Running again

Saturday (April 17th) may well have been the perfect day for a run. Everything was great.

This past winter Laura and I bought an almost new double-jogger stroller which we have used for a few walks, and I have run with Maggie a few times. The cold weather which started out this month was gone. Our girls woke up happy and they let us get them ready. I needed to do my run for the day and Laura wanted to get out of the house too. Everything was ready for us to get out on the road. I pushed the stroller and we were on our way.

We ran one of my regular routes. It's a loop that goes down to center street from our house, over to Seven Peaks and on up around Kiwanis Park before cutting through campus to come back home. The whole route is just over 3.4 miles.

We got out of the house at 10:00am and the weather was great. The day wasn't too hot, there was enough sun and good fresh air. For a long stretch of the run we were looking at the high contrast of a snow covered Timpanogos against a deep blue as we ran along streets lined with blossoming trees. Being out with the whole family was great, but the surroundings really added to the day.

The route starts out with about a half-mile of flat, followed by nearly two miles of varying incline, before the final mile heading downhill towards home. Laur had to work for it, but she pushed herself and did really well. She's been exercising at home for the winter, but the cold weather and tending her girls has limited her options for cardio. I've been ready to get us all out there for a while. This was Laura's second run for the spring and she felt pretty good at the end of it. She was a little sore on Sunday, but we don't think that she pushed it too hard.

Best of all, it was fun to get out with the whole family. Chloe wasn't as happy as she could have been by the end, but Maggie is a nut for the stroller. She loved every minute of it. After a long winter of running alone, it was fun to have us all there.

Colbert Nation

With our last night in Canada Maggie had a rough time going to bed. It was after 10:30pm and Maggie was tired. Laur grabbed Maggie to take her to bed and I turned on the TV to see when The Daily Show or The Colbert Report would be on. The Colbert Report was just starting. Maggie flipped her lid. Bad timing on my part.

Laura lay down with Maggie and tried to get her to sleep. After at least 10 minutes of wrestling with Maggie and all of her cries for "Show!", Laur gave Maggie to me. She and Chloe were going to work on going to bed instead.

Maggie sat quietly tucked under my arm on the couch and I turned the TV back on to watch the last 5 minutes of Colbert and the first 15 of The Daily Show. I don't know why she likes those shows, but she does. I watch them online some evenings at home. Maggie apparently enjoys watching people sit behind desks and talk about the rather informative fake news.

The last I looked at my watch it was 11:22pm, and Maggie and I were laying down on the bed together. Both of us were out basically until 7:30am, and after a bottle Maggie stayed in bed until after 9:00am.

It's silly that 20 minutes of fake news was enough to calm her down for the night. At the commercial break I turned off the TV and all she said was "all done". She's a nut.

End of the Holidays

Well, we're coming to the end of a good extended holiday. We've been in Canada for over two weeks. This was only our second trip to Canada for 2009, so we were excited to get our girls up here to show off to the family. It's been a good time.

Chloe is still a mama's girl, but she has learned that she can be content in the arms of lots of other people besides mama's.

Chloe has also been quite curious. She has enjoyed watching her cousins and they have captured her attention for extended periods of time. Chloe has rewarded their attention with plenty of smiles.

Chloe has become much more vocal on this trip. Not a lot of jabbering, but she has found a strong volume for her shouting and hollering. Her noise-making doesn't seem to be directed at anyone, she just has to make a ruckus now and then.

I will feel sad for Maggie when we go home. She is going to lose a lot being back home. Maggie has had so many cousins to play with. She has been put on center stage so often here. Besides all of the regular play time with cousins closer to her age, Maggie has had plenty of time to show off all of her signs. There have been a few times where nearly everyone in the room, adult and child, have watched Maggie show off her knowledge. It is especially fun to have Maggie show off with the alphabet or her signs for feelings. "SCARED!" She is such a smarty-pants, and loves to interact, smile and laugh. She is has been so good to play and explore, even if some of that exploration has given Laura and I a lot to pick up after.

