Ian Elijah

Well, our third little youngster squeaked into the birth date of 11/12/13 by being born at 11:26 PM after a relatively short labor (as compared to our previous standards). We prayed for good health, and God has chosen to answer in the affirmative. The little man even sleeps decently at night. I would even be tempted to say that he sleeps through the night, as I have yet to hear him cry. The elbow in the side to change a dirty diaper however proves otherwise.

Over the several days that have passed since his birth, Shelden and Jenae have continued to develop a bond with him, and even carry on monologues with their new brother. Both enjoy wishing him a good morning, and kissing him good night. Jenae’s bear hugs could do with being a little less hearty. 

With three kids now, I feel like an old man, or at least an experienced one. I recall those weeks after Shelden’s birth, how much of an adjustment it was to having a child and not having sleep. 7:30 at night seemed like a perfectly appropriate bed time. Now the additional responsibility of having kids to watch while still attempting to somewhat keep track of additional responsibility at work, surprisingly seems bearable. Much of this is due to the invaluable support of family and friends.

So here we are with an additional soul for whom we have been granted full custody. It truly is a daunting task. The little guy is 100% dependent on us for every need. As the kids grow older, I am again reminded of this fact. This evening, Shelden and I had a discussion of his current skill set as his older brother looked forward to playing animals with him, and commented on his lack of productivity. Investing, however, in my kids I feel like is one of the soundest ones I feel like I can make. They require a lot of work on the front end, but I trust that the best is yet to come.

Daniel