As a regular member of this forum, I count many of the folks around here as good friends, so it seems fitting to take a moment this evening to post a bit of thoroughly "off topic" good news.

The gonk household grew from two to three yesterday with the arrival of "gonk v2.0" (also known as Kate) shortly before noon Friday. Kate weighs 8lb 14oz and is 21" long. She and her mom are both healthy and happy.

CONGRATULATIONS to someone who ALWAYS takes time out to help his fellow hobbiest!
Thanks gonk! Excellent news and thanks for sharing.
Bill

FANTASTIC !!! My first was also a girl, that was 11 years ago and it remains one of the best days of my life. Yesterday will be one of your best also. Heres to a happy and healthy new family. Congrats and enjoy.

Great news!! Congrats to you both!!!

Congratulations!!!

Isn't this an add-on package vs a version upgrade? :p j/k

Congratulations gonk.

Congrats!

Congratulations Gonk and Gonkette (err Mrs. Gonk)!

Gonk,

Congratulations on the new addition...

I myself had a little one back on 11/22...

Wish you and your family the best...

lmHT

congrats gonk & mrs. gonk

CONGRATULATIONS, GONK!

Now the ride begins! If V2.0 ever gets outdated, you can always upgrade to V3.0.....it just takes 9 months to install and launch!

... as a father of two boys it can be great, but an exhasting and time consuming adventure. I wish all the Gonks good fortune, and hope you find some time to check in to the Saloon once in a while.

Today is a school holiday, and I am working as I am dealing with my children, and finding a moment to send you thanks for all your contributions. I hope your daddy time is as valuable as you have been to so many here. Cheers.

Allan

Congratulations !! Best wishes for all !

Congratulations! That's great news.

With our first, also a girl, due in 5 weeks, I now know where to go for advice!

Well gonk, your next upgrade will have to wait just a little more, but congrats!!!!!!

Congratulations!!! Thanks for sharing.

later,
simp

Congrats are most definitely in order! Best wishes to you and your family, gonk!

Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Gonk!

Congratulations, man! Oh well, several years of keeping the volume down so as not to wake the baby. There's always headphones, anyway! Play good music for your new daughter and it'll get into her even now.

Jay

Gongratulation gonk, glad the new baby and mom are both fine.
Dab

Congratulations, Gonk. Good luck with the fourth trimester. There's no greater miracle in the world.

ARF ARF ARF!

(That's Congratulations in Dog Talk)

Jim,

You already know what I have to say to you, Becca and Kate ... but what the heck, I'll repeat it here for public consumption ... Congratulations to the whole family and may this be the best product testing you've ever done!

Congratulations! My own long absence has been for the same reason! Two of them, actually. That and moving. But that's a topic for another place. Here I just want to wish you all the best.

Also, just let me tell you that a big thing you can do to help yourselves out is do NOT alter the normal noise levels in your home. Babies will sleep with whatever ambient noise they are accustomed to hearing. She's been hearing your normal sounds for months now and if you let her learn to sleep in quiet, you'll forever be shushing people and keeping your volume turned way down. People are always amazed that our 11 month old sleeps with a lot of noise going on around her. Trust me, it makes your life a lot easier!

Congrats again, and I'm sure everyone will cut you some slack if you take a bit longer to post!

WOW!

Gonk has brought back the Owl!!

Thanks for all the kind words, everybody. The family has been home since Monday and everybody is doing well.

Congratulations to the Gonks! As a father of two beautiful girls myself I can fully appreciate the joy you must be feeling now. It seems like yesterday we were bringing home our first and now we are planning for college in the Fall. Savor every moment with your little princess for time surely does fly by. Your life, and your perspectives and philosophies will be changed forever - and all for the better.

In little Kate's honor, I'm making a note to be sure to unfurl a fine Cuban cigar on an upcoming Caribbean cruise we are planning.

As an aside, I must concur with Owl's Warder about not altering your lifestyle with regards to noise levels. Some friends of our's had a child before we did and they would tip-toe around the house when the baby was napping and any visitors were requested to whisper. Needless to say, any sound at all would wake up the child - it was just too quiet in the home. My wife and I would just roll our eyes and shake our heads, and then vowed we would never do that with our children. Well this couple was just flabbergasted when they witnessed my wife vacuuming the carpet under the crib while the baby slept! She never stirred, then or whenever there were "normal" sounds in the house.

Best Wishes!

Many congratulation to you, Gonk. Although it was more than twenty years ago that I had my first child (a girl!), I still can feel the joy that I experienced looking at my daughter for the first time. Again, best wishes for your family.

For those of you who've not visited Gonk's home page (click on the little house type icon at the top of one of his postings), there's a verry cute picture of "Gonk v2.0" on his front page.

And a superb Cohiba it was! Congratulations again Gonk and thanks for sharing that beautiful picture on your homepage.

Hey Gonk,
I've been gone for a while so, Congrats!!!

Stott

Yeah, I missed this the first time around. Congratulations Gonk and Mrs. Gonk! My sister had her first child (daughter) last March. I am in KC visiting her as we speak (type).

Old thread, but it has been bumped...and I had a baby 6 weeks ago, same wieght and height and she was a girl, congrats!

And congrats to you!