Christmas 2014

“One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly."
~ Andy Rooney

It’s the most magical time of the year and this year was no different.  How can the season get any more magical with kids that are 5, 2 and 2 1/2 months?  I know in the future we will sit back and remember these years as great Christmas’s in our lives.

Our holiday season actually started the day before Thanksgiving as we made our now annual trek to the United Center for the circus.  This year Auntie Jea Jea and Hopey joined us for the circus. 

We pushed the height limit for Hopey to get in for free but Hope barely was short enough.  We arrived early to catch the pre show and as luck would have it we were one of the first down on the floor of the circus with front row to see the clown, elephants and the other performers.  The kids were only inches away from all the action and it was fun to try and look around to see their smiling faces.  Ticket prices for the circus are not that expensive and they have free parking but they get you on the overpriced light up toys that we bought for the kids, before we found our seats.  Jame got a light up sword and Hope got a unicorn purse.  The circus did not disappoint, it’s still a great show but not as good as watching their faces light up at different times.  Hope’s interest came and went during the show and Jame had his moments as well but at the end, he said his favorite was the motorcycles in the steel ball.

 

Just a small crowd for Thanksgiving this year so no record setting amount of turkey’s, only two this year.  We still baked a turkey and deep fried a turkey.  We filled the day with cooking, cleaning, and of course watching the parades.  Football Family and turkey filled out the rest of the day.  Grandma Rosie and Grandpa Jim came by early and helped, keeping the kids entertained and Rock happy and fed.  Uncle Brett or as Hopey now calls him UB stopped by and the kids love playing with him.  It was a simple small Thanksgiving but stuffed with a lot of love.

We wasted no time getting in the Christmas spirit the day after Thanksgiving Auntie Jea Jea, Jame, Hope Mommy and Daddy headed to Downers Grove where UB met us for the Downers Grove parade and tree lighting.  First it was off to the library for some fun and stories and then out onto the street for the parade.  As always Santa arrived to help light the Christmas tree.  Santa arrived this year on the back of an old 1947 fire truck.  Jame went up and talked to Santa but Hopey was not having it and held tight to UB.  After the parade and tree lighting we headed over for some pizza.  We were a bit worried about the cold evening air so we decided that Rock would not make the parade this year but we would bring all the kids back another day to meet Santa.

Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Rick made the as Jame would say the “REALLY LOOOONG DRIVE” from North Dakota to see their new Grandson Rock.  They were only able to stay for a short time but the kids enjoyed it, even Rock, who got used to being held.  Hopey had fun playing dolls with Grandpa Rick and Little Man loved having Grandma Ruth play with him.  The kids were not happy to see them go.

Grandma Vicki, Auntie Val, Auntie Jea Jea, Mommy, Daddy and all the kids were in Downers the next weekend to meet Santa Clause.  The kids love playing in the toy store next to Santa’s house and it’s also good to give us ideas on what the kids want for Christmas.  Santa made a quick visit with the kids inside the store and Hopey was not happy to see him at all but did manage to get out the word baby.  After playing with baby dolls and trains the kids made their way to see Santa in his house.  Once again Hope who talked nonstop about Ho HO began crying at the first sight of him.  Grandma Vicki, Auntie Val and Auntie Jea Jea did their best to help us get a good photo with Santa.  What we got in a strange way was even better.  To quote the Grinch we got a wonderful awful picture. 

Little Man was yawning, Hopey was crying, Rock was lying their oblivious, Dad had his eyes closed and Mom looked like she was smiling to avoid a nervous breakdown.  The photo was so bad it was actually well, GREAT!  Instantly we all started to laugh and friends told us how we should use it as our Christmas card and well who are we to disappoint.  With the pictures taken, Hopey still refused to talk to Santa, Rock just laid there like a slug and Little Man well he knew what to do asking for a Super Hero costume and a Fireman’s costume.  The costumes were a relief since he first wanted a dinosaur monster truck which may have proven tough to find for Santa. 

