Family

See this big ol' melon head?


This would be Cameron 26 years ago.

Everyone say "Happy birthday, melon head!"


OK, let's compare to a somewhat normal sized baby head (that would be his brother, Casey on the right):


Let's talk about this melon head of his, shall we?

Every time Cameron gives me a headache, I casually mention the fact that I went through 26 hours of HARD labor to bring that head of his into the light of day.

We're not talking about namby pamby labor either, we're talking about induced labor with NO DRUGS.

Ladies, if you've ever had an induced labor, you can attest that it's like going from 0 to 60 in less than a minute. Now multiply that by 26 hours, and you'll get a sense of it. Here's a quote from a website I found:

"The contractions on the pitocin were so intense and so completely different than the normal contractions. They were harsh, sudden and agonizing. I felt like I was utterly out of control and could not stand it." -Gena

Can I get an AMEN, pitocin sisters?

Why no drugs? Well, they wouldn't give them to me because the melon head wasn't making enough effort to get this over with already. Instead, we got more pitocin.

The conversations in my head went something like this:
Bring it on, baby.
Let's get this over with.
Just kill me NOW.
I'm going to do a Cesarean on myself.

Did you notice the little bruises all over his head? That's what happened at the end of those 26 hours of HARD LABOR. Melon head still didn't want to come out, even with forceps.

If you're pregnant, do not continue reading.

Besides being a melon head, he was in the posterior position. The doctor tried over and over again to turn him, but I guess melon head wanted to see what was going on when he came out, rather than face the floor.

If he had his eyes open, he saw quite a show. By the time the doctor figured out that melon head was good and stuck, it was too late for a Cesarean. Melon head entered this world seeing a nurse on top of the delivery table, straddling my big belly, pushing from the top while the doctor pulled with the 'tongs'.

Once melon head was out, the doctor said, "watch out for this one- he's a stubborn one".

I should have had those words tattooed on melon head's cute little baby butt. Truer words have never been said.

That being said, I fell hopelessly in love the moment he was placed in my arms. It was very difficult for me to be away from him for even a minute. This is how we slept for the first couple of weeks until SCROOGE (his dad) finally put his foot down and separated us:


Cameron, every minute of those 26 hours of hard labor, ending with a nurse straddling me while a doctor pulled you out were totally worth it. I'd happily do it again because being your mother has been a honor.

The older you get, the more I love you. That statement amazes me, because I thought I loved you more than life the minute I saw you. Multiply that by millions and that doesn't even come close to how I feel about you now.

Happy birthday, honey. You can't possibly imagine how proud I am of you and how loved you are. It would blow your mind. Trust me on this.

Lessee..... you got married in 1965, so that makes this (gets abbacus) year 42. What year is that? I had to look it up. It's between Ruby and Sapphire. The bearded eye-roller will have our 'fruit' anniversary next year. What's THAT about? A case of kumquats?



Here you are, cutting the wedding cake. Dad- you have an uncomfortable smile on your face. I wonder if it's because you're worried that Mom is going pull that fun wedding prank of shoving cake in your face.

She's the type to do that you know. This apple didn't fall far from the tree, if you get my drift.

Mom, you look just beautiful in this picture. WOWzers! The interesting thing is, that I still see you like that in my minds eye. Sure, you're a 'little' older now, but in my head you're about this age.

I can't say the same for Dad. I don't see him like this at all in my head. Something about missing a mustache and suspenders.

I guess this means that you're no longer newlyweds. Sometimes I find that hard to believe because I see how much you two still flirt with each other. I'm old enough now where I don't think it's gross anymore. Well, most of the time.

Dad, I have seen some of the love notes that you've given to Mom. I wanted to steal one once so I'd have something tangible to hold in my hand to show how much you love each other. I also wanted to hold it as proof that there really is romance in that dad of mine. You don't seem the type, Dad.

I'm glad I know better.

Not many kids get to say that they've attended their own parent's wedding! Even though I was only five when you got married, I remember a lot from the wedding. I remember that you had doves (I can't remember if they were real or fake though), I remember a lady with cat-eye glasses (stylish at the time. Oh wait, they're back in style!) singing at your wedding. I remember running around a lot with Michael , probably making nuisances of ourselves.

Mostly I remember being able to say the word, "Papa" that day, for the very first time (later it turned out to be "Dad", but it was "Papa" for a while).

