There She(He) Blows!

Timmy is a week old today!

It is so awesome to watch him as he changes and grows up, true a week doesn't seem like much, but I notice things. He is getting better control of his neck muscles, a little bit at a time. He seems to know what he wants his hands to do, but they don't always listen. Oh, and he stares at you when you talk to him, it's almost like he is listening and comprehending everything you say. He might just be doing that, I'll test him in six yeas to see if he can retain the story I shared with him.

Like from his first post-hospital checkup...

It's a simple checkup that is used to see how the baby is doing after a few days outside of the hospital, Timmy was four days old and this was the day when his billirubin(sic) would peak and his weight would bottom out. They also check the vitals, including height, head size, pulse, temperature, etc.

To check a newborns temperature, there is one universal location to have it checked. Most people squirm when they think about it, in fact I just did an involuntary shiver thinking about myself. Anyway, Timmy was squirming and fussing around a bit, because a) he's in a strange place, b) he's on an uncomfortable table, and c) he's naked.

Doctor offices aren't always the warmest places.

Well, the time comes for Timmy to get his temperature, and the nurse lubes up and inserts the thermometer. Timmy gets quiet, and has a calm and almost serene look on his face, which quickly changed to concentration, and Jenni joked that he was gonna "poop the thermometer out."

He did.

It was one of the funniest moments I have experienced in a while. I mean here is this newborn boy, clearly not enjoying what is being done to him, solving his problem the only way he knows how.

My son is a genius!!

To make matters even more clear of his dislike of the nurse and/or Doctor's office, he waits for the perfect moment to display more displeasure. We have the table all cleaned up and are finishing up when "there she blows!" (okay technically it should be he) Timmy decided to baptize the office with his urine.

AWESOME!

Good flow too.

He's Here!

This post will be a slight disappointment to some of you.

Others will say, wow, he's tired.

Still others will say -

we don't care how tired you are bub, you owe us an update, and maybe even a picture, or

two.

Yes, I am tired. I am als

o very happy and proud. Of my beautiful wife Jenni, and my gorgeous new son, Timothy.

That would be Timothy Alexander Miller, the one

born today at 2:37PM, weighing in at eight pounds,

eight ounces and measuring in

at twenty and one half inches in length.

I have so much to say, and so much to show you all,

but I also don't want to do his arrival a disservice, because that just wouldn't be right. I will tell you that he is healthy, and

Jenni is doing great, and I just lost my train of thought. This is why this post will disappoint

some. I better just get to some pictures. What do you think?

Here they are, a small

percentage of those pictures taken this afternoon. More to

come, along with a great delivery story, later. So, with

that being said...

Before,

After!

Holy Blogger takeover!! I have no control and can't figure out what is happening - I be tired, remember. So if this post looks odd, well, it is. More later, once I figure out what is going on.

Happy Birthday USA!!

Awoken at 6:00.

Asleep at 6:01.

Awake at 7:30.

Very apologetic.

Hospital 10:30.

Home 1:30.

Party 3:00.

Home 9:45.

Still NO Baby!

Getting A-Mused!

I have this vision of one of those big poster board, or better yet, poster-sized paper flip charts, on an easel with a whole bunch of characters; names, ages, hair color, etc. all circled with little squiggly lines going to and fro. I have had this dream/vision for the past couple of days/nights.

I know what this means.

It means that my "story mind" has something that it wants to share with me, and possibly you. Pretty exciting, isn't it? The problem is, I can't really read the fine print - not that the fine print is in the circles or on the squiggly lines, although I am sure that it is. Why am I sure of this? We'll call it a gut feeling.

I'm supposed to follow my gut.

I have tried many times to follow that gut, and all it seems to say is for me to feed it. So maybe following my gut isn't always the best thing to do. No matter how substantial and influential it is. Now what? That is the question I have for myself, because I honestly don't know. It's there, I can feel it gnawing at my little brain, calling in my ear saying "release me" in the high-pitched squeaky annoying little voice it has. Why do Muse's have to be so annoying, if you have seen "UP" it's Alpha's voice, when the communicator/interpreter is broken. Or if you have seen "The Emperor's New Groove" it is the voice of (is it Izma?) the villain, when she is turned into a cat.