Besides exploring and having people to play with, Maggie may have other hardships when we get home. Maggie and I have been slumber party buddies for these past 16+ days. We've even laid down together for a couple of naps. She's a little rough at times. I've had both headbutts and kicks to the face, and she wiggles ALL OVER the mattress in the night. Even with all of her rolling around, it has been fun to peek over in the middle of the night and see Maggie's sleeping face. I don't know how she'll adjust to the the confines of her crib, not to mention having to fall asleep on her own at home. I hope that the familiarity of Maggie's crib and room will make up for not having me and her mom put her to bed in such a one-on-one manner.

This family time is so good for the girls and for us. I am sure that both our babies have learned a lot, and had experiences that will benefit their little souls. I will be sad to leave for all of us. Not only will we have to make up for whatever our girls will miss not being here, I am also going to have a wife to tend through her mourning. We're not sure when our next visit to Canada will be, and Laura is always sad to leave. We at least know that Grandma and Grandpa will be visiting soon.

Insects: It's whats for dinner

Dr. Riley Nelson, one of my academic advisers, hosted an informal potluck dinner for the the Entomology Class, the Entomology Club and assorted members of his lab. Attendees were invited to bring bug-themed foods. Most items were in the form of bugs: sandwiches pinned and labeled like bugs in a museum, foods decorated with legs, or even just labels on the food to remind you that some bugs have those shapes. Laura and I brought chips and salsa because... well... chips and salsa.

There was also one food item with plastic bugs embedded inside, but one brave girl actually fried some meal worms she'd bought at the pet store. Here in the States, mealworms are pet food. Elsewhere mealworms are sometimes people food. The little dish was passed around to everyone. With a little peer pressure more than half of the folks had a crisp treat. They tasted like a burnt chip.

After eating a couple myself, I had one more that I handed Maggie. She held it in her hand for a while. I saw her taste it a couple of times still holding it in her little fist, but by the time we got her out of the car at home she was finishing chewing up her little treat. That's when I let Laura know that Maggie was getting a little extra protein in her diet.

If you go here, you can see a few pictures and descriptions of bugs eaten around the world from Man Eating Bugs: the Art and Science of Eating Insects by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio, a good book. A google search for the book has many of the pages and photos online. (The photo for this post came from Menzel and D'Aluisio's book.)

Some are smart - others, silly

i was digging around on the internet looking for some alphabet flashcards for Maggie. Yes, Maggie is learning her letters. She has started to identify them off of labels, T-shirts, boxes, her blocks, etc. i was hoping to find a set of flash cards to use with Maggie so that we could have a little play time around letters - reward some of her curiosity with something easier to handle than shuffling through the letters on her blocks.

i found a few sets of flash cards with okay fonts, but i also found someone's not so bright idea: American Sign Language alphabet flash cards. These cards have the letter and the hand sign printed together. There is an important word in that last sentence.

If you know the ASL alphabet, there is this wonderful teaching tool generally located just past your wrist. If you want to teach your kids the ASL alphabet, learn the alphabet and then use your hands as the flash cards.

i know that the flash cards could be used to help an adult as a starter to learn the ASL alphabet, but they were in a section for kids. When i found the cards, they just seemed plain silly to me. Maggie would be served better by trying to read my finger-spelling than trying to interpret the drawings of hands on the cards.

Maggie's favorite letters so far: Z (a fun action letter), X ('x's are everywhere), R, P, Q and sometimes Y.

We'll never get their names right

The Baby = Maggie
Chloe = The Baby
Chloe = Maggie

We will never sleep

When you have a sixteen-month old and a two-week old, you should not still be losing sleep because of the sixteen-month old.