After the visit with Santa, we stopped at Ballydoyle, an Irish pub close to Santa’s house.  UB stopped by to join us.  We ordered and I noticed the table next to us was a band and it appeared they were talking about what they were going to play that night.  Looking at the stage and the large speakers I thought for sure we were going to have to hurry up and eat to get the kids out of there before the loud band started playing.  As we ate, I notice they pulled out a few instruments, a fiddle, an acoustic guitar and a percussionist with a hand drum and other fun items to play.  Before long they started playing at the table, they played Irish folk songs.  The kids were immediately drawn to the musicians and the musicians took them in and before long the kids were using the egg shakers and playing with the band.  Not only did we not have to rush out of there after dinner but we ordered dessert and enjoyed the music.  They played at the table next to ours and yet we could still talk but I just sat there enjoying every minute of it.

When Jame visited with Santa he gave him a special gift.  Bean was back from the North Pole.  We placed Bean out that night and opened the container Santa brought him in.  We had no idea the fun Bean would have.  The kids loved getting up in the morning looking for Bean especially Hopey, who to this day still asks about Bean.  The first morning started off with Bean driving one of Jame’s RC cars, then he started a band with Elvis’s and even hung up one of Jame’s stinky soccer socks by the stockings.  One of the kid’s favorites was that Bean cut out paper elf versions of them and was dancing with them on the cabinet.   Bean followed that by dressing up as a super hero; he then drew on the bananas to make them look like minions and then had a fight with the pirates in the house including Captain Hook, Jake, the Skipper and Gilligan.  He once again returned to the stockings and hung up Jame’s underwear but this time it cost him. 

Bean fell from the cabinet where the stockings were hung, Hopey was very distressed by this and Mom picked up Bean with a pair of tongs and placed him back on top of the cabinet.  The next day Bean was being helped by every doc we had in the house.  There was an ambulance by him; Doc McStuffins was helping along with Hermie the elf dentist and Doc from the movie Cars.  Bean was in good hands and was back up the next day to his old tricks; he was bathing in a bowl of candy and then had a party with a lot of his elf friends.  Cleaning up after a pooping reindeer turned out to be one of the funnier mornings for the kids and even funnier when they found out they were jelly beans that they could eat.  Spider Bean paid a visit next as he hung upside down from the ceiling with a spider man mask on.  Bean then got Rudolph noses and put them on our noses in a bunch of pictures hanging in the house.  He then must have tried to help feed Rock and found himself stuck inside a baby bottle.  We woke up and found him dressed in a styrofoam cup costume, looking like a snowman. 

He played with Lego’s, then one of the other favorites he sat on a glass reading a Jellybean book and a Hershey kiss was at the bottom of the glass like he had pooped, once again the next day Hopey took great joy in eating the poop while Jame was a bit grossed out by this act.  Bean once again hit the stockings by giving himself the biggest one, then he used Mom’s lipstick wrote on the mirror and colored the kid’s noses red.  He finished up by giving us googley eyes on our picture with Santa then he brought a couple of punch balloons and hung from the ceiling on one of them.  Christmas Eve came and Bean left a note and some presents for the kids.  Santa had granted them permission to give him a kiss goodbye.  On Christmas Eve Santa came and Bean went back to the North Pole with him.  We had fun Bean; see you next year.

Jame had his preschool pageant and this year he was one of the wise men.  Unfortunately I had to work and was unable to attend but Mommy, Hopey and Auntie Jea Jea went.  He did great and the place was packed this time, since his class is so large this year.  Mom stepped up and took pictures and videotaped the program so I could watch it later.  Little Man did a great job in the play and we love hearing him singing the songs from the pageant.  Two of the favorites are Chubby Little Snowman where a hungry bunny eats his nose with a nibble, nibble, Crunch!  The next one he does sign language as he sings Yes Jesus Loves me.  Hopey has also taken to singing along but she invents some words and even combines songs together, she sings Yes Jesus loves me, Nibble, nibble, crunch.

