Early Arrival

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 -- Vancouver, WA

The little guy just couldn't wait. According to his Mom, he's been kicking and impatiently rolling around in his frustratingly dark but warm space for some time... a space that was all he ever knew but must soon leave. Where was he going? What was this new world he must go to?.. this world he could hear but not see, this world he could sometimes feel, this world that was so close but with no obvious way to get there. He already felt he belonged but he wasn't really sure exactly what he was getting into. All that drive to arrive finally came to fruition on Monday, the 24th, when Evan Andrew decided he'd exercise his power over the professional medical establishment and dictate the terms and timing of his arrival in that new world. He was ready and made his entrance two days prior to the carefully planned C-section, blowing everyone's schedules apart at the same time. How cool is that?

That's right, our second grandson arrived in our world last night about 8:30pm PDT. We finally met him, face to wrinkled face (mine is the wrinkled one), about an hour and a half later. Being a C-section baby, he has a regular nose and face... not the smashed flat visage that results from normal childbirth and is so common in the nursery. A vote was taken and it's official -- he's the best looker on the fourth floor. He's strong too, having beat and kicked Andrea for the past couple months, he's already holding his head up for short periods of time. He's a keeper for sure.

But as wonderful as Evan is, his big-brother Ryan really shined last night. He stayed up long past his normal bedtime in order to entertain the growing crowd of adults in the family waiting room. He took us on elevator and escalator rides, sang songs, told jokes and stories... keeping his own worried thoughts to himself while selflessly keeping our spirits up and our eyes off the clock. He insisted on staying up for as long as it took to see his new little brother. When Ryan finally nodded off to sleep about 12:30am there was no doubt that this was a truly special day.

T