Sleepovers with Maggie

Maggie has had three nights with just me at home. we've done okay together. Maggie has been surprisingly good for me. she's been eating well when i feed her, sleeping a little longer than she was before laura's surgery, and only fussing a little for me as i try to take care of the night shift.

laura was worried to send maggie home with me. she doesn't trust me to play mom. all joking aside, i was worried about taking maggie home because i am a deep sleeper. our first night home, arriving after 3:00am, i was scared that i was going to have more problems than just waking up for maggie when she cries. i was sure that i was going to fall asleep in the middle of getting maggie ready for bed. during these three nights together i have drifted a couple of times while feeding her, but after a few tries at keeping the bottle in her mouth i usually wake up enough to finish the job.

Maggie starts out each night sleeping in her own space, but she ends up in my bed each night. she shares the bed well. i put her blankets over her, and then pull my sheet and blanket over top of that too. Maggie likes to keep arms out from under the blankets and free to wave around, so the extra covers on the rest of her are good to keep her warm.

Getting Better

yesterday was not laura's best. laura had a rough night as they tried to decrease her pain meds. with such a long incision, it was hard for her to breath deep enough and i don't think that she rested well all night. for most of the day yesterday laura felt nauseated, and achy. she said it was like she had a bad flu most of the day.

by lunch time they had approved laura to start eating more than juice and broth, but laura only had a little apple sauce and some jello. some of that apple sauce came back up.

laura did get out of bed three times yesterday and made at least one loop around the floor each time. in the late evening laura started to feel a lot better, even with the second review of apple sauce.

Maggie was on good behaviour by then too, so we got to stay until 12:30am, keeping laura company. at one point, all three of us had drifted off to sleep.

today appears to be a much different story. laura got up and did two loops on the floor, had her bandages changed (laura got to look at the her suture and the incision is LONG), and even sat in the chair for a while. laura ate some of her mostly liquid breakfast, she's not as achy, and she's started into her lunch for today. best of all laura was feeling well enough to hold maggie for a little while, once maggie and i came back to the hospital for the day.

One Long Day: back at the hospital

it's 3:25 AM and Maggie and i just got home from the hospital. this has been a very long day.

last night Maggie didn't let Laura get much sleep (only between 1:00 and 3:00am) and Laura was scheduled to be at the hospital by 5:30am.

once we checked in and were in the pre-op waiting room the nurse told Laura that she didn't know why the hospital didn't a call last night, because Laura's surgery had been bumped to the second time slot. Laura had been scheduled for the 7:30 surgery time, but now we had to wait for one surgery before us.

close to 8:45 (just past the three hour mark for us at the hospital) Laura was taken to the room where she'd get started with the anesthesiologist and i was sent down to the surgery waiting room where I'd have to guess on Laura's status for the next few hours.

i spent my time watching the hands move on the clock and waiting for the waiting-room nurse to give me updates on Laura's condition. this was interspersed with phone calls to Laura's parents and my mom. the first calls consisted of me telling them that Laura's surgery hadn't even started even though it was close to the time that we had expected that Laura would be out of her surgery.

i saw Laura's surgeon talking to the family of the previous operation just after 9:30am, but i was a little surprised when the nurse told me at close to 10:00am that Laura probably wouldn't begin until 10:20, because of the time it was taking to prep the OR.

two more hours of watching the clock hands and the nurse finally told me that Laura would be on her way out and going to the recovery room soon. now i was just waiting for the surgeon to come and talk to me to let me know how things went.

just after 12:15 i got to speak to Dr. Garry. Laura's surgery went well and they have no reason to suspect that the cyst was anything but benign. Dr. Garry ended up making a midline incision to open Laura up. the cyst was larger than a nalgene bottle and probably closer in size to a regular loaf of bread. the cyst wasn't really attached to anything, so they think that it had just formed as a bubble in the layers of membranes around the mesentaries. the top part of the cyst was close to Laura's pancreas so they had to be careful with that part of the excision, but they don't think that it was actually attached to the pancreas or anything else for that matter.

