Halloween 07

For Evan's first Halloween we dressed him up as a sweet pea. It was a fun, baby-friendly outfit which he looked totally cute in. These pictures were taken at my mom and dad's house a couple of days before Halloween. It was a real hoot trying to prop Evan up and get out of the way in order to take these photos before he slumped over. My favorite has to be Evan with Carter- both have funny looks on their faces. On Halloween we took Evan trick-or-treating around mom and dad's neighborhood, mainly to show him off to their friends who had not seen him yet. We hit up five houses before calling it a night. Happy Halloween to you all!

Two Months Old

Today is October 18th and Evan is two months old! Hard to believe eight weeks have already gone by but the calendar does not lie. At two months Evan is very alert, making eye contact when talked to and is able to push himself up when on his tummy and hold his head up. He still has a slight bobble-head but he's definitely getting stronger. My favorite development is the smile we can now invoke by talking to him. He's most alert in the mornings so he and I have daily conversations where I do most of the talking and Evan "coos" his responses.  We just gaze at each other and share smiles while discussing topics like the day's itinerary or what outfit he should wear. This is great bonding time and I am fortunate to have it. Evan also smiles and laughs a lot on his own which is just precious. Unfortunately, these moments are hard to get on camera so we are still waiting to catch the perfect candid shot.

Evan went in for his two-month check up today where he weighed in at 13 pounds 3 ounces and was 23.5 inches long. His growth is good and the doctor is impressed with his eating. He's not quite sleeping through the night yet but that's fine. He'll sleep in four-hour blocks pretty consistently and we've even had a six hour and eight hour night. But I've learned that one night of good sleeping does not mean they will all be good nights. Usually the longer sleeping nights are followed by a night of terrible sleep. I will be very happy once we establish a routine but for now I'm at his whim.  

So, I guess that's my update for now. I am looking forward to experiencing the upcoming holidays with Evan and will post pictures of him in his Halloween costume in the next week or two. He's going to be adorable. To tide you over here are the latest photos of Evan celebrating his two-month birthday. 

 

Adapting to a House of Three

So the longest day might have turned into the shortest week or two because they are seriously cruising.  Some nights are longer than others, but we always seem to get a slow start on the next day.  Just getting up and eating something can take a while.  The biggest thing that we need to fix right away is to always remember the diaper bag.  I don't think I'll have much of a problem now that I've been peed on in public but at least the supplies I needed to take care of him were just in the car.  I might leave myself a checklist on the steering wheel so that I remember to take everything we need on each car trip.

The Longest Day

At 2:30 this morning Angie and I were awoken by our doctor who entered our birthing suite at the Legacy Meridian Family Birth Center and explained to us that we have a couple of options that required immediate consideration. We got to sleep just before midnight but were already interrupted twice before. He expressed concern about Angie's lack of labor progression and suggested a cesarean delivery. Having been asleep moments before, it was a bit much suddenly dropped into our lap. After explaining the facts and risks to us, we opted to take action rather than wait for what could seemingly take a considerable amount of time to deliver naturally.

I sat next to my wife's head with a curtain separating our view from the operation. Only an hour removed from the biggest decision we've had to make together, the doctors successfully brought our son into the world at 3:35am. He measured 20.5" and weighed a healthy nine pounds even. He cried right away and it was a tremendous sigh of relief. The doctors were astonished with "the hair." Angie and I just looked at each other and smiled as we listened to the doctors and assistants marvel at what we had long suspected, but what happened next will remain with me for the rest of my life.

Despite any fears or reservations Angie had about the surgery she never once voiced concern. When our son came out, she insisted I leave her side to greet him. It was a moment of conflict for me as I was still wanting to continue my support for her but also eager to meet my boy who was in a state of panic and confusion. It was as if suddenly our untested parental instincts to nurture and protect, simultaneously took hold for the first time.

The uncontrollable crying was silenced by my voice alone. It didn't matter what I said, just as long as I said something and continued to talk. I felt empowered and humbled at the same time. I never experienced anything like I did when I looked into his eyes for the first time. Even though he was exactly what I expected, it was like looking at myself as an infant and it was a little strange to come to terms with.

It's been a lengthy, sleep deprived, frantic day only now concluding with this entry but not before 26 hours of painful labor endured by my wife Angela. We have been blessed with everything we could hope for when we decided to make this voyage, namely a healthy baby boy who we've named Evan Ray Doms. 

Bears vs. Seahawks 2007

Sometime back in the spring, the NFL released the 2007 schedule. If you know me, you already know I'm a maniacal Bears fan. Yup, I'm the one with the orange "C" on my lid. When the schedule came out, I quickly scanned the list of opponents and I went right to the Tiger Woods fist pump when I saw that Chicago was coming to Quest Field.

The Bears came to Seattle a couple years back in 2003, the last year under the Jauron staff. Prior to that, Chicago hasn't been to Seattle since 1984 (thanks pro-football-reference.com, a sweet site that documents the history of the game with unbelievable stats). The Bears lost 17-24.

 

Tickets went on sale Monday July 30th at 10am through Ticketmaster. Trying to get NFL tickets when they go on sale is a complete mess with them. I tried repeatedly to get through on the phone and got busy signals while I tried to use the website and got "no matches found" when I entered for two tickets "best available", which is the broadest search you can do. After about 15 minutes of this, I finally gave up - I never had a chance.

People are trying to make a living on stubhub by asking $200 + to get out of the upper level. I resorted to trusty ol' craigslist. I found a season ticket holder who was willing to settle for selling them for triple face value. I was really worried that I was going to get ripped off, I'm just glad I found him. I can't say I really blame the guy, I was willing to pay it, and I'm sure others would have if I didn't. Seriously though, at least I didn't pay 5-6x face value like some of these other tickets for sale. Angie and I are set in section 101 for the November 18th nationally televised game. You can have a seat, but you'll have to move when we get there.