: Hubert A. Hippo I hope you enjoy playing with my hipponess. Maybe someday your baby will enjoy being hiptastic with me."

Geoffrey and I just laughed and laughed. He was actually the one to grab the camera right away, to take a picture to send it to Jerry, who has joined in the hippo fun. He likes to sing the song from the scene in Fantasia where there is a hippo in a tutu dancing.

I'm so lucky to have such loving brothers and brothers-in-law. (J/K...I wouldn't trade them for anything)