i was up in Laura's room before 1:00 and my mom and then Laura all arrived within the next half an hour. Maggie was good for me during the whole operation. being up all night may have been the reason she slept so much for me. Maggie was also very good for my mom. she fed well from her bottle and kept quiet or slept well in my mother's arms. my mom stayed until nearly 10:00pm, which gave me a little time to take care of Laura and i even went home for a nap of almost a two-hours.

this surgery is a lot harder on Laura than the c-section. not only did Laura have to go through her dreaded IV, but she's got the pressure cuffs on her legs again (to prevent blot clots, but unfortunately anchoring her to the bed and making her feel that much more helpless and claustrophobic.) the pain medication is taking more out of Laura, and the incision and surgery were much more invasive. Laura's even been hooked up to oxygen because of the way the pain medication makes her breathing so shallow. i don't know how long the incision is, but the dressing runs essentially the full length of Laura's abdomen, from sternum to waistline.

Laura has been tired, itchy and sore, and feels rather helpless when it comes to taking care of Maggie. after my mom left, Maggie was less pleasant. we walked the halls, and then walked the halls some more. Maggie wouldn't cry until we'd get back to the room. Maggie threw a couple of fits that were stressing us all out. i was tying to change diapers, take care of Laura a little and get Maggie to calm down and i wasn't doing well at any of them. Laura was completely spent. Maggie's crying and being tied down to the bed with a big sore spot where Maggie would usually lay is hard on Laura.

Maggie gave Laura a few moments to hold her, but finally i just had to pack Maggie up and take her home. mom and baby both needed some sleep and Laura wasn't going to get any with Maggie there.

One more time

Today we went to the hospital so they could take some blood and review Laura's medical history before her surgery. i got to tend Maggie while Laur was getting poked. The bottle finally came off of Maggie's face and i held her up on my knee to give her a little air. The nurse looked over and said, "Look at that! Just like Daddy."

i was surprised how quick the nurse said the same thing i've been hearing from family and friends. To me, she just looks like Maggie, but i guess i'm going to have to accept that she looks like me. i hope Maggie is okay with it. Poor kid.

Troubled child

Elementary school is a confusing place and an often terrible place to send children, and by terrible i mean something that instills terror. Kids at that age are burdened by the juxtaposition of the desire to reason things out for themselves and the lack of experience and judgement to not come to faulty conclusions. Then we put a bunch of them together all at once for eight hours, thank you very much.

From my own experience, i can remember walking up to a girl and basically saying, "you are chinese". She was probably of Asian decent, but she was quite adamant that she was in no way chinese. i was definitely confused. Why couldn't she tell that she was chinese? She looked just like "chinese". my friends had told me just what "chinese" looks like. For all i know, she could have been adopted, and as young as we were she probably had no idea about any other ancestry besides being from Utah.

The reason i've even been thinking about this is because of all the talk about my Maggie looking like me. i've heard it plenty of times already, and i hope that her looks won't be too heavy of a burden as she grows up. i look back at my pictures growing up and half the time i can only see my mouth weighed down by heavy cheeks and hanging open and my heavy eyelids giving me a perpetual drowsy look. i look like i've got downs syndrome. i'm telling you truth when i say that someone was serious when they told me that they wondered if i was a regular passenger on the short bus. (Then again, maybe that question was in their mind not based on my looks at all -- yeesh. It was my destiny to be an awkward child.)

Maggie does have some of her mother's traits. As i've said before, Maggie's dimpled chin comes from her mother. In addition to her chin it is obvious that Maggie's feet and her hands definitely belong to her mother. These exceptions are also a comfort because it's not just facial features that can supply a little childhood anxiety.

i remember being on the elementary school playground, sometime probably before third-grade, and having an older kid sitting in the swings give his assessment of who i was. i will admit that i could put on a pair of shorts and the bottom hem of those shorts seemed to easly reach down to eclipse the tops of my socks. i will also confess that i could put on grandpa's hat and the hat wouldn't fall down over my eyes, but i could not convice this kid on the swings that i was not lying when i said i was not a midget. Short little kid with a long body and a big head - to what other conclusion was that kid supposed to arrive?

good luck Maggie. i'm sorry.

