Happy Birthday Boy!

Today we celebrate Joel's entry into this world.  It didn't happen as we had "planned", but that seems to be how life with boys goes. 

We thought he would enter the world (through an induction) on 11/11.  We had a friend all lined up to spend the night with Evan that night.  Steve had his work schedule prepared.  We were all set!  Then we went in for the check-up on 11/9.  I have this weird thing with my body where I don't really feel the contractions until about the time the baby is ready to come.  So, when the doc said that I was already at 4cm but she could stretch me to about a 6, we were a little surprised.  We decided to go ahead and induce that day, which was probably a good thing since I had to be on antibiotics for a couple of hours before he was born.

So, we went home from the doctor's appointment, had lunch, and made some new plans.  We went to the hospital and a few hours later, the little angel made his appearance.  Unfortunately, again things were not to go according to our plans.  I got to hold his for only a few seconds before he was put into the NICU.  At midnight he was transferred to another hospital because he had been put on a ventilator.  Thankfully, his breathing conditions were diagnosed, and his body healed.  He was able to come home after only a week in the hospital.

He continued to show us that he would not easily yield to our expectations.  He had reflux problems that caused him to have choking spells and difficulty sleeping.  This resulted in us having difficulty sleeping, too.  After the reflux got under control, he turned into a more happy-go-lucky, compliant baby.

As he grew, I realized that while he was generally compliant, he also is very strong-willed.  This is an interesting combination, and definitely different from his older brother.  It has provided me an opportunity for great growth as I try to learn what battles to fight and to have more patience.  It's not always a challenge, though.  He has also brought much light and laughter into our home.  He cracks us up with his off-the-wall comments and his different way of seeing the world.  He is creative and doesn't usually mind going his own way.  I hope that he becomes an adult who keeps the positives of these traits - being resistant to peer pressure and a creative problem-solver.

So, today we celebrate the birth of this member of our family - most notably by eating pizza 2-3 times and getting soda from Jones Soda Co.  These were his requests for his birthday, so we are going with it.  Remember, it's all about picking the battles!