Henry Donald's arrival ....

guess it was close to midnight when the phone finally rang, Melisa had been induced earlier in the day.  John had done a great job of keeping us advised of any progress and we even talked with Melisa a few times, but at 10:30pm my eyes and body were fading fast so off to bed in eager anticipation of the call.

     The phone rang, Melisa asked immediately for me to put the phone on "speaker" and the announcement of Henry DONALD's arrival at 11:51pm on May 19th, yipee, not only for his arrival, but now we have, in our family, three birthdays on the 19th of January (Dylan), May (Henry) and October (Carin), so it will be an easy date to remember.  And, of course, the special middle name of Donald in honor of Dad, he is so proud!
     Melisa gave us further stats, but then announced Henry was under oxygen due to meconium aspiration ... a mild form of panic set in, what's that?!  Not totally understanding the condition made it somewhat scarey and all we wanted to do is be there with them.  However, after much conversation over the course of Henry's first days in the hospital, we decided to depart on Sunday for Michigan.  We arrived on Monday, later than we wanted, but you now how it is when you really want to be somewhere, it seems like you'll never arrive!!
     Even though late, I held Henry for the first time, what a thrill to have this little guy as a part of our family now.  And even more special, I was the second person to hold him, other than John or Melisa. Tuesday morning arrived and the fun of taking care of Henry Donald, helping Melisa with everyday household stuff, grocery shopping, laundry, and taking care of Misty Buttons and Waldo, John and Melisa's 4-legged and first children began.  Misty and Waldo were curious, as seen in the following, and sometimes shut out of the bedroom ....

Tuesday was Henry's first check-up with the Doctor, as they call it now, Weight and Color Check.  Great news, Henry's color is good and he's regained his birth weight, come back in one week for a second visit.  The following days flew by and with each day we knew it would be several months before we'd get to hold Henry once again.  So with all the daily events of feedings, Henry's first bath, first time on the patio for some sun, first trip to Target, there was also lots of picture taking.  One of the must have pictures is a four generation picture of me (age 62), Great-Grammie Holmes (age 94), Melisa (age 30), and Henry, the star of the show ...

     So much happened over those 9 special days with Henry,  and most of you reading this blog have followed our activities on Facebook.  Don and I have truly been blessed this year with two very special little boys entering our lives, maybe this post should be titled "From Zero to Two in Nine Months", and to think we once wondered if we'd ever be Grandparents. 

                                                   

     What fun these next years will be, watching Henry as he grows into the young man that God  intended him to be, we are so proud to be called Grammie and Papa.  We love you so very much, so until next time ....