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As long as were on the topic of poor logic, check out a couple of episodes of what might be my favorite radio program: This American Life.

Listen to the prologue (six minutes) on Kid Logic and the prologue and first Act (18 minutes) of A Little Bit of Knowledge. Each program is good as a whole, but not quite as light-hearted as the opening minutes.

Maggie is Home

Laura and little Maggie are doing well. Laura checked out of the hospital as early as she could and we were on our way home Friday afternoon.







here is a picture of Maggie sitting in her car seat wearing the outfit that Grandma Betts gave us for Maggie's trip home. Laura and i didn't realize how small Maggie is until we saw how oversize the newborn outfit is.





our first night with Maggie home went well. all three of us got some good, albeit interrupted, sleep. it's hard not to just let Maggie cuddle with you and fall asleep together.

Maggie's bilirubin levels were a little high when we left the hospital. today was a little cool outside, but the sun was out so we stripped Maggie down to her diaper and lay her in the sunlight on our bed. Maggie got a good hour of bright, warm sunlight shining on her little body.

we first put one of her socks over her face to shade her eyes, but in the end it seemed like her face was shaded enough to rest well in the sunlight.

watching her in the sun it was easy to see all of the little wispy hairs covering from her legs on up to where the wisps on her forehead fold into the hair on top of her head. the way she stretched and kicked in the sun was quite endearing.

look at the way she has spread those toes in the sun.

you can also see that Maggie was a breech baby with the way she holds her legs. she folds up into these little frog poses or this "little-Buddha" pose that we captured in the afternoon of her third day in the hospital.

Laura Stuttered

Once Maggie was born, i went with the nurse out of the Operating Room to get Maggie weighed, measured and cleaned up. Laur didn't come. I guess the doctors wanted to sew her up first.

Once Maggie was relatively clean and wrapped up, i got to take her back into the OR so Laura could see her. Laura's head and shoulders were secluded behind the make-shift wall of a big blue sheet for the whole birthing event. Maggie and Laura needed a chance to meet each other face-to-face.

i walk over to Laura holding Maggie in for her to see. Laura with her first look at Maggie says, "She looks like yo- Bum chin?!?"

Maggie's dimpled chin is hard to miss and i think it's the cutest. Laur was just a little suprised to see such a prominant version of that trait. i like the dimple because it's an easy way to know that Maggie's her mother's daughter.

Blood and Guts

it finally came down to the appointed hour. Laura of course didn’t sleep much more than a few 15 minute bursts during the night. she stayed up late and was up before 4:00am. i was rolling out of bed shortly after 4:30am. here is a picture of Laura on our way out the door to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.

our hospital check-in at 5:30am was quick and soon enough the nurse was taking Laura’s vitals and Laura was getting prepped for the birth. the wait wasn’t exactly short, but the hospital staff was busy enough that we didn’t have much time to get antsy. Laura said that 7:30am is the first hour that the hospital schedules an operating room, and Laura was rolling down the hallway shortly after 7:15am.

all of the doctors and nurses were ready to go. i was wearing my nice white paper suit, booties over my shoes, a super-sized elastic-bound cap that must have been made for someone with two heads, and a face mask. white must be the choice to indicate that i was the one useless person with no medical knowledge in the OR: don’t ask me for help.

i wasn’t sure how i’d be during Laura’s c-section. i don’t think i’m particularly squeamish, but i wasn’t sure if i could handle seeing that it was Laura who was getting cut open. i held her hand until the first incision started and then i moved to the foot of the table to watch the operation. i kept checking with myself to make sure i could get a head start back to the chair stationed at the head of the operating table before i passed out, but i watched right on up to Maggie’s complete exit.

the early cutting involved an electric scalpel that cauterized some of the veins on their way in. Laura only had an epidural so she was alert for the whole birth. i wondered if the smell of burning flesh bothered her at all, knowing that it was her that was burning.

