June was a pretty productive month for us as far as preparation for the baby’s arrival. We had our last (of three) birthing classes last week, for which Sean is truly thankful…but isn’t that part of the territory? The wife gives birth, but the husband has to sit through birthing classes and watch gory (albeit real life) videos of others going through the childbirth process? I think that’s plenty fair. :-) We have also toured the hospital, pre-registered and selected a pediatrician for the baby. In fact, on Father’s Day we got a glimpse of what the real thing might be like, as we made an unplanned trip to the hospital…but more on that later.
As I said, June was a pretty productive and busy month, but it started out on a sad note for my family. My Grandma Cox passed away and we all gathered in Minnesota for her funeral. We’re all going to miss her dearly, but at the same time we’re comforted in knowing that she’s no longer in pain, with which she’d been battling for many years. She was my last living grandparent, and I’m saddened that little Ellen will never know her great-grandparents on my side of the family. However, as my brother Joel pointed out in the beautiful eulogy he gave at her funeral, some of the best memories of my Grandma Cox will be passed on for years, including her amazing cooking, love for family gatherings and the beautiful quilts she was so talented at creating. Little Ellen already has two quilts made by her Great Grandma Cox in her room right now. While the passing of a loved one is never a fun occasion for which to gather, the bright side was that I was able to see my whole family one last time before Ellen arrives. Thanks to a generous bereavement leave through work, I was able to spend almost an entire week in Minnesota with my family, catching up and being together.
After returning from Minnesota, I started thinking about what I could do for Sean for Father’s Day. Although he wasn’t technically a dad yet, he’s definitely a dad-to-be, and for that he deserves a little something, no? His surprise flower delivery to my office for Mother’s Day was pretty sweet, considering Sean is typically very anti-flowers, yet knows I love receiving them. Some of you may already know this, but Sean loves Las Vegas. He always has a fun time there, even if he doesn’t win. So I started planning in my head how I might be able to arrange such a weekend for him. Although I wouldn’t be able to go on the floors much because of the smoke, surely we could lay a few bets down in the sports book, eat some nice dinners and maybe see a show. To my pleasant surprise, an offer for three free nights at Treasure Island was waiting for me when I got home. So we got busy planning our trip! We arrived on Friday afternoon and spent the weekend doing a little gambling, watching the College World Series (unfortunately ASU was knocked out on Friday night), eating at some great restaurants (Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill and Mario Batali’s Carnevino) and indulging in some spa services. All in all, a great weekend away!
On Father’s Day we ate at one of Sean’s favorite Vegas spots, the Mandalay Bay buffet, where he could indulge in all the seafood and brunch items his heart desired. We hit the road back to Phoenix and talked about what a nice Father’s Day it turned out to be, making sure we spoke to both of our dads to wish them a nice day. After getting back, unpacking and eating dinner, we took Brinkley for a walk, per our usual after-dinner routine. A couple blocks from our house I stumbled on some uneven pavement, and before I knew it, I was on the ground. Thankfully, my hands, knees and face took most of the fall, but I was still very aware that I’d fallen face-first and my stomach had hit the ground. We quickly got home, called my doctor, and headed up to the hospital to get checked out. I’m happy to report, after 24 hours of observation and monitoring in the hospital, everything checked out just fine. Little Ellen’s heart beat was strong and consistent throughout the night and I was just fine, save for some pretty ugly scratches on my knees and lip. Not exactly the kind of Father’s Day we planned, but it was good practice for getting to the hospital for the real thing later on! Sean was incredibly calm and supportive, yet appropriately hurried and urgent in getting to the hospital and doing everything he could to help. I can’t say I was anywhere near that…more like terrified and thinking the worst. I wonder if this is a sign of our parenting styles for the future…
To finish off the month of June, two of my girlfriends down here in Phoenix threw me a lovely baby shower. Many of the guests were people I don’t see on a regular basis, so it was nice to catch up with everyone. Everyone was so generous and now little Ellen has even more cute clothes, books, bath time items and bedding! Her room is really coming together and we can’t wait to show it to her. Sean did a practice-run with our video camera, filming the room, so take a look!
No comments:
Post a Comment