Everything is coming up babies...

So here is a list of our friends who recently became parents.
1. Alexandre and Rachael had a beautiful baby boy on May 6, 2007.
2. Adrineh and Edmond had a beautiful baby boy on May 19, 2007.
3. Eric and Jill had a beautiful baby girl on September 2, 2007. Karl and I were actually visiting Eric and Jill in Cleveland, OH when Abigail decided she wanted to meet Karl and me while we were in town. That was crazy, but another story for another time.

Here is a list of friends who are going to be parents soon.
1. Holly (The Original Mrs. Ho-Nasty) and Jay are going to have a baby boy sometime around November 8th.
2. Peter (otherwise known as my sexy bitch) and Melissa are going to have a baby girl sometime in early January.
3. Phil and Angie are going to have a baby girl in mid-January. Abigail is no longer on their list of names.
4. Mandy and Billy are going to have a baby around February/March (I'm so sorry about my fertility goddess skills, Mandy. I had no idea until Eric mentioned it).
5. Brian and Annie are going to have a baby in February/March.

That's a lot of people. That's a lot of people I know. That's a lot of people that are going to have more people...

So the other story for the other time. Karl and I went to Cleveland, OH for the Labor Day weekend. Our itinerary consisted of attending my cousin's wedding and reception, attending a Cleveland Indians game with Eric and Jill, and taking Eric and Jill out to dinner. Friday was uneventful. Karl got a haircut. We fought traffic to LAX. We actually were fed on our flight. We rented a car and drove to Eric and Jill's house, where we promptly crashed.

In the grand scheme of things, Saturday was also uneventful. Karl and I had breakfast with Eric and Jill on their back deck. I tried to get out of going to the wedding, but alas, Karl and I got ready and were out the door. Eric played the Michigan fight song for us not once, but twice, on our way out the door. Jill officiated a wedding later Saturday. Karl and I arrived early Sunday morning at Eric and Jill's and, yet again, promptly crashed.

Sunday was not normal. The agenda originally was to wake up late, go downtown, see a baseball game, go out for dinner, catch up on goings on, and go to bed. The agenda changed at 9AM. Jill woke us up and mentioned there was much adventure in the middle of the night--she had contractions all night and into the morning. She and Eric were off to the hospital. Karl and I sat around Eric and Jill's house in some sort of a daze. Contractions? That did not register in our fuzzy minds... Karl and I sat and waited. Eric called and said Jill was under observation, but still wanted to go to the Indians game. The doctor said that was out of the question. Karl and I didn't want to go to the Indians game without Eric and Jill, so we trekked over to my aunt and uncle's house on the other side of Cleveland. While eating leftover wedding cake and good Indian food, my cell rang. I thought it was Eric, but no, it was my brother, calling to tell me there was an earthquake in SoCal. My aunt was coming to yell at me for being on my cell, so I had to hang up quickly. Here is the conversation that transpired:

Zubin: "Hey, I just lived through an earthquake!"
(My aunt spotted me on the phone... now walking over to yell at me to get off)
Me: "Um. I need to know if you're okay. Don't think that I don't love you, but I have to hang up. Like now."
Zubin: "Yeah, I'm okay. What's going on?"
Me: "Auntie is headed over here and she's not looking happy..."
Zubin: "Whoa. Yeah, you need to go. Bye."

Zubin, understanding the dynamic of Indian families, hung up. I tossed the phone to Karl and gave my aunt my most innocent look.

After a nice ceremony welcoming my cousin and her husband back to her childhood home, my phone rang again. This time, Karl answered it since it was in his possession. He nodded his head a few times, hung up, and told me we had to leave, Eric and Jill became parents and we should give them their house key. We said our goodbyes, jumped in the car, and sped down the Ohio Turnpike. We stopped at a grocery store to stock Eric and Jill's fridge with ready-made food and to get a bouquet of flowers. We stopped at the house, unloaded the car, and then drove off to the hospital. But before leaving for the hospital, I had to alter a card attached to a present we got for Eric and Jill. The card originally read, "Jill, Eric, and Baby," and was changed to "Jill, Eric and Baby Abigail."

Karl and I arrived at the hospital. Abigail, Jill, and Eric were doing well. Abigail was fast asleep. Jill was pretty talkative, but she said it was probably the drugs. Jill theorized that being on her feet for an hour officiating at the wedding the previous day was probably not the best thing for her. Eric was pretty darned excited, even if Michigan lost to Appalachian State the previous day. We spent some time with them, held Abigail and told her funny stories, then headed off to find a hotel for the night.

And that was the trip to Cleveland.