Okay, so I watch a lot of Disney movies, sue me.

Anyway, where was I going with all this? Nowhere really. Just trying to keep my mind off the fact that I don't have my seventh child yet, because some doctors don't want to listen to my wife.

Other than that, anyone know where I can get one of those pads?

God Bless and good night!

Tardy!

So my new son thinks that he is a fine wine, I mean why else would he want to stay in his cramped space, other than he thinks that he'll get better with age/cooking in the womb.

Good news for those of you that have yet to enter my contest... It appears that he will make his appearance on July 6, unless he decides to come on his own. Knowing our history, that's not gonna happen.

So, this will now be the OFFICIAL ENTRY PAGE (I have no idea why I did that, other than to vent maybe), for the contest of guessing the baby's weight, length and time of birth. I'm taking the date out, because well, we kind of already know that, July 6. However, if he comes before the sixth, we can accept your weight, length and time guesses.

My simple contest is becoming more complex as I type, YIKES!

Same prize though, either a Borders or Barnes and Noble $10 gift card, to the closest best guess.

Bu-bye!

"Hi Mitch"

Welcome to the fun of Sunday.

Let's get this bad boy started, shall we? First off, Benjy did NOT break his ankle yesterday. He did bruise it pretty bad, and probably had a mild sprain, but no break.

I think he was disappointed.

On the way home from church, we got our title for today. Sure, you are all thinking, they named there new son Mitch? Nope, that has nothing to do with it, especially since he still hasn't decided to leave the friendly confines of his mommy. Can't seem to be able to bribe him with my cooking, either.

So, back to my little tale. We were driving down the main street in Batavia, no it's not actually called Main Street, when we came upon a cross walk. Normal people, I think, tend to actually wait for traffic to either lighten, or not be present, before crossing. True, there is a cross walk, but you are putting a lot of faith in the brakes of a vehicle that you are not familiar with, and that is coming down a fairly steep hill.

Not these two youngsters.

Nope, they just started walking across the street. Being the defensive driver that I am, and have become, I just knew that they would just keep on walking, so I stopped with plenty of space before the cross walk. The car behind me didn't like it, neither did I, but I really didn't feel like filling out a bunch of paperwork, putting my wife into the hospital, or having to wash my car, so I stopped.

You usually get a wave of thanks, or embarrassment, when this happens. Not with these two. For some reason, the male punk turned towards us, and was either yelling at me (I don't think so) or his punk girlfriend (in which case she needs a new boyfriend).

"Where's your pride, Bitch!"

Or something like that. The only word that Jenni and I know was said/yelled, was the last one. To which we (being Jenni) responded with something like, "Nice."

Danny also heard what was yelled. We liked his version better.

"He said, Hi Mitch!"

God Bless!!

P.S. - Keep Jenni and the baby in your prayers, as tomorrow is the amniocentesis that will confirm the baby's lung development. Then on Tuesday, maybe she'll let me "live blog" the birth!!

As long as I don't pass out, of course.

Sunburn Saturdays

Two in a row,

First softball,

Now soccer.

Lessons learned,

Doubt it.

I might buy a hat though.

Last Saturday without baby.

My First Contest!!

I want to thank Jeff over at View From The Cloud, and a proud member of The Receders (go buy their stuff, it's available at Amazon and iTunes(no link, I assume you know how to get there) it's good!) for this great idea.

A Contest.

A Contest with a REAL PRIZE!!

Yes!!!

