The Surprises

"Today is the 4th, today is my birthday" he exclaimed as he bounded out of bed this morning. Caleb has been counting down the days to his birthday since Monday. Every morning he has reminded me of the date and when his birthday is...like I could forget!

We never expected this little life to join ours; you see, he is our own little marvel. I can remember being sick, oh so sick for a week or more, and only at night. Finally, after I threw up for and hour and half straight, I decided it was time to take the test. I don't even know why, but I did. Immediately, there was no denying it. I remember calling my sister...and it was LATE, "So, how do you feel about being an Aunt again?" She just kinda giggled; maybe she thought I was kidding. Chris was at work and I toyed with the idea of waiting until the morning to tell him because I had no idea what his reaction would be. Who can lay there with such news and not share it and why should I ponder alone? He answers the phone and tells me he's headed to serve a warrant...oh, bad timing I think, probably out loud. I told him to call me when he was done. I guess he could hear the "secret" in my voice because he proceeded to tell me everyone was waiting on him and he wasn't getting out of the car until I told him what I needed. Realizing there was no escape, I just blurted it out, scared to death of what he might say back...not that it was my fault or we could do anything about it. Well, that terd just died laughing at me. And that, was the beginning of surprises that this little moster brought us.

We didn't find out if he was to be a girl or a boy and all bets were on a girl because everything with him was different...everything from the way I carried him to the way I felt and all the wierd things that happened while I was pregnant. Derek and Russ were both early by at least one week...Caleb was late by the same. Labor with the first two rounds, quick and ultimately easy, the third time was NOT a charm. D and R, 7 pounds 10 & 11 ounces...C, 9 1 1/2 . He looked like a toddler!! Oh, did I mention...he was very, very, very far from a girl. I remember when Dr. Groos held him up, I just burst out laughing and yelled loud enough to everyone in the hallway that we were all wrong! It took me forever to get over it; I felt like he had pulled some big switch-a-roo on us. it was hysterical!

The surprises just keep coming. We never know what is going to come out of his mouth and we never know what he'll do next. The second we figure it out, he changes it all around. I guess he just wants to keep us on our toes. Maybe we should have named him something foreign that means surprise, but we didn't realize what we were in for. There is no telling where this little punkin will lead us next or what great surprises we'll encounter along the way, but we're blessed to have shared his world for six years and we're looking forward to many, many more.

Happy birthday sweet boy; you are one of my most favorite surprises!