It's Pronounced [loo-is], Y'all

We've had difficulty finding time for a vacation this year. We've cancelled, rescheduled (twice) and also shortened. Total downer. Makes me wonder, what's the longest a family has gone without a vacation? To the best of my knowledge, we never had a summer without a vacation when I was growing up. Ocean City, Deep Creek Lake, Rehoboth Beach, Outer Banks. Most years we'd team-up with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. Other years we'd bring a friend.

I have a greater appreciation for it all now. Good thing Ali's driving this ship. :-) To Lewes we go!

This was the first time Kinsley was old enough to play at the beach. She went head first into the sand fun but was understandably apprehensive about the water. It is October, after all.

Alex must have been feeling more adventurous: he was living it up in the water. All he needed was a shovel and bucket. After that, he was good to go. Eventually Kinsley's curiosity got the better of her and we ventured into the water together. She and I went in far enough that I could let her sit on my knee. The water was cold but she didn't mind; she blew bubbles and even splashed some waves over towards her mom and brother.

The highlight of Alex's trip was the Pirate Cruise. They really do a great job engaging the kiddos in pirate adventure. He's been keeping an extra close eye on his bounty but I'm willing to bet that his favorite part was defending the ship via water cannon during the pirate attack.

We lucked-out because there were only a few kids on the cruise. It gave us plenty of room to play and explore. 

While the kids are goin' bananas for beaches and the pirate life, Ali and I are judging a 4-day battle of the baristas. We tried a couple different coffees each morning in search of Lewes's best cup of joe. From Station of Kings to some other place that I don't recall, we both agreed that the First Cup bean at the Bake Shoppe was tops. Bake Shoppe's losing points for other things but they emerge victorious in Battle O' Coffee 2018!

One of the things that keeps us coming back to Lewes are our wonderful Aunt and Uncle. Google seems to think my Aunt/Uncle are Alex & Kinsley's great Aunt/Uncle but that makes my head hurt. So how's about we roll with Grand Aunt/Uncle? Either way, they make us feel welcome even when our circus-on-wheels is in tow!

Fuel for Sleep Deprived Parents

I have front row seats to this amazing moment that's been happening each night for weeks. It happens a few minutes before Alex goes to bed and only lasts for 10 seconds, if I'm lucky.

After his bath, we put Alex in his pajamas and read him a few books. Ali takes Alex to go through the rest of the bedtime routine and I take Kinsley for her bath. Just as I'm finishing her bath, Alex comes out to say, "good night." With Kinsley in my arms, I kneel down to his level.

And then it happens. He gives her the most gentle hug I've ever seen, kisses her on her cheek and then hugs her again. Kinsley smiles right back at him and my heart swells.

I have no idea where he learned it or what compels him to do it. He just does it and it's arguably the best part of my day. And each night, I start looking forward to it all over again.

The Great Pacifier Backfire

Wifey & I didn't want to use a pacifier with Alex. Then he went to daycare and we found ourselves knee deep in those thangz. It made our lives a little easier at the time but Alex is so chill that neither of us think there was a material benefit. Quitting the habit brought the full range of withdrawal goblins though and that's what we're dealing with this week.

Naturally, I took the pacifier notion and mashed it with one of my favorite musicians (Walker Hayes). Here's where I landed.

Since I have very little music-ability, I needed to rip the instrumentals and most of the remaining creativity. Getting the lyrics and instrumentals didn't go quite as planned but you got the point! Here's the original song. I picked it because it's got a nice message behind it that is easily relatable. 

You be the judge though, which version do you like more? ;-) 

We'll pass on the wine tonight

August 6^th occupies a nice little spot in my heart and mind these days. It was last August 6^th (a Wednesday) that Ali and I learned of our greatest adventure yet.

We were on vacation house-sitting in Eagles Mere the week prior. Heading back to work is never easy and by the time Wednesday the 6^th rolled around, we were both wishing we were back in PA enjoying the mountain air.

On this particular Wednesday, we both had pretty awful days at the office. When we got home, it was all we could do just to make dinner and find a few minutes to relax with one another. Ali went to the change out of her work clothes and I went to the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine. You know it’s been a really bad day in Davey World when wine becomes appealing. As I waited in front of the TV – quality programming I’m sure - I poured two glasses of wine. Then my wonderful wife appeared to my right.

“I think I’m going to pass on the wine tonight…”

You could probably guess what ensued. Our emotions rushed in two different directions. Ali, shock. David, gitty like schoolgirl. We were overwhelmed with emotions. And then, “Are you sure?” We looked at the test. “Looks like a ‘+’ to me. Right? Umm, do another one.” No more tests in the house – and this was not the time to leave things any less than 100% definitive. …quick, Ali, drink some water. I’m going to Safeway!

