2021 – What a Year!

At midnight tonight, we’ll start a brand new year – 2022. Some have compared a new year to a book. The book with 365 blank pages – one for each day – and said that the book is ours to write. There is truth to that.

As I looked back over my “book” entitled “2021,” I see that (despite the pandemic and all the crap that came with it) I really did have a good year. Bear with me, he’s the recap:

January

January started with some snow. It actually looks like we should be getting snow again this week. Ella absolutely loved being outside in the snow. It was fun to watch her try to figure out just what all the white stuff was. Today, when she sees it, she get’s excited and yells, “Snow! Snow!”

In mid-January, we scratched our heads and wondered just how Ella was 11 months old! I mean, it seemed like she was just born!

The pressure was on as we closed in on her first birthday. With Covid, we weren’t quite sure if we’d even be able to have a party for her.

February

As we got closer to Ella’s birthday, Sam was just not feeling right. 3 days before Ella’s birthday, we found out that baby #2 was on the way!

This took us both completely by surprise! There was great excitement all over again. The hardest part was keeping it a secret…

Ella’s first birthday was a fun and busy day. We ditched the pink blocks and marked the birthday with a HUGE number “1” balloon. This was followed by a trip to the Sea Life Aquarium, the Build a Bear place, and cake at Nana’s house.

We were glad to be able to get some professional “1st Birthday” pictures, too!

March

In March we got our first look at the baby we now know as Andrew/AJ and announced Ella’s promotion to big sister.

Ella also got her first haircut

March also consisted of many walks around the neighborhood and stops at the park.

April

Big brother, Dante’ turned 19 this month! Before that, Easter fell on my mom’s birthday. We got Ella all dressed up in her Easter dress, stopped at the cemetery to visit grandma on her birthday and then went to Nana’s for an Easter Egg hunt!

Ella is so very blessed to have wonderful people in her life. Aunt Margaret is one of them! (She will kill me for posting this picture, but I just love this!!) She and cousin Marissa came to visit and the highlight was watching them read books together.

We also found out the baby’s gender, but that wouldn’t be revealed until May.

May

Birthday’s have never really bothered me, mostly because I opt for the Jack Benny attitude and say that I am stuck at 39. However, in reality I turned 51. 30 was big. 40 was tough. 50 a bit hard to swallow. Over 50? Well…..I examine my own mortality every day.

The month started warm enough that Ella got to spend lots of time in her sandbox and pool.

We revealed that Ella was having a baby brother and got another look at him on an ultrasound.

Ella and I worked on a special project for Sam for Mother’s Day and we got to visit the Detroit Zoo.

May also brought Ella her first taste of corn on the cob!

June

My second oldest boy celebrated his 14th birthday in June. We got to spend Father’s Day together by visiting Crossroads Village. They had a Classic Car Show there and we walked the village and rode the train. It was such a great day with my kids!

It was SO hot that day!!! By the end of it all, Ella was physically exhausted. June was a hot month and we did get to get out and enjoy walks in the park and a day at the splash pad.

July

By July, Sam was 5 months pregnant and was so sick. The pregnancy was a rough one on her. The heat didn’t help things. Despite that, the middle of summer was packed full of amazing things and our family had loads of fun.

We celebrated America’s Birthday, Ella had her first visit to the public library and bowled for the first time, and we all visited the Saginaw Children’s Zoo.

August

As Summer drew to a close, we continued to squeeze as much into it as we could. I got to spend a perfect day doing a daddy daughter picnic, my name was finally on the board at the Corner Cone for a free ice cream, Ella spent lots of time drawing with crayons, and our stress levels were through the roof as we took Ella in for her ear tube surgery. We also got another peak at AJ and had a visit from my brother.

September

Fall! My favorite season of all. I was glad to be able to get together with Margaret, Walt and my buddy Chris at Margaret’s house. Since she’s already mad at the one picture I posted, I’ll just share the one she told me I could share. Hopefully, that makes things a little better….

We always love going to get pumpkins and decorating the front of the house for fall. Ella seemed to like it, too.

Ella and I also got to take one last trip to the Saginaw Zoo before it closed for the season. It was a great day for us, and Sam actually got to relax a bit.

October

We had been told more than once that there was a possibility that the baby would come before his due date. He held out almost until the date! Just two days before he was born, Ella and I got to go outside and enjoy the fall colors.

On October 11th, AJ entered the world. I watched in awe as my son was born and all the pride of being a daddy again filled my soul. We weren’t sure how Ella would handle it, but she welcomed him with open arms.

They still did not have a photographer at the hospital, so we went to JC Penney to have some newborn pictures taken. AJ looks spiffy in his outfit!

While this wasn’t Ella’s first Halloween, it was the first real Trick or Treating adventure for her. She was happy that big brother was there to walk with her. AJ was obviously way too young to attempt to go out this year.

