Rich, Heather and Alana’s Blog

Well, it has been quite an interesting weekend!

Bri and I have been planning a baby shower for our dear friend, Heidi, and we set the date for Saturday, March 3rd and mailed out the invitations, looking forward to getting friends and family together to shower Heidi with gifts.

However, in the middle of the night last Thursday, baby Posey decided that he was ready to enter the world 6 weeks early! So early Friday morning, Kyle and Heidi set out for Parkridge East.

Heidi thought she was just having false labor pains, but Kyle claims that he “just knew” that it was the real deal, and that they would be in the hospital until the baby was born!

Upon receiving Bri’s email on Friday morning at work that Heidi was actually in labor, I was shocked! I was excited and nervous at the same time, since Heidi was barely in the “safe zone” to deliver the baby! We prayed and kept praying on Friday morning, and then Bri and I headed over to visit Heidi during our lunch hour when Heidi was 4 cm dialated. She was as sweet and calm as usual, but in pain from contractions and, naturally, feeling a little unprepared to be in labor so soon!

Then Rich came back with me to visit on Friday evening and got these memorable photos…

We kept Heidi company and attempted to distract her from the contractions…

“labor room 3″

Here is sweet Heidi going through a tough contraction, focusing on her breathing, and trying to appreciate the ice chips when she was so hungry! She did such a great job during labor and we are all so proud of her!

We supplied Kyle with his favorite candy for the ordeal, dark chocolate m&m’s, and he was a great coach for Heidi and we know he will be a great dad!

After Rich and I left the hospital on Friday night, Heidi gave birth to a beautiful baby boy at about 11 PM!

Avery Kyle Posey weighed in at 5 lbs, 3 oz and is 18 inches long!

Since little Avery was born early, the Dr. is monitoring him so he will stay in I.C.U. for a couple of days until released to come home to be with mom and dad!

There are strict rules regarding the I.C.U., so unfortunately, Rich wasn’t able to go in to take pictures like he wanted to! Since the parents were the only ones allowed to take photos in there, Rich set up his camera and sent it in with Kyle (and Kyle’s parents) to grab some shots of little Avery…

A proud dad…

And proud grandparents…

Here I am with the brave mama! I love you, Heidi girl!

We are excited to be on this adventure with you! Congratulations!

Then the fun continued…

Since Avery was born before the shower, and Kyle and Heidi had no idea that he would be born so soon, they were totally unprepred for him at home!

So, Bri, Bethany and I ran off to Babies R Us! We printed off the registry and went crazy! We bought everything they need to get started, from preemie diapers and a diaper genie, to blankets, crib sheets, bathtub, and clothes. We spent about two hours shopping, and got to know several employees! They even offered to order pizza for us and we joked about needing to campout overnight!

To add a special touch for Heidi, we decided to use the wrapping station in the store to wrap every item we bought before taking it to their house. We laughed hysterically at our inferior wrapping abilities and had a great time.

Here we are after our excursion…with Bethany’s whole trunk full of baby supplies! Thanks to my honey for the cell phone picture when he came to pick me up!

Well, I’m hooked (to the blogosphere). Though that comes as no surprise.  I’m back only three days later.  Some people blog every day, I think, or more than that.  I don’t know that I will ever be quite that attached.  Especially when I tend to prioritize a clean home to being on the computer.  It’s a never ending job (housework), and all I have is a husband.  I can’t imagine the job after having kids!  I guess that’s when one is challenged to let notions of "clean and tidy" take a hiatus.

I used to think that to crochet or knit you had to be a sweet old grandma who doesn’t have quite the strength or energy to do something more strenuous.  And while that may be true in part, I am learning that it is wise and exciting to make something from nothing (well, with only thread and a needle).  I think it is especially wonderful come Christmastime.  It allows you to construct a personal, unique gift especially for someone.  It allows you to save money and be creative.  And though it can be time consuming, the gift becomes that much more special because you have invested both time and thought.  And the money thing . . . with current gas prices and an economy reeling from a year of record-breaking natural disasters, well, being financially conservative is necessary.

All of that to say, I recently decided that I want to learn to crochet.  I think more and more young people are seeing the appeal.  Not only is it a creative, satisfying experience, it produces the trendy, homespun feel.  I often walk into Target and right there facing me are racks of completely cute and pretty things: scarves, hats, mittens, etc, all begging me to buy them.  The problem is, if I bought every cute scarf I saw, I would have a plethora of coordinating outerwear but no money in my wallet.

So while I will always enjoy bulk manufactured products, I am embarking on a new journey.  And eventually, who knows, maybe I will become good enough to sell my product.  I think that would be so enjoyable. Maybe someday Target will be buying my products.  Okay, not likely.  A girl can dream.