You all have been waiting for me to finally breakdown and give something away, admit it now, you know that it's true. Best part, it's easy to enter, just write your entry in the comment box, or I'll even accept a Face book entry, but since you are reading about it here, why not just comment. :)

As you may, or may not, know, we are having a baby! Our seventh! So, in honor of our new son's birth, we thought that we would have a pool for you to enter, guessing our newborn son's birth date, birth time, birth weight and birth length.

Piece of cake right?

Here's a hint: The date will, more than likely be June 30. That doesn't mean that you have to guess the 30th, but it will improve your odds greatly.

Next hint: We have to be at the hospital by 6AM, to start the induction process. Unless he decides to show up on his own, sooner, which means guessing a date earlier than June 30, might be beneficial.

What do you win? A $10 gift card to your choice of Borders, or Barnes and Noble. If you get everything exactly correct; you will get one of each. Pretty cool, right?

How do you enter? Easy. Leave a comment stating the Birthday, time, weight and length of our latest addition, in the comment box. We will then compare your answers to the actual event, and if you are the closest, as deemed by the judge (Jenni), then you win!

Extra bonus best part!!! You can make more than one guess, but be aware that we are doing a "first come first served" contest here, which basically means if there are duplicate answers, we will go with the first comment in the box. (I hope that makes sense).

Finally, the decision of the judge (Jenni) is final. Sounds harsh, but it has to be.

What are you waiting for? Get guessing!!

God Bless!!

Roger and Jenni

What's In A Name

Jenni and I had a humorous conversation as we lay in bed last night. It all had to do with our future child and their name.

Names are tough. You can't just throw a couple of names together for us, not a chance. We like a nice smooth flow. Names that roll of the tongue and seem to be perfect matches. Names that it will be very difficult to be made fun of. See we are sensitive parents that do not want our children to suffer through incessant teasing.

Okay, that is Jenni's idea.

I already had my names picked out before we got married. I was going to have six daughters named: Samantha, Tabitha, Jessica, Rebecca, Veronica and Jennifer. I know the last one doesn't exactly fit the pattern, but I was, and still am, in love with Jennifer. Which is why I feel so honored to be married to her. :)

There is a saying that goes something like this: "Tell God your plans, and He'll laugh." Or something like that. Because I obviously do not have six daughters (yet!), and only one of my six names have been used (Jessica).

Back to last night's conversation.

J - Abigail? Me - Yes.

J - Abigail Elizabeth? Me - Yes.

J - Abigail Cecelia? Me - Umm. Don't like the flow, but I like that it's your grandmother's name.

J - Yeah.

Me - Abigail Marie? J - No, too much like Alice Marie (My mom's name)

As you can tell, if our next child is a girl, she will be an Abigail.

J - Joseph Me - Don't like Joey, and we have one across the street.

J - Henry Me - No. J - George, Me -Interesting, since my parents called me George for the first two plus years of my life. Don't ask, even they don't know why.

Jenni then burps and it sounds like Baaa raaaa ckkkk. Uh, no. no. no.

We went back and forth with names, until I fall asleep.

This morning at work, Jenni calls me and starts to recite boy's names from the 1910s.

You just KNOW that we're going to have a boy now.

Good Night and God Bless,

The Silence Is Screaming

Because my Wii has been off all day.

Quick, someone call DCFS. My poor deprived children are even more deprived than usual. Besides, I can't very well play with their puppy dog eyes looking at me, right?

In all seriousness, I don't believe that the kids were grounded from it or anything, but it sure was quiet around here this evening. Then again, I was gone shopping.

Yes, I said shopping.

Shopping for some mysterious stuff that Jenni swears exists, yet I cannot find ANYWHERE.
She says that they taste great and that she really wants some. I'm not sure if this is a craving thing, or just delirium. I'm talking, of course, about Eggo Strawberry Muffin Tops. I can find Blueberry (a good substitute, mind you), Chocolate Chip, and Chocolate Chocolate Chip, but Strawberry has apparently gone extinct, or maybe never existed at all? Hmmm.

After three stores, I quit looking, but did get the blueberry muffin tops, and strawberry waffles in an attempt to please the cravings of my future child. Or at least my beautiful bride.