November

Fall walks are among my favorites. I love looking at the colors. Ella and I took many fall walks and there were many instances where she’d just play in a pile of leaves! AJ kept us all busy and so it was just Ella and I making the trip to Bronner’s to get his ornament for the Christmas tree. We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving at home and got the house ready for Christmas.

December

The final month of the year brought many happy memories. Professional Christmas pictures, my annual reading of Dickens, AJ turned 2 months old, a visit from Papa and Grandma, Christmas Eve with my boys, Holiday lights at Crossroads, our first Christmas as a family of four, and the anticipation of a brand new year.

Blog highlights included my entries to the 2021 Song Draft, salutes to Soupy Sales, my grandpa, and Ernie Harwell, a guest blog from my pal Max, silly blogs about hats and Bernie Sanders’ mittens, fishing memories, my favorite Twilight Zone episodes, and a blog about an amazing cartoon Dog Dad.

There were many sad moments in 2021. I lost classmates and friends to cancer, heart disease, and of course, Covid. If the past two years have taught me anything, it is that life is precious and another day is not promised. You never know when it will be the “last picture,” the “last phone call,” or the “last visit.” It takes me make to that quote that my band director wrote on the grease board my senior year. I have quoted it many times. “Live every day as if it were your last. Someday, you’ll be right.”

Life is too short. Live. Laugh. Love.

As we welcome 2022, I pray that it is a good year for all of us. May we find it full of happiness and good health. May God bless you and yours in the upcoming year.

Get ready. The Book of 2022 awaits. Grab your pen and turn to page (January) 1.

Sooner Than Later?

To quote the Beatles song, “It Won’t Be Long!” It’s been some time since I’ve given an update on our baby boy, and after today’s OB appointment, now is a good time to do so.

Sam has really had a rough time the last few weeks, and as we enter the final month her discomfort grows daily. She’s been having Braxton Hicks contractions for quite some time now. There are nights that I will roll over in bed and can tell that she is having them. Of course, (because I’m a dumb guy) I always ask, “Is it time? Do we need to go to the hospital?”

She had a visit to the OB today and it looks like he may decide to make an appearance sooner than later. The due date is October 13 (or 14, depending on who you ask), and the doc had already said that he would probably induce a week early to avoid either one of us being at work when Sam goes into labor. Today’s visit really made us realize just how NOT ready we are.

The doc said that baby seems to have turned and is getting into position for delivery. He is “sunny side up” or posterior. This is basically what happened with Ella. Being in that position leads to extremely painful back labor.

When the baby is in the posterior position, the baby’s head pushes against the mother’s back, which causes the pain. I remember how excruciating the pain was for Sam when Ella was in that position. We can hope and pray that he turns over before she goes into labor.

At her last OB appointment, the doc told Sam that the baby would probably be a little early. At today’s appointment, he said that the baby could be here as early as next week! This was quite eye opening for Sam and I, as we don’t even have a bag packed! Now that I think about it, we don’t even have a BAG! I think we loaned it to someone!!

Needless to say, I need to sit down and start looking at the “baby bag checklist” and get that bag packed! We also have to get a bag packed for Ella. She obviously can’t go to the hospital with us, so we’ll have a “sleep over bag” ready for her, too.

There were a few other things that we sat down and realized that we still needed to pick up to be ready for baby. We still have some bins in the basement with newborn stuff in them that I will need to go through ASAP to be sure that everything is upstairs and available.

I actually chuckled on my way in to work tonight because I remember how our living room was all about Ella when she was a baby. We had bouncy seats, floor time mats, stacks of burp cloths, the pack and play, and just about every other item in there. Today that room is literally Ella’s play room! There are toys all over the place! I laughed because I wondered just where in the world we are going to put all that other stuff!!

So the countdown is on … we are excited and anxious to meet the newest member of our family. Rest assured that you’ll be able to read all about it here – sooner than later!

The Countdown Has Begun

Technically we are about 8 weeks away from the arrival of our baby boy. He is due on October 13th. I have a feeling, though, that he will be arriving earlier than expected.

I have to give major kudos to my wife. Sam has had a very difficult time with this pregnancy, I won’t go into all the details, but we had a few scary moments along the way. She is in much more pain this time around. She hasn’t really been sleeping well. It is much more difficult for her to do some of the things she was able to do when she was pregnant with Ella. It’s been very hard for me to watch some days. I help when I can, but sometimes, there is nothing I can do to help her.

Because of Covid protocols, I haven’t been able to go to any of the OB appointments with her. This in itself drives me crazy. I feel “disconnected” this time around. One of the highlights of the OB appointments was getting to hear the heartbeat of the baby. We have a doppler thingy at home that we can use, but because of the position of the placenta, it is hard to find it.

