The beautiful October Sunrise arrives a few days early.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
August Ansel Fodi
Our second son, August Ansel Fodi arrived Friday, September 14th, at 1:30 PM. He weighed in at 8lbs and measured 20.25 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing well.
Cathy's water broke at 5 PM on Thursday, 2 hours after an acupuncture treatment, which was an unexpected surprise. She had tried about everything known to man to induce labor, including acupuncture, homeopathic, chiropractic, and various other alternatives. A c-section was scheduled for 8 AM on Friday since she was 42wks at that point, and could not be chemically induced due to previous c-section.
We made it to the hospital around 7:45 Thursday evening. Cathy was in pre-labor with intermittent contractions that were fairly benign. Initially, August was handling things well, but as pre-labor continued, he wasn't showing a strong variability in heart rate. Given we were not into labor yet this was a point of concern.
At about 12:30 on Friday he suddenly showed a serious deceleration in heart rate (to around 60 BPM) corresponding with a pre-labor contraction. That was pretty scary, especially given where we were not yet in labor. The staff managed to get the heart rate stabilized and this allowed Cathy to get a spinal (much better than a general!). Everything went well with the operation. The umbilical cord was wrapped both around his neck and around his arm & shoulder, which explains why he had not dropped into position, as well as the distress during the contraction. Cathy feels she did a conscientious job of trying to deliver naturally, and things worked out for the best for the health of baby and mom.
Cathy and August in PACU after the operation.
Cathy, August and Aeden in the maternity ward.
Monday, September 10, 2007
The "New" Tractor
My Aunt Tidge has been gracious enough (or I've been crazy enough to accept) my grandfather's old tractor. As you can see from the pics, it's quite the work of engineering. I expect it will also be quite the project. It runs, which is a minor miracle itself... getting it home was quite the accomplishment... I'm just glad we didn't have pictures of the loading process (Ack!!!).
Anyway, now all I need is a welder to fix keep the bucket repaired, an air compressor, a wealth of engine repair knowledge, more advanced understanding of hydraulics, a covered area to keep the tractor in and, oh yeah, time to absorb this new "hobby?".
The nice thing is the tractor carries me back to the wooded property in Homosassa (quite the accomplishment since it struggled to make it up the drive behind my house ;-). It's amazing, but the smell of the hydraulic fluid more than anything brings back the rush of of memories. The old growth Florida woods, the sping in the front yard with the small stream trailing to the river in the back, and the constant badgering I inflicted upon my grandfather to take me out on the tractor and into the wilderness (the 10 miles of dense woods and swamp the lay between their house and the gulf). It was any child's dream... and probably a nightmare for my grandfather. Given continued badgering along with my constant refrain for him to stop smoking, its a miracle he didn't take me out there and just drop me off. I think my grandmother was my sole salvation. I'm trying to recount the number of times I impeded on my grandfathers space... let's see, when I snapped his best fishing pole... or when I destroyed his wire wheel brush to strip the bark of my hiking staff. The constant questioning... can I take the raft out, can I take the canoe out, can I use this pole or that that pole, do you want to go fishing... Then there the cry for Lucky Charms, a cereal that I would NEVER get at home. Ahhh, it's amazing he even spoke to me after those ordeals.
Anyway, now all I need is a welder to fix keep the bucket repaired, an air compressor, a wealth of engine repair knowledge, more advanced understanding of hydraulics, a covered area to keep the tractor in and, oh yeah, time to absorb this new "hobby?".
The nice thing is the tractor carries me back to the wooded property in Homosassa (quite the accomplishment since it struggled to make it up the drive behind my house ;-). It's amazing, but the smell of the hydraulic fluid more than anything brings back the rush of of memories. The old growth Florida woods, the sping in the front yard with the small stream trailing to the river in the back, and the constant badgering I inflicted upon my grandfather to take me out on the tractor and into the wilderness (the 10 miles of dense woods and swamp the lay between their house and the gulf). It was any child's dream... and probably a nightmare for my grandfather. Given continued badgering along with my constant refrain for him to stop smoking, its a miracle he didn't take me out there and just drop me off. I think my grandmother was my sole salvation. I'm trying to recount the number of times I impeded on my grandfathers space... let's see, when I snapped his best fishing pole... or when I destroyed his wire wheel brush to strip the bark of my hiking staff. The constant questioning... can I take the raft out, can I take the canoe out, can I use this pole or that that pole, do you want to go fishing... Then there the cry for Lucky Charms, a cereal that I would NEVER get at home. Ahhh, it's amazing he even spoke to me after those ordeals.
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