Little Man’s preschool also went to a nursing home to sing for the residence there.  This time Mom who was with Mimi at the doctor’s office could not attend but Dad was able to make it.  I loaded up both Jame and Hope and headed out to the nursing home.  It was a lot of fun to see him with his classmates and Hope is always happy to be around other kids.  Little Man introduced his sister to his teachers and she was right at home in fact his teacher commented that she was ready for school.  Once again he did a great job singing and even afterwards the kids had made decorations for the residence and both Hopey and Little Man were very good at handing them out.  Little Man is very good with his little sister and with the elderly.

Christmas Eve we spent at home this year, we decided last year it was too hard heading to church and it was enough trying to get ready and enjoy the evening.  The kids were excited as we said goodbye to Elf Bean and they both gave him a kiss and told him to have a safe trip home.  Next it was time to put out the milk and cookies; Jame picked out three chocolate cookies and we made Santa some chocolate milk to go with them.  We put the cookies and milk close to the tree and it was off to bed to sleep, well just to lay down, Jame is not only a night owl but was also very excited for Christmas this year.

The next morning I awoke walked out to the front room and sure enough Santa had come.  Auntie Jea Jea, who had been up late feeding Rock, had It’s a Wonderful Life on and I sat down to watch, it seemed like a great way to start Christmas day.  I only watched for a few minutes when I heard a door open and feet run down the hallway.  Jame ran into the front room stopped looked around and his eyes opened wide as he exclaimed, “HE CAME!” He ran over to the presents all wrapped in red paper from Santa and started looking for the ones with is name on it.  I stopped him and told him that he needed to get Mommy and Hopey up before we opened Santa’s presents. 

As you can guess, it wasn’t long before Mommy and Hopey were up.  Hopey took a bit to wake up but she woke up quickly once she noticed all the candy in her Christmas stocking.  The kids made quick work of their stockings and were ready for gifts. 

Santa must have gotten good reports from Bean since the kids got what they asked the big guy for Christmas.  Hopey got her baby doll and Jame got his Super Hero and Fireman costumes and Rock, well he got some diaper formula and an outfit.  Rock is keeping it simple this year, all he wants are the basics.  It was a wonderful morning filled with the magic of Christmas and I thought about the Andy Rooney quote of not picking it up to quickly but guests were coming and more presents needed to be opened.  

Later that morning, Grandma Rosie and Grandpa Jim came by to watch the kids as we continued to get ready for Christmas dinner.  The kids had a great time playing with them and Grandma Rosie did a good job of keeping baby Rock happy.  That night U.B., Uncle Brett and Uncle Wally came over.  As usual we had way too much food and I once again needed my turkey and deep frying is so good and so fast.  The kids hardly wanted to eat they just wanted to get to opening up the gifts.  After they ate barely enough to make us happy we went at the gift opening again.  At times it seemed like they opened gift after gift after gift.  Once again the floor quickly filled with wrapping paper and Andy Rooney’s words ran through my head.  All that was left of Christmas was to sit back and enjoy the rest of the night as the kids played with all their new treasures.  It was truly a magical Christmas with the kids at this age.

In between the holidays was Christmas with Grandma Vicki and Grandpa Mike and that part of the family.  They had quite a crowd there and just before we arrived, Hopey fell asleep in her car seat.  I was expecting her to be shy and clingy when we arrived but much to our surprise it was Little Man who became shy and clingy and Hopey was walking around happy.  A strange turn in their personalities but Little Man soon overcame his shyness thanks to Auntie Suzy getting him something to draw with and both the kids really opened up when their dogs made an appearance.  The dogs walked in tails wagging and mouths licking and the kids quickly started giggling.  Rock was happy as well with an abundance of people willing to hold him.  Hopey got a hat that she loves now and always grabs when we go out.  Little Man had complimented Grandma Vicky on her necklace that had the kids’ names and birthstones.  He had told her how he wanted one with her and Grandpa Mike’s names on it.  He wears it constantly and even has told her how much he likes it because it reminds him of them. 

