Baxter, is that you?

The SUV that lives in my next-door neighbors' driveway has been absent for over 24 hours. Marley, Lola's barking buddy who lives there, is also absent. This is significant because Mike & Catherine's baby boy is due to make his entrance this week.

Back in November, when we were chatting with them as they cleaned up the extensive graveyard they'd built in their front yard for Halloween, they asked us what we thought of the name Baxter. I immediately thought of the beloved Baxter Black - Cowboy Poet and Retired Large Animal Veterinarian. Jeremiah and I both exclaimed "what a great name!" Evidently, though, their other friends and neighbors insisted it was a horrible name for a human and meant, primarily, for dogs. "Everyone else you know if wrong" Jeremiah and I agreed. We were pleased to hear one of their other choices was Miles - the name we'd selected if we'd had a boy.

To my delight, Mike later told Jeremiah they'd decided to name the lad John Baxter. "We'll call him Baxter" Mike said "and if he turns out to be too much of a weeny we'll revert to John." When Jeremiah reported this conversation to me I thought "These are people who definitely should be reproducing". We're excited to meet John Baxter. So yeah, I've been spying on the house a bit. More than just when I come and go...I keep peering over there from Kate & Sarah's windows, or even poking my head out the door. I'm hoping to see Mike wearily dragging ass into the house to collect something for Catherine. Or better, to see them coming home with a bouncing baby boy. I hope all went well with the delivery. Hurry home, Baxter!