"On the night you were born,
The moon smiled with such wonder
That the stars peeked in to see you
And the night wind whispered,
"Life will never be the same."
Because there had never been anyone like you... ever in the world."

OK, so to be fair, you were born at 7:43 AM. But let's get to the story of the day you were born.

We had a scheduled C-section for Monday, September 22nd. Daddy and I had to wake up very early to get checked in at the hospital. The night before we went to Grandma & Grandpa's house in Mukwonago for dinner and said our tearful goodbyes to your brother and our little family of 3.

They were tears of sadness at the thought of leaving your brother for a few days. Tears of anxiety for not knowing how much our lives were about to change. And, most importantly, tears of happiness for knowing that we were so much closer to meeting our little boy or girl and growing our amazing family.

As I said, we arrived at the hospital very early that morning. We got checked in, taken to our room and waited for the doctors and nurses to get everything prepped and ready in the operating room so that you could make your appearance.

Before we knew it, it was go time!

Momma walked to the operating room and daddy got suited up in his scrubs so that he could join me a little while later. The doctors and nurses prepped me for surgery and I remember the room being very cold and very bright. Daddy came in and held my hand and the doctor started the surgery.

As much as I was prepared to become a mom for the second time, nothing could truly prepare me for the amazement and love that I felt for you the instant you came into this world. And having your daddy tell me "It's a boy" is a moment I will never forget. Ever. I cried. There were no tears of sadness or anxiety. This time they were tears of pure joy and love.

And you cried, too. You made sure the world knew you were here from the moment you were born.

Daddy was the first one to hold you...

 And he brought you over to introduce us. And then I cried more.

And finally, momma got to hold you. And, you guessed it, I cried again.

We finished up in the operating room and made our way back to our room. While we were there we talked for a little while about your name. We had sort of decided on it before you were born but then my pregnancy hormones kept making me waffle over whether or not it was the one that would fit you best. Also, I was mostly convinced you'd be a girl so we had only a couple of boy names selected and a lot of girl names.

Ultimately we decided on a good, strong, traditional, family name. And it suits you perfectly.

John Edward. John after your daddy (Erik John) and your late great grandfather (Grandpa Joe's dad). And you have some great uncles with the name John as well. Edward is after your other great grandfather (Grandma Karen's dad) and, we found out later, that it was your other great grandfather's middle name. All in all there is a lot of strength and history to the name we chose for you.

The first day went by really fast. You nursed well. We slept (a little). And day 2 came.

You got to meet your brother.

 And then Grandma Karen & Grandpa Joe.

 And then Nana Mary and Papa Ralph.

Time flew by in the hospital and on Thursday, September 25, we got the go ahead to come home and start as a family of 4. Here was the last picture in the hospital of just the 3 of us before we went to pick up your brother and introduce you to your new home with us.

 We love you, John Edward. And we are so happy that you are a part of our family.