New Years Eve was our normal Screw Your Neighbor card playing night.  Pot stickers, guacamole, fried rice and lasagna were all on the menu.  I filled up balloons with small toys and candy minus the confetti this year and hung them up.  Occasionally we would let Little Man count down from ten and pop a balloon; he seemed to really enjoy it.  Hopey was on her own time and long before midnight she decided it was time for bed and off she went.  Jame had no problem making it to midnight and popped the remaining balloons.  We stopped our card game in time for midnight and played one more after and then retired our dimes until next New Years Eve.

Rock is doing great after his rough start in life; he is picking up his head and moving it around.  The doctors are very happy with his progress and they are referring to him as a miracle baby.  Hopey has now developed a deep love with Anna and Olaf so we are watching Frozen on a nightly basis.  She has begun going potty in the big potty and is constantly talking, we have to be careful what we say around her since she repeats almost everything.  I have worked with her so that I can ask her how old is Rock and she will say zero.  I then ask how old are you and she replies two sometime with two fingers sometimes with three.  “How old is Jame?” “FIVE” she will reply and then I ask how old is Mommy?  “OOOOLDT” she will reply.  Then when I ask her “How old is Daddy?” She replies “Young” Mom has worked hard to change this and sometimes she gets a devilish smile on her face and calls me “WAY OLDT!” 

Jame continues to do great in preschool in fact we are only worried that they may not be challenging him enough.  His soccer skills continue to improve and it seems like he can score when he puts his mind to it, sometimes just hanging out and wanting to make friends at soccer is more on his agenda.

We are now packing up Christmas for another year but it will be one to look back on fondly.  Our lives are showing no signs of slowing down, we do our best to slow down a bit and enjoy the ride.  Soccer and school have started back up after the holiday break.  We are making plans to take a few days in Wisconsin Dells at a water park and hope to enjoy and smell the roses or the chlorine.  These are the days we are going to look back at with a smile.

FALL 2014

As always fall is a busy time and just when I thought it couldn’t get any busier, we found a way.  We had our annual Fright Fest, a must in our fall schedule.  Then there was the end of the outdoor soccer season but not to worry, we then started indoor soccer.  Mom thought it would be a good time for reconstruction of the kid’s closet.  At the end of a busy day we attended the Fireman’s open house.  Our annual Halloween bonfire and trick or treating on Halloween were some of the highlights from this fall.  As if all of that was not enough our family grew by 2 small feet.

We made our annual trek out to Fright Fest.  This year Little Man was able to go on more roller coasters and Hopey was up and running around.  As much as Little Man loves roller coasters and rides, Hopey does not.  Hope loves being around the other kids and standing in line for the rides but when it comes to actually riding, she could do without.  Little Man rode the Whizzer and the Little Dipper but my favorite was riding in the front car of the Demon with him.  I remember in high school waiting two plus hours to get on the ride and now here we were jumping in the front car of a half empty ride.  He enjoyed his ride on the Demon but not near as much as I did.

 

We took some time and went on a haunted version of the tea cup ride which was all in the dark with flashing lights glowing pictures and loud music.  The first time we went on, Mom asked us to spin slowly but just as at Disney, that was quickly gone and we spun around faster and faster.  When the lights would flash, I could see the kids smiling faces, it brought me great joy to see them so happy. 

We rode the ride several more times before moving on to other rides.  Little Man not only rode the Demon but also the Whizzer but while Mom and I were riding X Flight, we heard Little Man’s favorite was the Little Dipper that he rode over and over and over again.  We had a great time at Fright Fest and the kids and adults were beyond tired when we left.

I have found one problem with Halloween and parenting, when to buy the costume?  Buy too early and they will change their minds on what they want to be, wait too long and the costume they want won’t be there anymore.  This year on a trip to Wal-Mart Little Man fell in love with a Transformers costume that was reversible; one side was yellow Bumble bee and the other side was red Stinger.  We made a phone call to Mom who said if he was happy to go ahead and buy the costume.  I warned him that this was it and there was no changing his mind, he agreed and Little Man’s costume was done.  The nice thing was we bought it early and he had a great time dressing up in it and a few nights asked if he could sleep in it. 