there wasn’t much blood all the way down to the uterus. i couldn’t really distinguish much between the different layers they were cutting through until they got down to the uterus. the nurse standing next to me told me that it was the uterus, but it was easy to tell that there was a solid, rounded surface that had been uncovered.

most of the c-section was uneventful. i did wonder how much Laura could feel when each of the two doctors grabbed a corner of the incision with both hands and leaned back with their body weight. it turns out Laura had no idea what was going on. she didn’t even know when Dr. Savage had both hands with a straight-armed-press onto Laura’s stomach to help force Maggie’s head out in the end.

Laura really liked the anesthesiologist because he gave the play-by-play and kept Laura updated on each of the steps of the operation and Maggie’s progress out of the womb. Laura wasn’t completely secluded behind the blue curtain hung across her chest.

with the uterus laid bare, the real action started. once they cut into the uterus there was enough blood flowing that they finally had to use suction. THEN they broke Laura’s water. Laura gushed. with all of the recent ultrasounds, you could see plenty of space around Maggie. The doctors with the ultrasound were looking for that sign of sufficient amniotic fluid when they wanted to try and turn Maggie so she could be born naturally. there was plenty of amniotic fluid, the suction was working over time and Laura still spilt out onto the floor.

there was so much to see in the remainder of the c-section that it is hard to remember exactly how it all happened. Maggie’s right foot came out first, and all alone. Maggie’s skin was gray and messy with a hint of purple, but what can you expect for someone living in those conditions. her little leg didn’t seem substantial enough to hang on to. she seemed so soft and squishy. the doctors used her leg and hip to help maneuver her bum, and finally her other leg out into the air. this was followed by more tugging and pulling to get the torso and arms of this rubbery mass out of Laura. i could see all of our baby except for the head.

at this point the surgical doctor, Doctor Jones, said that the umbilical cord was around Maggie’s neck. i think that ever since Laura heard that my mom lost a baby to a tangle with the umbilical cord, Laura has been nervous that our baby would risk the same danger. i can’t really remember much, but i do know that i saw the umbilical cord pulled flat against Maggie’s tummy and tightly tucked into the womb. it was just a few quick steps and the cord was cut and i was exiting the OR with a nurse carrying Maggie in her arms. the ICU call button had been pressed on our way out and before Maggie was fully settled in to the bassinette an ICU doctor and nurse were standing on either side of our baby.

i was nervous for our baby, but added to that i was worried that Laura was freaking out back in the OR. fortunately Maggie started to cry as she was laid down and pink flowed quickly under her skin from her head and chest down to her feet. Laura’s other fear about the birth was that Maggie wouldn’t be breathing when she was born and that we wouldn’t hear her cry. Laura even had nightmares about this. Maggie was crying, but on the other side of the OR door, so i was sure that Laura was in a panic not hearing her baby announcing her self to the world.

i almost told one of the nurses to go back into the OR to tell Laura that Maggie was crying. Laura had been wondering if Maggie was okay because the OR was so quiet. Laura had no idea that we had left the room. the anesthesiologist told her to listen carefully and Laura tuned in to the faint sound of Maggie’s screams. i was enjoying the unobstructed performance at full volume.

Maggie’s birth was a little bit of a scare for a moment, but it was easy to tell that she was going to be alright. Doctor Savage said that with the umbilical cord the way it was, a natural birth would have been a disaster. Maggie knew what she was doing when she wouldn’t budge when they tried to turn her a week ago.

Thanks to Drs. Jones, Groesbeck (the anesthesiologist) and Savage (Laura and Maggie’s Family Doctor) and the nursing staff at UVRMC. To the right is a picture of Maggie with Dr. Savage after she cleared Laura and Maggie to check out of the hospital.