I even remember bits and pieces of when you were dating, but my lips are sealed. Tee hee. I'm kidding- it was all very proper. (Did I say that right? OK, you can pay me later...)

I especially remember, during your dating days, fitting all of us (you two, Michael and me) in Dad's corvette. Me between the two of you sitting on the console with the stick shift, and Michael laying in the back window ledge. Wow, how did we ever survive without those seatbelt and car seat laws, huh?

I guess you were planning to be a confirmed bachelor with a cool corvette for a while, huh Dad? Ha! Joke's on you! INSTANT family!



Yo! Michael! Way to rock the knee socks and bow tie! I think you should try to bring that look back in style again. You look SMASHING!

Adding to the 'instant family', came sweet JP, and Heidi . I don't write much about JP, here on my blog because I feel so protective of him. Rest assured though, he is always in the forefront of my mind. He was an awfully fun kid brother to have. Now he's just down-right special. A sweeter spirit has never existed, if you ask me. Well, unless he's cranky. Sweet? Not so much. tee hee.

By the way, I hope, in the light of being a sweet spirit, he's forgiven me for breaking his leg that one time.

I'm so blessed that you cared for Cameron and Casey while I worked. This gave them the opportunity to be in a good atmosphere (because it sure wasn't coming from MY house- cwazy wabbit that I am), and always in a place where they were loved. No daycare in the world could EVER compare to having grandparents watch over them.

I know this is getting very long, but I wanted you to know how thankful I am for the event that took place on July 23, 1965. You are yin and yang, constantly balancing each other out. A perfect match.

Mom and Dad, I hope you have many more happy years together. While I'll never see you as that 'cute little old couple' in my head because you'll be forever in your 30's- I'd sure like to see that happen for you. I guess all kids want their parents to live forever, but even more so when we can see that they're with someone who loves and adores them. We (your four children) are lucky to witness that love and adoration coming from both of you even after all these years. It seems to get more that way every year.

Happy Anniversary. You are both loved more than you know.

Love,
Lori
(you know- the one who gave you gray hair)

I got to spend almost 2 hours with Riley this morning before everyone else was up. The bearded eye-roller and I were downstairs watching TV, and in the room comes Riley saying, "Hi guys!".

He and I immediately got down to the business of making waffles and playing Legos. What FUN!

Could he be any cuter? No? I didn't think so.



I got called "Grandma Lori" SEVERAL times this weekend. Every time I heard those words there was NO wiping the grin off my face.

Head-over-heals, people. I'm head-over-heals in love with this kiddo (his mommy too!).

I got a call from Cameron on Thursday. He was wondering if he and Kathy could some over this weekend to visit. They were worried that it was last minute, but the ol' fogies didn't have plans this weekend (miraculous!) so it was all good.

Then, when Casey found out about it, he called to see if he, Jessica and Riley could come over.

Sudden party!

Everyone spent the night last night and it was kind of fun to have them all under my roof. The bearded eye-roller and I are downstairs waiting for Riley to wake up and come downstairs so we can feed him waffles and play legos with him while 'those that stayed up VERY late' sleep in.

We're too old for that stayin' up late stuff, dontcha know.

I think the most hilarious part of all of this whole thing is that Casey wanted to make sure they got here before Cameron and Kathy because they wanted time alone with us before the 'scene stealers' (his words) got here.

Of course, Cameron, being who he is, busted his butt to get here first.

I guess hanging out with Mom and Big Daddy (that's what I call him around my kids- it's a joke) isn't all that bad. Of course, the open bar doesn't hurt....

Too bad the video cam hasn't arrived yet, huh?

I'm sure you know that my sister's real name isn't Heidi . I have a post about how she came up with that name if you're at all curious.

Her real name also has a story behind it. I was reading a book that had her name in the title (nope- not gonna tell you, no matter how much you beg) and my parents thought that would be a great name for her. The bearded eye-roller and I were talking about this lil' fact the other night and started joking about how Heidi should be really glad I wasn't reading any of the following books:

Frankenstein
Yertle the Turtle (Dr. Seuss)
Rumpelstiltskin
Dracula
Horton Hears a Who (Dr. Seuss)

OH, the possibilities are simply endless!

Here's a picture of me reading a book (not THE book) right about at the time Heidi entered our lives. Help me out here- what book should I be reading in this picture that would have made for a funny name for Heidi ? Maybe we can figure a way to go back in time so she ends up with a wickedly funny name!

::evil laugh::