At the end of last year we bought Hopey a pumpkin witch costume that lights up on sale.  When we got out the Halloween stuff and found the costume, it was still too big for her.  We had avoided a tough costume choice with Little Man but now we had to find another costume for Hopey.  We took her to the Halloween store to pick one out but she was more interested in the possessed babies.  We debated over several costumes and as hard as we tried Hopey did not pick one, unlike last year where she was so excited to be a peanut.  We finally decided on an Olaf costume from Frozen and it looked like it would be warm enough for Halloween.  A Transformer and Olaf is what the kids where going to be for Halloween.

The soccer season was now in full motion.  Little Man was on the Green team and the kids decided they should be called the Green Ninja Turtles.  Little Man improved from the fall season and was scoring goals and getting into the game.  I still love coaching but each season presents different challenges as coach but it’s still a lot of fun working with the kids and watching them improve and work together as a team.  Little Man had a lot of fun with the other kids but told us he wanted his hair to look like Sean’s and Rex’s hair, so Mom started spiking up his hair with and it continues to this day.   I’m not one who is big on hair, so as you can imagine the hair spray job falls onto Mom.  As always it was sad to see the season end, but the kids played great and I will be back coaching in the spring. 

After one Saturday morning with soccer games we headed over to the other soccer park for some training from a professional coach.  Little Man had a good time and I liked the fact that even the professional coach had problems getting them all to pay attention.  After that work out we headed over to the fire house for their open house. 

Little Man was super excited to see all the fire trucks and fire men and Hopey was just happy to see him so happy.  They had games for the kids to play like hitting a target with the fire hose, it reminded me of the old days when fire fighters used to compete hitting a keg barrel on a cable to push it to the other side. 

They also had a house with pictures of fire that would pop up and the kids had to hit with a fire extinguisher. Little Man loved the games and Hopey was happy just to watch.  They also had a demonstration of putting out a fire in a stove and even a car fire.  That was exciting for Little Man.  Mom and Hope spent a lot of time waiting in line to take a ride in a fire truck.  Little Man sat in front; Mom, Hope and I sat in the back as we rode in the fire truck down the road and back.  I’m going to keep my eyes open for the open house next year since the kids loved it so much.

Mom, Mimi and Auntie Jea Jea had talked about opening up the kid’s closet and the dining room closet into one big closet.  Since we were faced with such a big decision on another child and we thought maybe it wasn’t the best year to have our Halloween Bonfire.  Mom cleaned out the closet and started taking the cedar planks down.  Little Man could hardly wait to help and since he was helping, Hopey wanted to do the same.  I’m still amazed at how well Little Man can handle a hammer at his age.  When I was his age, it would have been very dangerous to put a hammer in my hand.  The kids pitched right in and helped us get the closet done and before we got it done we had decided to have the Halloween Bonfire after all.

Before the bonfire we had to fit in one more tradition, our trip to the pumpkin patch.  Mom, Mimi and the kids had already gone once with Little Man’s preschool but I had to work and couldn’t attend.  We met Auntie Wendy and Bayle at the pumpkin patch.  The kids know now that the faster Dad gets his picture the faster they can get to playing and they were very good this year at posing.  We of course had to take the tractor out to the pumpkin patch and the kids love the trip out there. 

Once we got out there, I notice we were a bit later this year and there weren’t as many pumpkins but none the less the kids headed out and stated telling us what pumpkins they wanted.  I had my fun and the camera started clicking away.  The kids ran around the pumpkin patch and kept changing their minds on what pumpkin they wanted until we were ready to leave and they had to make their final decision. 

Next in the pumpkin patch was the petting zoo. 

We saw horses, goats, pigs, turkeys and little chicks.  The kids fed the goats, well Bayle and Little Man did, Hopey kind of dumped the food in front of them.  They also had a play area for the kids to play and a kids hay maze for them to run threw and burn a bunch of their energy.  The kids love the area and the hardest part is keeping track of them as they run around.  I think if we would let them, they would spend all the time in that area playing and feeding the animals.

