By Special Request

Ok, since I was anti blog for a few months there, I missed Alexander's birthday. Not really, only here in blogland, but okay. So I was asked to upload pics of his 4 years of life too. By....none other than Zachary. Ok, buddy, whatever you want...it's your day.





Alexander was always going to be my last baby even if he'd been my first. His entrance into the world was a giant cosmic joke right from the start. I won't elaborate on the conception story here for all the world to see, but if my friends really want to know, and don't already, I'll tell you privately. His actual entrance came about like this...




I was three weeks ahead of my due date, and I caught a horrible stomach bug from my preschool aged son, Zachary. After an entire day of illness and no end in sight, I called my OB-Gyn. They assured me that as long as I tried to keep putting fluids in, and didn't start cramping I'd be fine. At about 8pm Russ decided that I was too weak to care for the kids, and he wasn't feeling the greatest himself. He asked his parents to please take Zach and Josh for the night, promising to pick them up by 7am so parents could get to work. We both went to bed immediately.


Russ sleeps with a Cpap breathing machine, and I hate to try to wake him up in the middle of the night, because it's nearly impossible. At midnight or so, I realized that the rolling in my stomach was no longer "I'm going to be sick" feeling and more rhythmic. I started timing it thinking I had lost my last marble, no way I'm in labor, but sure enough, every 5-7 mins. By 2:30 am I figured that I was handling it ok, and I would wait and see if Russ woke up on his own and I'd tell him that I thought I was in labor.



At a little after 3am he woke. I managed to say "I think ..." as I rolled over so I could be sure he'd hear me, and my water broke. I started a new sentence "MY water just BROKE!" and he heard "I think my water just broke." 30 minutes later I finally convinced him that I was 100% sure that my water had INDEED broken. After a confused and frantic call to parents to explain why we would NOT be picking up the big boys, and we were off to the hospital. Well, after I broke rule #1 and took a shower. Hey! I'd been sick for a WHOLE day! I was not going like that!


Since I had been so sick and hadn't eaten, they didn't make me wait, and my C Section was completed in record time shortly after 4:30am. My OB said he'd been expecting my call ever since I had called to tell them I had the flu. They sure could have clued me in!


Alex was born with a double hydrocele. Basically he had 2 hernias where his testicles dropped through. He was okay, but would need surgery shortly after his first birthday. Then at exactly 28 days old, he contracted RSV most likely from an exposure from his older siblings and their preschool. He spend 3 days in a croup tent in the Peds ward. All this medical drama left me weak and a little frightened. We've thankfully seemed to pull through most of it. They told us he'd have asthma but so far they have been wrong. Then last year he spent 6 days and nights in the Peds ward again with the most bizarre case I have ever heard. He had an injury of some sort to his throat and it formed an abcess. No one has ever figured out the injury, but it took 4 and a half days to find the abcess. Once again, I found myself thinking that I was going to lose my son. Thankfully he's a fighter. He has a strong will, which is sometimes a great challenge for me as mom, but when he's sick, I'm thankful for it.



Once he had his surgery at 14 months, he became a different child. It was as if the doctor had removed some little switch. Like in the store, when you see Elmo and he sings this cute LITTLE song. You buy him and bring him home. You remove that little peice of plastic from his battery box and suddenly his singing is incessant and you just want him to be quiet for awhile. Alex felt SO much better that there was suddenly no stopping him, nor could any of us keep up with the little wild child. But he's so much fun! He loves (and seems to have always loved) trains. Thomas started him, and now he's into Geo Trax. My home is filled with everything train and his daddy loves it!


Alex is Grampy's "My Pal Al" and my little partner in crime. He has Uncle Brad wrapped around his fingers, and my daddy singing VeggieTales songs. He brings out the best in everyone he's around because you can't help but laugh with him. I cannot imagine life without him, and I'm so glad that God decided to laugh at Russ and I and our plans and put him into our lives. He's my night owl, my late sleeper, my cuddler, and my clown.



When he was tiny, we'd put him to bed by saying "Mommy loves you. Daddy loves you. Zachary loves you. Joshua loves you. EVERYBODY loves you." He remembers it even though we stopped long ago saying it to him, so even now he will randomly look at a family member and say "I love everybody." So if you're ever feeling low, just remember Alexander loves you.