|
| Well, what a procrastinator am I! To anyone who may care, I apologize for not posting for five months or so, but the long and short of it is that Bishop Anthony Boutwell is finally here!! He was born May 16 @ 5:02 pm and was 7 lbs. 11 oz., 20.5 in. long. Erica had to have a C-section because she was not dilated after several hours and when they went in to get him, his cord was wrapped around his neck and wrist which explains why. Anyway, he is healthy and beautiful and full of personality already. Here is what the little devil looks like: 
. . in the nursery just after delivery getting washed and tagged 
. . .with mommy the next morning (look at all that hair!) He is quiet and well-mannered and he looks around alot when he is awake. This made us think that he was curious, but our nurse informed us that newborns have fuzzy vision and don't see completely until six months, but we choose to believe otherwise. He is surprisingly strong and is able to roll over onto his side and lift his head as well as beat me in arm-wrestling. He has the cutest cry and he smells like a meadow. We love him with every little bit of ourselves and could stare at him all day and night. I have never been so happy in all my life. I am a father, I have a son, and my heart feels as big as the sky. PEACE | | |
| I would exclaim, "MERRY XMAS," but I'm a few days late and today is my mother's day of birth, so happy 5?th, mom!! I hope everyone had a lovely, joyous, warm, and toasty holiday with any and/or all the people that you love and love you and some who simply know you and you know, but still got the invitation to come. I hope you didn't get any peanut brittle this year, or if you're one of those people that enjoy that, then I hope you did. I am awfully grateful this year for a number of reasons: 1. I have two families that love me and think that I was spun with gold when I was born. 2. I have a wonderful wife who grows more lovely every day. 3. And lastly. . . I'M GONNA BE A DADDY!!!!!! Yes, the good Lord saw fit to bless us with child. Also, last Friday we found out that it is a boy!! Check him out:  "BISHOP ANTHONY BOUTWELL" We're very excited that it's a boy as we both were hoping for one. After hearing from my dad that there haven't been any girls on his side of the family in, oh, seven generations, I realized that our chances of having a girl were pretty slim from the get-go. "Anthony" is Erica's dad's middle name, and "Bishop" we got from a little black boy in Wal-Mart, true story. Erica and I couldn't agree on any boy names, and one night we were in Wal-Mart picking up some gag gifts and saw this little black boy and his sister messing with the plush toys that sing and dance, like those annoying santa claus dolls that dance and sing "jingle bells" or "livin la vida loca" (not kidding). Anyway, they were turning on as many of these toys as they could at one time and just dancing around in the aisle while their grandfather looked on, impatiently. At one point, he yelled, "Bishop, stop that, we need to go, leave that alone," and other things exasperated grandparents yell at their grandchildren. When Erica heard the name, it struck her and a couple days later she asked me if I liked it, and I did, especially when she told me where she got it from. Lil' Bish will be here around the end of May and we can't wait. Finding out that we're having a boy is by far the best gift I got this year. Less than a year ago, I felt unready to be a parent. Today, I still do, but I've come to realize that it's just one of those things you have to dive into. Here goes nothin'. Happy New Year, everyone!! PEACE | | |
| For those of you who live in Arkansas, you have a lovely state. My wife and I trucked up to Little Rock for a few days last week to get away from Dallas and spend some time with old friends. It did not take us long to realize we had forgotten what fall looked like. First of all, there are way more trees in Arkansas than in Dallas and I never knew how much I would miss a tree, but when all you see is concrete, asphalt, and the endless amount of cars that ride upon it every day, seeing a lake and a forest is like walking through the wardrobe into Narnia. Ok, I know Arkansas is not Narnia, I have lived there, Arkansas, not Narnia, though that would be cool. . . .anyway, it beats looking at the infinite restaurant signs that clutter the sides of Dallas highways. Second of all, it looked and felt like fall. It was 50° on average all weekend and the leaves on the trees were turning a beautiful mix of oranges, yellows, and reds. We had a good time with our friends (hola Juan y Pagina), and even checked out an air show at the Air Force base featuring the Blue Angels (everybody go ooooh). I haven't been to an air show in quite awhile, and I must say that where there are food vendors serving funnel cakes and huge corn dogs mixed with the smell of jet fuel, you will find members of every class of society, to put it gently. There was every manner of person on the tarmac that day, those with mullets and those without, people with teeth and people without, with a fanny pack or two thrown in for good measure. It was quite a sight, and it was free, so double kudos. Third and lastly, the people were nice in Arkansas (this is starting to sound like a tourism ad). It was nice to go somewhere where, not to be rude, life moves a little slower. I hated to leave and when Erica and I drove into Dallas on Sunday night, in the rain, in a traffic jam, I soon remembered why I left home in the first place. So, I encourage you to stop and take in the scenery occasionally, it's refreshing. Then write a poem about it or something. Happy Thanksgiving!!!! PEACE | | |
| Erica and I went to the doctor for the first time a little more than a week ago to "confirm" her pregnancy. We got to see a sonogram of Baby Boutwell and it is about the size of a small peanut with a head, a heart, arms, legs, and eye-buds. Its heart was beating around 163 bpm. That's about how fast your heart beats at the peak of a workout, only a little faster. Erica read somewhere that if the baby develops at the same rate throughout the pregnancy as it does in the first couple months, by the end of nine months it would be as big as the sun. So, in essence, their is a nuclear reactor in my wife's belly right now. Thankfully, at one point the heart rate slows down and the baby continues to simply grow, having been fully developed early on. We're also thankful that there's only one fetus in there. Erica said that if she had twins, she would cry every day until they turned 18 and left home. I might, too. Happy Halloween, everybody. PEACE | | |
| Well, life comes at you fast, doesn't it? Hey everybody!! It's finally autumn (right?), my favorite season. The weather is cooler, the leaves are turning vibrant colors, overcast clouds are looming above, a welcome gloominess sets in from the blinding, muggy days of summer; it's a season for introspection before the year comes to a close. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas fall in one after another and then, all of a sudden, it's New Year's Day, time to start all over again. Leaves, weary of pumping out oxygen all year, clock out until spring and freefall to the cold, wet ground. I couldn't have picked a better time to discover that spring would bring with it not only new life to mother nature but to me and erica. We are going to have a baby. (S)he will be here at the end of May and we can't describe how happy we are. I hope life is treating you as well as it is treating us. We've had our share of troubles, but we could not be in a better environment to handle life's obstacles. God bless you all, wherever you are. PEACE | | |
|