On our first visit to the pumpkin patch Little Man and Bayle ran inside the pumpkin house, looked out the window and I snapped a picture.  Every year

since then we have taken a picture with the kids inside the window of the pumpkin house.  It’s a lot of fun looking at how they have grown from year to

year.  The kids have a lot of fun playing in the area and I think they are also having fun trying to pose in different ways for me.  We had a great time at

the pumpkin patch that day but as our life is these days we had to buy our pumpkins, apple cider and doughnuts and head home for soccer practice.  It’s kind of hard to miss practice when

you’re the coach.  We did find time to stop off with Auntie Wendy and Bayle for hot dogs before practice.  Hopey skipped the hot dog in exchange for a nap and who could blame her after running around the pumpkin patch all day.

We took time to carve the pumpkins.  Little Man did not like sticking his hand into the pumpkin and pulling out the guts.  Hopey on the other hand was more than willing to reach in and pull out the guts. 

We kept telling Little Man he had to do the dirty work if he wanted to carve but the look of disgust whenever he would put his hand into the pumpkin was too funny.  We started to carve the pumpkins but we were short a few tools when Little Man jumped up ran to a drawer and pulled out the tools.  How does he remember these things?  Little Man loved carving the pumpkins and Hopey loved cleaning the guts out; I guess they make a pretty good team.

Not only did we decide to go ahead with our Halloween Bonfire but also to once again adopt.  Mom, Auntie Jea Jea and Mimi did a lot of the work to get ready for the party as my work schedule filled up (as usual) before a big party.  The night of the party was a great night in fact the weather was almost to warm for a fire.  All the kids at the party had a great time and all night I could hear laughter coming out of the bounce house.  I also kept the tractor barrel train busy that night driving both kids and adults down the haunted trail.  I finally had to take a break so I could see a few guests and say good bye to some who were ready to leave.

The next day was when we had learned that Baby Rock had been born the morning of the party and the problem he had at birth.  http://rogtvblog.blogspot.com/2014/11/baby-rock.html

Monday after the party and news on Baby Rock we had the soccer team over for their end of season party as scheduled.  I like to pass out special awards to the kids; last time I did cartoon characters this time I thought I would do superheroes that turned out to be harder than I thought.  There are not too many female superheroes that the kids would know.  Little Man of course had to get the Superman award for being the man of steel.  The kids on the team get a big kick out of the awards and I think the parents do as well.  

The party for the Green Ninja Turtles was a success and Little Man has already started his indoor play.  He is doing very good at the indoor and in fact got three goals in one game the other night and yes that meant three toys from the dollar store. 

After all this in fall we came to O’ Hallows Eve.  This year was a bit different, we loaded up Hopey, Little Man and the costumes and headed out to the hospital first to visit Baby Rock.  The kids were still disappointed that they could not go upstairs to see their new baby brother.  We did our best to explain why but they still wanted to see him.  The nurses on the NICU had made a couple of foot prints of him.  They made three ghosts with his foot prints and a witch riding a broom. 

After our visit with Baby Rock we headed over to Auntie Wendy, Uncle Duane’s and Bayle’s house for Trick or Treating.

  They have the best neighborhood for Trick or Treating but this year was different, the weather was not nice, high winds and rain made it a very scary Halloween.  We did find a brief window to head out and the doors we knocked on were more than happy to hand over a lot of candy.  In the short time we were out the kids got a lot of candy filling up their pumpkins.

I had a great time much to Mom’s chagrin, teaching Little Man one of my favorite Trick or treating phrases, “Trick or Treat smell my feet give me something good to eat if you don’t I don’t care I’ll pull down your underwear!”  I laughed every time he said it and Mom just shook her head and that would make me laugh even more.  When we did go out trick or treating Little Man was in such a hurry to get a lot of candy he never did say it once which was probably a good thing.  

