Back on Track

Okay, we know, we have not used our blog in MONTHS! And so much has happened in this time. So much that we want to record, want to remember, want to share. All I can say is I am sorry, and I will work to do a better job keeping a chronicle of our family life if not for right now, for the future so we can look back and smile at all that is good in our lives.

And life IS good. December 1st 2010 was the birth of our second son, Grant Robert Brown. His original due date was December 3rd. But because of my “advancing maternal age” the doctors suggested that we have this baby as close to our due date as possible. Since they do not perform any inductions on Friday (December 3rd) and Thursday’s calendar was already full, we opted for Wednesday, December 1st. How is that for the process by which Grant’s birthday was selected?

All things considered, labor went well. . . short and much easier than what I remember with T.J. I remember being able to “enjoy” the very first moments of Grant coming into this world—something that did not happen with T.J. because he was a week late and needed doctor attention and because I was living in a state of pain inside my head. Of course the story that Rich will always share of that day is how I tried to time my pushes so that Grant could be born at 1:21 pm on 12/1. What can I say. I like repeating numbers, and it gave me something to focus on during the last 40 minutes of delivery. I needed a goal, something to shoot for. And although the birth certificate says Grant was born at 1:22 pm. Rich and I know full well that his head was completely out by 1:21. My work was over.

Grant is now three months old and doing well. He is a chunky baby (much bigger than what his brother was at three months), prone to spit up, and already smiling and flirting with everyone he encounters. Bottom line: HE IS A JOY. I am amazed with how easy going he is. When he wants to sleep, he sleeps. When he wants to eat, he eats. And when he wants to poop. . . well, let’s just say he likes to save it all up for a real big mess when he is ready (sometimes waiting for up to 7 days).

T.J. is a fantastic big brother. To date, there have been no negative words about his brother nor issues with adjusting to life with a baby in the house. I am impressed that T.J. has responded so well. He does a great job mimicking how Daddy and Mommy interact with Grant and, at the end of the day, will always ask how was Grant’s day. Samantha has also been a great big sister. During the Christmas holiday, she was so helpful as she held Grant often and sat with him during the times when he would just cry out that newborn cry.

So now it is March and I am back at work. While I am super excited to return to my position with Camp, I am also a little sad that Grant and I will be spending less time together. I loved our days when I was just the two of us getting to know each other. He followed such a predictable pattern of “eat, play, sleep” that it was easy to plan my day accordingly and really take advantage of the time I knew he wanted to play.

So life IS good and we have much for which to be thankful. And, with the right amount of discipline on my part we will have plenty more stories to blog about in the months to come.