At Ten Months Old

You are now almost ten months old now and it’s amazing how quickly you are changing. You now have eight teeth, four on top and four on bottom, and are using them on just about everything you can get them on, including my fingers! You can pretty much stand for as long as you want to now. You have been pulling up and using the table and other things to walk around with now for a month or so. You have started taking a few steps without holding onto anything but I think your just not quite there yet. But I know it’s soon! Once you start walking it will be difficult keeping tabs on you for sure! I can already see your independent streak and of course your stubbornness too. I think you get that from me as well…sorry! You have also started to show an interest in getting in the middle of one of your brothers and mine wrestling matches and tickle fests! You climb right up on me and fall back so I catch you on my arm while I kiss and tickle your neck. I have never seen a child that smiles so much. I can say with no doubts that the highlight of my day is coming home and seeing you and your brother. The smile you give me as soon as you see me melts my hart and makes a bad day or a bad drive home fade to a quick and distant memory. You have started to babble a lot now; I have been doing my best to get you to say dada! You are getting close. Its so funny watching you babble, you seem to be getting so worked up sometimes. I swear it looks like your telling me off a few of those times! I hope that’s not a sign of things to come! You’re eating stage one food now two or three times a day and seem to want as much as we give you. As soon as this last batch of stage one food is gone we are moving you to stage two and we can now give you little munchies type things as well. I look forward to the days we can all four sit at the table and eat out nightly dinner together and talk about our days and just grow closer through conversations. I look forward to making you breakfast, your brother and I already spend that time together and we both can’t wait for you to join us. Mommy doesn’t eat breakfast so she will have to just drink her coffee with us!

Love you!
Daddy

My version of the blessed Day!

The day you were born started out like any other day but it quickly changed into the frenzy of your mothers and my life! It was a nice warm July morning, sunny and just the type of day you would hope for when coming into the world. We new time was getting close, your due date was still a week or so away but we just knew it was close. I was in bed asleep just about ready to get up for the day when your mother woke me by saying thinks she just had a contraction. I promptly told her go back to sleep it’s too early and I’m sure its just false labor pains. She said she didn’t think so. I obliged her by getting up and getting into the shower. By time I got out she had another one and said they were really strong. Still not convinced I asked her if she wanted to call the doctor. We did and by time she called us back she had a couple more and they were getting really pretty close. While on the phone with the doctor she started another one and the doctor said just go ahead and come on in. Of course we both assumed it was still false labor. Well maybe I did, not so much your mom! I made the call to your grandmother who was on standby to come sit with your brother while we went to the hospital. By time she got there your mother was for sure in full blown labor! We jumped into the car and started for the hospital. Now this part is a little of a blur to me, but your mother accounts of the drive have me speeding like crazy, not too much of stretch, but she said I was passing school busses and cars on a two lane road. I don’t recall any of that but I do remember panicking that she was going to have you right there in the car. All I can remember is thinking I will never get all the mess off of the leather seats!

We did make it in time to the hospital. We went right into a pre-labor room and were looked at by a nurse. You see by now your mother was having pains like every two or three minutes and the pain was really bad. She was screaming at the nurse to call Dr. Box and get her there now and the nurse did a test on her and said she was having you right then! It appeared your mothers water did break and she was in full blown labor and it was progressing very quickly! Once Dr. Box arrived she assed the situation and got us into a labor room pretty quickly. It was very rushed but it did seem organized. I’m sure it was not the first time this has happened.

Once we got in the room your mother was really worried that she waited to long to get her epidural. But they thought she could get it in. The doctor for that came in and prepped your mother and started to get the epidural in but was having trouble getting it the right location. You see while having the labor pains was doubling your mother over and that would not allow the needle to go in all the way. It took 3 nurses and I to hold her in the right spot to get it in, but once in it started to work pretty quickly. I thought cool, a lot less pain for her now. It was not a long wait after that to start the delivery. We got the room set up and the doctor was there and started the procedure. It was only a few hard pushes when your head came out and with one last big push the rest of you came out and the doctor cleaned out your nose and mouth and I got to cut the cord for you just as I did your brother. I was right there when you took your first breath!

You were the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen.

Over the next few days we had several family members come by to see you and their first comments were how much you looked like me! I will just say I’m sorry for that now!

I love you very much,
Daddy