They literally just lifted those Covid protocols at the OB and on Monday, I will be able to go and see the Ultrasound with her. I am beyond excited. There is something special about seeing our baby on the monitor together. As silly as it sounds, I love being able to be there and watch my wife smile at the baby. It is one of those “moments.” I hope that they will print off some pictures for us to add to his baby book.

The old wives tale is that baby boys tend to be low in the belly during pregnancy. That would certainly be the case with our baby. The doc even said that the baby is much lower than he expected. Now, whether he meant that he is dropping and getting ready to come early, he didn’t say. However, he does seem to want to deliver a week or so early.

In the meantime, we are well aware that the baby will come when he decides to come. So this week, we had the conversation about making a checklist. Not only do we NOT have a bag packed for the hospital yet, this time around, we also have to have a bag ready for Ella. She’ll be staying with Nana a couple days while baby brother is in the hospital. I actually found the “Birth” book they gave us when we did birthing classes before Ella was born. I plan on going through it and making sure I have all the stuff on the check lists!

My wife has been such a trooper through this pregnancy. I can tell she is ready for the baby to arrive. She’s kind of over the pain, the fatigue, and all that has come with this pregnancy. Through it all, she remains beautiful and radiant. She is such a wonderful mommy and amazing wife.

Ella is excited to be a big sister. Mommy is excited to hold her first son. Daddy couldn’t be more excited to have the chance to be a dad again. Thank you, God, for all you have blessed me with!

33 Days – ish

The Countdown Continues ….

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As of today, we are 33 days away from the baby’s due date. Sam is 35 weeks (and three days) along. It’s hard to believe that we are that close! At our OB/GYN appointment on Friday, he grabbed the ultrasound wand and said he wanted to see if she was “getting into position.” He placed it on Sam’s belly and basically said, “Where is she?” We watched the screen, wondering ourselves. He found her, low and in position. He told us that she had dropped and was pretty much ready to come whenever she felt like it!

I’ve been spending some time in the book that they gave us in our childbirth classes.

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In flipping through the pages, there are a lot of things to remember, that I will probably forget! Remember, I’ve never had to go through the “natural” thing before, because both of my sons were born via C-section. Water breaking, counting contractions, and so many other things are all new to me. Even the teacher of the class said “This class is pretty much for the birthing coaches!” I’ve coached T-ball before, but I am sure this is fairly different, except for that both need a catchers mitt…I think.

We have some things in our hospital bag, so I guess that’s a good thing! There is a checklist and as I went through it with Sam, there was a lot of “we’re going to get that this weekend” and “we should get that in order”. I still need to download a “Contraction Counting” App on my phone. It is an app that when a contraction starts, you hit “start” and when it ends, you hit “stop”. It calculates how far apart they are and basically tells you “Get to the hospital, dummy!”

Contractions-counter

Baby Bets

Sam told me that even though the baby is due on February 16 (my grandpa’s birthday), she would love for her to be born on the 20th. 2-20-2020. Cool? Sure it is! I, however, think she will be here earlier than that. Sam asked for a date. I really didn’t have one, so I opted for 2-2-2020. Still the same number of 2’s in there. We then went to Facebook. I basically asked for folks to tell us when THEY thought she might arrive (and for duplicate dates – we asked for a weight to break any tie).

The response was overwhelming. Many friends offered their picks for Ella’s birthday. Basically, I found that:

More people picked Sam’s choice than mine.
The earliest guess – is TODAY (1/14)!
The latest guess is February 27.
The most chosen day is Valentine’s Day (I hope it isn’t. I kinda want her to have her own day)
Only two people picked her actual due date as being her arrival day.

It’s been fun to see how our friends are excited for this. A few of them actually wrote back and changed dates or weights citing reasons for the changes. It’s like betting in Vegas!!

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What does the correct winner receive? A Facebook and blog mention and “something cheap from me. Like a cup of coffee.” HA!

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Keg, Cards, and Diapers

So, I guess this is a thing – diaper parties. A week from Saturday (I still have to send out Facebook invites), my brother in law and sister in law are letting a bunch of my friends come over to their house to drink beer, eat, play cards, watch sports, play video games, and basically “be guys”. The only thing the guys have to bring is a bag/box of diapers for the baby.

I am always looking for an excuse to hang out with my friends, so I am hoping that many can make it. Many of my friends live out of town, and some are a bit closer (about an hour away). It’s been quite a while since the gang has got together, so I am looking forward to the possibility of them all coming and hanging out.

A quick look online and there are some funny names for it on diaper party invites:

Huggies for Chuggies
Pints, Pizza, and Pampers
Pampers and Poker
Please bring diapers. They are the Poo-fect gift!
Diapers for dad
Cover my baby’s rear and enjoy some FREE beer!

The beer will be free. Maybe that’s all I need to get them to show up?

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One guy posted his haul from his diaper party in the picture above. I guess his friends feel he’ll need the booze to cope! LOL