With their pumpkins filled we headed back to the house to warm up.  I tried to teach the kids about taxes with their candy but they were not having it, in fact you can forget the Boston Tea party, we now have the revolt of the Halloween candy.  The kids then had a great time taking turns answering the door to pass out candy unfortunately there were not a lot of Trick or Treaters out on such a bad night.  Dylan and I took turns using different pieces of the kid’s costumes to dress up run around the house and ring the door bell.  I’m not sure who had more fun us, the kids or the other adults watching it all.  Once again it was a great Halloween; we loaded up the kids and headed back up to the hospital one more time so Mom could check on Baby Rock before we headed home for a well deserved rest.

The day came when Rock was ready to come home perfectly healthy by the grace of God. Ironically, he came home on Jynx’s Mom’s Birthday which is November 5th and on day 11 of his life, which just happens to be Jynx’s Dad’s favorite number.  He completes our family and I am sure he will live up to his name sake.

I normally think our fall is pretty busy but now with the addition of Baby Rock it would easily be our busiest fall.  I don’t think that record will stand for long as just thinking about next fall and chasing the three of them around already has me tired but I do think we will enjoy every minute!!!  

       

Baby Rock

Our busy summer was slowly winding down.  We had a few more stops on our summer tour but everything was planned out and it was smooth sailing.  Our roller coaster life was going along when suddenly the roller coaster took a quick turn and our stomachs dropped and life we got some news that would change our lives forever.

Our trip to Ludington, MI ended with the news that Hope’s birth mom was pregnant again and we were asked if we would like to adopt a third child.  We were in late August and the baby was due either in September or October, we had a big decision in front of us.  I had always said that when you go from two to three kids you go from a man on man to a zone defense but as someone else said happy wife happy life.  We also were concerned about money and our age.  After a few weeks of going back and forth we decided to adopt.

We had also debated with everything else going on if we should have our annual Halloween bonfire or not and at first we thought it would be best not to have it this year but then changed our minds.  We raced around decorated as much as we could and had our bonfire.  The next day Mom received the phone call that at 2 A.M. a baby boy was born but, there was a problem.  The paramedics arrived at the house and rushed her to the hospital but the baby started to head out in the ambulance, the baby was breech folded and heading out butt first.  The paramedics were unsure how to get the baby out and thought he was tangled in the umbilical cord so they decided to cut the cord but, he still wouldn’t come out.

When they arrived at the hospital the doctors quickly turned the baby that was hung up on her pelvic bone and got him out.  The problem was the cord was wrapped around his neck three times.  They were unsure how long he was without oxygen it could have been anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 minute.  He was placed on a cooling blanket to prevent brain swelling.  Mommy and Auntie Jea Jea went the next morning to talk to the doctors.  The doctors thought everything was going to be okay but they could not promise anything and we still had to wait and see.

After being on the cooling for so long they began to slowly warm him up.

  He was on a special bed that slowly warmed him up.  As he warmed up things were looking better and better but they still wanted to do an MRI and an EEG.  When we first saw him he was attached to so many cables I could not even count them and his legs were spread out, they called it a frog position and said it was normal for breech babies and his legs with a little help would go back to normal.   He was on an IV that fed him sugar water and electrolytes, his veins eventually gave way as they often do with infants and finally had to put one in his head.  It was not easy seeing him that way.  Aunt Gigi, Grandma Vicki and Mommy made sure they spent a lot of time at the hospital with the little guy.  As the days went by he got better and better and more and more wires came off him.  Both the EEG and MRI came back normal.

Eventually they moved him from the special bed and more wires and the head IV disappeared.  The doctors informed us he was now just a normal baby and the only thing we were waiting on were his platelet levels to go up so he could be circumcised and the blood would clot.  Just as everything else the levels raised quickly and he was circumcised and he was heading home.

Baby Rock is now a part of our family.  Jame is doing great being a big brother again and very good at helping out with his new baby brother.  Hope who told us she did not want another sibling now can hardly contain herself around the baby and is very attentive to his needs and tries to help out every way she can.  Not only has our family grown but so has the love.