Yeah, that about sums it up. The pictures are in our online gallery.

The car next to mine in the parking garage caught fire. No one was nearby. Our cars had been parked there since 9 am, but the fire didn’t start until after lunch. The fire department thought that it could have been an electrical problem, but they didn’t really know. The arson dog came by so they could see if it smelled any chemicals. My car just got cosmetic damage on the side near the fire. I was able to drive it home. The car on the other side had more extensive damage. The car that caught fire was, obviously, a lost cause.

Alden is developing his vocabulary, and it is so nice for us. Yesterday when I was taking off his pants, he said, “Papi took off!” We’ve been waiting for a long time for him to start stringing words together. He’s going to love communicating better.

The day before, he called “Eden” by her right name by himself for the first time. When he learned to talk, he called her “Hen.” Even though he has been able to pronounce all those letters for a long time, he had stuck to his original nickname.

One of his enunciation issues is with the “tr” sound. When he tries to say a word like “truck” he pronounces it with an “F”. It doesn’t sound very polite.

My midwife expected me to deliver between 36-38 weeks. But school finals came and went. We had a full day to celebrate Alden’s birthday. The Fourth of July went out with a bang and still no baby.

My midwife, Lindsey, encouraged me to naturally induce labor through a sweep. She told me to get out and walk and expected I would go into labor that day sometime.

So I walked over 3 miles, dropping off my visiting teaching newsletters. That evening contractions started to kick in and I knew it was starting. Chad and I started a movie but I couldn’t sit still for more than a few minutes. Chad tried to get some sleep and I walked around the neighborhood to try and keep my mind off of the pain. After two loops I knew it was time to head to the hospital.

Chad grabbed Becky Jessop from next door and we headed out. Chad called Lindsey on the way. We checked into the hospital a little after 1:00 am. At 2:27 am we welcomed our little BOY!

Jasher Chad. 7 pounds 13 ounces, 19 inches long. A head of dark hair. He didn’t cry a bit. He just looked around wide eyed. He was an ugly, puffy, squashed-nose little gnome. And I couldn’t love him more! His first pictures are of quite a different little monster than the beauty is is now, four weeks later. The kids adore him. I was amazed at how quickly Alden learned the name Jasher. We all love being a family of 5.