She's my girl

i sent out some pictures of our Maggie in the evening after she was born. for one of my friends, Maggie's picture apparently cleared up the question as to whether or not this new baby belonged to me. he's only joking when he makes those comments about the questionable paternity, and i know he jokes because he's not quite sure why Laura puts up with me.

Laura is sure that Maggie looks like me. other family members, even on Laura's side, have made similar comments here and there on the pictures i've posted. i'm not so sure if she looks like me. if she were similar to my baby pictures, i'd think she'd look a lot more Downs Syndrome-y.

i'm not sure who she looks like. she doesn't have attached earlobes like her mother, but she doesn't have four earlobes worth like me. it'll be a while before we find out if she's got more of my blue or her mother's hazel. her fingers and toes look like they'll be long and slender like her mother's. newborn baby-noses are almost all the same little button just above the mouth, but she's got a fair amount of lip which Laura claims to be from me.

probably the most salient characteristic Maggie has is her dimpled chin, which is a Tanner trait. Laura has a slight dimple in her chin, as does Laura's mother. Laura's Uncle Jim and her Aunt Linda have more promenant dimples than Laura or Grandma Phyllis.

as for how i feel about this baby, i think that she feels like my little girl. we've all been in the hospital for two days, so this separation from our home might not let the fact that our girl is ours settle all the way in. nevertheless, Laura is so happy to hold her and take care of her, and i can't help but cuddle this child again and again. i think we've got a fair understanding that she belongs to us.

In Mamma's Arms

Laura is very happy with her new baby (and i am too).­ Laura seems to be recovering quite well.­ some of the nurses seem impressed at how well Laura is doing.­ once she was unhooked from the IV and other junk, Laur was immediately out of bed on her own to stretch her legs and back.­

Laura's pain levels have been really low.­ she's only been uncomfortable a couple of times and she has been taking low doses of pain medication.

Maggie knows how to let EVERYONE know that she's not content, but it doesn't take long for her mom to calm her back down.­ it's fun to see Laura take care of our little girl.­

Maggie's first visitors

With no immediate family closer than an hour away, and all of Laura's family in Canada, any visitor on the first day is an exceptional event. Grandma Betts left her after-work meeting early to make sure that she got her time in with little Maggie. Grandma was happy to hold her newest grandchild.

This picture of Maggie and Grandma is important because it shows you how much hair Laura had when she was... oh, let's say FIVE. Maggie has most of her cousins beat on the Evanson side when it comes to the hair that they were born with, but on the Betts side she might be on the low side of average.

Grandpa Betts knew his duties as soon as he came into the hospital room. He greeted everyone quickly and then got right to taking pictures of Grandma and Maggie together, and a few of Maggie and her parents.

Grandpa did get his turn with Maggie, but gave Maggie up early so Grandma could have one more cuddle from Maggie before her grandparents left. (Grandpa knows his place.)

Maggie's first visit went well. We know she's got plenty of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins eager to meet her.

Happy Birthday Maggie!

Maggie Phyllis Betts
7 lbs 6 oz
19 in.
March 25, 2008; 8:00am
mom and baby appear to be doing just fine.

Maggie was born at 8:00am, via cesarean section. she wouldn't budge from her "heads-up" position even after an attempted turning the week before. she arrived one week early to the day. (i was hoping that she was going to be an April Fool's arrival, but i'm happy to have her here.)

i watched basically all of the delivery. laura had several ultrasounds over the last week and a half, so it was no suprise that all of Maggie's limbs were tucked up over her head. each one was a little struggle to pull out. she was out soon enough and crying well.

Happy Birthday Maggie!

just found out

this morning we found out that we've got a little girl on the way. laura's just short of the halfway mark on her pregnancy and the baby will probably be born at the end of the first week of april or into the second week.

the baby looks healthy and laura and i are excited for all that is to come. having the ultrasound done makes this whole baby thing a little more tangible, even more so than hearing the heart beat for the first time.

i'm sure laura will inform me tonight of the name she has picked out. i may wait a bit before i pass on that news.