I return 20 minutes later with 3 new tests (from 3 different manufacturers, of course) to a wife bursting at the seams. 3 tests and 30 minutes later, we’re still not 100% convinced. It wasn’t until the following morning, in the doctor’s office, after a blood test that we accepted the news that we had been hoping for; Ali was pregnant.

Our New Addition

For the last week or two of Ali’s pregnancy we spent every day wondering if today was going to be the day. Not knowing turned us into loonies as we began trolling the universe looking for signs. Our car was nearing the 100k-mile mark. As the miles passed by, the odometer screamed increasingly louder – signaling to me the impending reality: Baby’s on the way.

Eventually, 100,000 miles came and went. Our best guess came and went. Baby’s due date came and went.

The 283^rd day of the pregnancy (40 weeks 3 days) was a Sunday. At this point, we felt like we were on borrowed time. Which meant that both Ali and I were working lots of extra hours and trying our best to get ahead of our workload and put ourselves in a good position to take extended leave.

Ali was doing email at the computer desk and I on the couch round about 5p when she turned to me and said, “my stomach doesn’t feel real well.” And that was it: the beginning of labor. We didn’t know it yet but we were in for an exciting night.

Around 6p, Ali still wasn’t feeling well but the feeling would come and go. She was the first one to wonder aloud, “do you think this is…labor?” I’m not 100% sure, but I’m pretty sure I responded dismissively from behind my Outlook, “Darlin’, if it were labor, there would be no mistaking it.” Then, back to my email. Ha! My bad!

By 7p, there was no mistaking it. We settled-in and waited for the one thing that I clearly recall from the parenting classes: 5-1-1. Money well spent! At 1a we called the doctor and doula. The doctor said, “how’s about you bring her into the hospital and we’ll try to figure out what’s going on.” I wondered quietly to myself, “they didn’t teach how to interpret these symptoms in medical school?”

Labor bag? Check. Overnight bag? Check. Clean the house so that Matthew will be comfortable while dog-sitting? Umm…not so much. Very sorry about that one, Matthew. But thanks for taking care of Jake!

It was pouring rain on our way to the hospital. We walked from the parking garage to the emergency room and stopped twice for contractions. Once we got into the emergency room, no one had to say a word. They just smiled knowingly and pointed towards the Labor wing.

Ali was a champ. All. Labor. Long.

I can’t sit in one position on the couch for more than 30 minutes. Ali held terribly awkward positions for 4x that long and by the time Baby arrived at 7:42am on Monday, April 20^th, I was convinced that balancing upright on epidural-ed legs is her superhuman power.

Baby weighed-in at 7lbs 11oz. We haven’t made the final decision on his name so he’ll have to be “Baby Mills” for a little bit longer.

Shortly thereafter, the new mom, the new dad and their new baby were moved into a Mother/Baby Room. Our emotions were all over the place (in a very good way). By this time the rain had stopped and the sun was welcoming all of us to a new day and the next chapter of our lives.

It turns out the it's a slow day in the Labor & Delivery Unit (and that news travels fast). The nurses and doctors have been pouring into our room to see and hold the adorable new baby with red hair. :-)

Operation: Rolling Pitter-Pat

Having just discovered the gender of our baby, the Doc wrote the secret onto a piece of paper and sealed it in an envelope. There it would keep until the Baker converted the news into confectionery intel. Like concentric circles, here's how our closest peeps learned of our (forthcoming) baby boy!

Taking the envelope from the Doc's office to the Bakery was torturous. We had to force each other to leave the envelope unopened. After a few days, the cake was finally ready. I went and picked it up alone. Of course, the Baker-lady who brought me the cake knew the secret. She laughed and joked knowingly while I quietly freaked out a little bit. Ali and I had our own little private reveal party on Oct 28th. We cut into the cake and...BLUE!

I "disclosed" mom on a Sunday early in November. We had to force the issue a bit. Grammy-to-be was having the kitchen remodeled but the construction schedule had been totally blown. This created a big dilemma since my idea was to put a balloon in a gift cleverly disguised as a house/remodel warming gift. As the construction schedule got longer (and longer), it started to encroach on the whole-family Thanksgiving announcement. Eventually, it couldn't delay any longer so I forced the issue. She cried when she opened the gift and sooo...success!

We told our immediate family on Thanksgiving via t-shirt message. Ali and I wore t-shirts made with a status bar and read, "Baby Loading. Please wait..." Once we took off our jackets, boom! The secret was out. Ali was showing at this point and there was no hiding our secret any longer. Oddly enough, I can't find a picture of us in our t-shirts. Sorry, world. You'll just have to use your imagination.

Got a few extra hours? Search for 'gender reveal ideas' and...there goes your afternoon. Don't forget to finish my post though... There are so many creative ideas out there. It's impossible not to get caught-up in the excitement; instantly wanting to do some ridiculous number of them (and do something totally unique - which is way more difficult than it sounds)