So many babies on my blog!!  I’m not complaining :)  Who doesn’t love babies?!  A little background as to why there are so many cute, little faces appearing on my site…

I have a full-time job at an office (photography is a part-time thing for me), and there has been a baby boom in the halls.  I lost count, but there had to have at least been 25 babies born in the span of 1.5 years.  I’m not sure what happened.  I guess everyone was drinking the water (I stick to Gatorade).  I managed to become pretty good at guessing who was the next person to announce that they were expecting.  At one point, I picked three correct people in a row. I was on a roll and had to share it with someone.

  Here is where Brian, a co-worker of mine, comes in.

One day last year, I said to Brian, “Brian! How about them Eagles?!?! And guess what?! I can predict babies!”  Okay, so I’m not quoting myself exactly, but I wanted to somehow tell you that Brian is an Eagles fan (which will come in handy later), and also let you know that I have a baby-predicting gift.

Brian was fairly entertained.  Being as competitive as I am (wanna race?!), I mentioned to Brian that he and I should have a friendly bet.  I bet him that I could correctly pick the next person at the office to make “an announcement.”  He bet me that he could do the same.

“The Baby Bet” was born.  The prize was bragging rights and nothing more.

Here’s how it worked: I picked one name, and he also he picked one name.  If the name that he or I picked announced their “big news” next, then he or I would win, and then pick another name.  We had a good run.  He picked a few that were right.  I had a few correct as well.

One day, one of the people I selected announced some “big news.”  I won, and therefore it was time for me to pick a new person.

…I looked at Brian.

He was next.

I was betting on Brian.

Now, I completely understand that if Brian was competitive enough to take it that far, he could have easily prevented me from winning this round of the bet.  I was willing to take the risk, because I had a sense (a baby-predicting gift) that Brian was next.  I squinted my eyes, dramatically pointed to Brian and said, “You’re next.”

Many months later, Brian shows up at the door of my office. He pulls some sort of paper from his pocket.

“Guess what.”

He tosses the paper onto my desk.

“You won.“

I pick up the paper… and it’s ultrasound photos.

I was beyond thrilled, because I won the bet!!!!  Okay, okay. I’m kidding. I was thrilled because Brian and his wife, Emily, were going to have a baby!!  And we all know that Brian was the one who truly won this round… and he sure got more than bragging rights!

Now, allow me to introduce Halie…the little girl that won me the baby bet:

This smile is courtesy of one of Brian’s moving renditions of “Head, Shoulders, Knees, And Toes…Knees And Toes.”

Here’s where knowing Brian is an Eagles fan comes in.  Emily and I were dressing Halie up in some very, very girly outfits, so we incorporated some of Brian’s stuff to call it even :)