I was also on a mission to find Valentine colored M&M's. Go figure, three days before Valentine's Day, and they are nowhere to be found. Of course we need the Red, Pink and White colors, and can't use Blue, Green, or Brown because the cute little treats we're going to make need the Valentine colors.

Shoot me now.

Luckily, I found these after only three stores and was able to make it back for the last thirty minutes of LOST. I will now go silent to respect the wishes of my foreign readers, that don't get to experience LOST until later this year. See what I mean by the silence is screaming? Because it was AWESOME, and maybe a bit confusing. :)

God Bless,

An Apology

Okay folks, this is some serious business here.

I OWE my mother in-law an apology, because I am a bad, bad, BAD son in-law.

Let me start at the beginning...

My in-laws are AWESOME! I mean that sincerely, I mean they are always there for us and they take the kids to Disney World - all by themselves, for something like TWO WEEKS! I can also talk to them about pretty much anything and my father in-law knows how to keep my old house alive, and doesn't lose patience when my non-mechanically inclined mind has to ask the same question, over and over again. And get this, he even does it in a way that I still do the work! How cool is that?

But I don't owe him an apology.

It's my dear sweet, loving and kind mother in-law. I have known this woman for over twenty years, and she has entrusted me with looking after her only daughter - something you don't take lightly. Now, I have, on occasion, made her mad at me and maybe, just maybe I knew what I was doing. Sort of a game. You know, it's fun until someone gets hurt, well, sometimes my joking around can get a little on the unreasonable side, let's say.

Anyway, this has to do with the birth of one of our children, and a trip to Disney World. As luck, or bad planning, would have it one of our children was due to be born close to the time that they would be in Disney - with our niece, and her family (which would be totally cool if they did it with us, but our family is way bigger than theirs - slackers!). As luck would have it, our child was born early and they could not be there, because they were in the Happiest Place on Earth having a jolly good time. I'm not sure if we called or not, probably Jenni did - she's like that.

Everything went well, and the in-laws made their way back home - they live five minutes away, and no that is not a bad thing. Because of the long trip they didn't come over right away, even though we had their dogs. At this point, let me tell you something about myself.

I love my family. I will do anything to make them, or keep them happy. I will fight for my family whenever I feel that they have been wronged. That being said, I continue.

Bill and Pat (the in-laws) come over to look at their latest grandchild, and I was not happy. Why? Well, because they weren't there for the birth, irrational yes, but it's apparently how I am wired. Which makes the fact that Jenni has stuck with me all this time very remarkable, wouldn't you say? So, I'm not happy, and the in-laws are thrilled to see their latest grandchild - Pat's shooting for twelve, and we are definitely holding up our end of the bargain. Still, I couldn't help myself and, let's just say, words were exchanged.

Hurtful words.

Really bad words, no swearing, just mean.

Bill and Pat left, with Pat in tears and my father in-law ready to kick my butt. Not to mention Jenni. At least the couch was comfortable, sort of.

So, she needs an apology and here it is.

Pat, I am truly sorry for the words I used and if I could take them back I would. Can you please forgive me?

Now, for the real zinger, in this whole story. Ready.

It isn't true. In fact, I may have some of the facts wrong, because I never experienced any of it. It was all a dream that Pat had, about our upcoming addition. Now the baby is due July 5, and the are going to Disney with my niece and her family in June. The only way the above scenario happens is if the baby come early, and unless Jenni's health were an issue I wouldn't expect to see them until the end of their trip. Oh and you can be assured that I will not say anything about missing anything. That is a promise.

Pat, I am sorry that you had this bad dream about my behaviour, but I promise that I will not misbehave or say anything mean.

Sweet Dreams!

Holding on to anger, resentment and hurt only gives you tense muscles, a headache and a sore jaw from clenching your teeth. Forgiveness gives you back the laughter and the lightness in your life. - Joan Lunden