Bat Man Turned 8

I am so far behind! There is so much to post about and I don't want to do it all in one post because some things deserve their own post! So I'll start with Bat Man.

Bat Man turned 8 on March 23rd - I know - I'm a month behind!

Bat Man is our child that constantly keeps us on our toes - making sure that we're doing what we're supposed to be doing. In our opinion he has a little bit of OCD. He likes order, schedules, and things done the same way over and over again. Here's a little flashback to how his life began...

We waited for Bat Man for almost a year - I say that because we wanted another child (secretly I wanted another girl - so Dani could have a sister). I miscarried twice and then finally past my 12 week mark with Bat Man and was so relieved! Honestly, I don't think I ever relaxed throughout the whole pregancy. I was so relieved when he was born healthy. I was due the beginning of April. Spot had been off work for 6 weeks because of a surgery he required and started back at work in the middle of March 2001. Spot was feeling "out of the loop" at work and was desperate to go to a big important meeting that was being held in Ottawa. I was two weeks away from my due date so I told him to go - it would only be an overnight trip. He insisted that I went with him or he wasn't going to go at all. Finally, after a lot of begging, I gave in and packed our bags and we went up to Ottawa with him. On our way into Ottawa our car caught fire. I can't remember what went wrong but it wasn't good. We were on a busy freeway exit and blocking a lot of traffic, but couldn't move the van anywhere. Spot called CAA and a taxi and we waited and waited. The taxi finally came and the three little kids and I hopped into the taxi and headed to the hotel. Spot stayed behind and waited for the tow truck and made it back to the hotel a few hours later after getting the van to a nearby repair shop. It would be ready for pick up the next day - just in time for us to drive home. I don't remember much about that night. I remember going for a walk to a drug store because one of the kids had a cough and we needed some cough syrup and stopping to get some donuts on the way back. We were staying at the Marriott Suites so it was a nice big hotel room with a seperate bedroom and kitchen. I didn't get much sleep that night because of the sick kids and so Spot took the kids down to get breakfast in the morning before his big important meeting...and let me sleep a little bit. After they had left I got up to go to the bathroom and my water broke. I was terrified! You see, all of my labours had been really quick - the last one, Dani was only an hour and a little bit from the first pain until she was born. I was worried that this one would be the same and didn't know what to do! I called down to the desk asking if they could page someone in the breakfast area and they said it was too big and they couldn't. I hung up and tried to think what I should do. I really needed Spot! I called down again and told them that my water just broke and I needed my husband - they found him right away and he came up to the room. We had no van, no idea where the hospital was and 3 kids to worry about. Spot called his boss and told him the situation. His boss agreed to drive us to the hospital on the way to the big important meeting. I got ready (as ready as you can get) and we all headed downstairs to meet his boss and have him take us. Little did I know, all of the "big wigs" from the company were in the lobby as well. So just picture me, 9 months pregnant, water broken, walking around meeting all these vice presidents and the president of the company...I'm sure I made a wonderful impression!!! ugh!

His boss met us out front with his fancy vehicle with leather seats....ugh again! We made it to the hospital and went to check in (remember, we still have all three kids in tow!). They checked me and agreed that my water had broken and they'd need to admit me. I wasn't feeling any pain and this point and if I knew then that we'd be in the hospital all day we would have rented a van and driven home at that point...we had no idea!! They showed me to my room and hooked me up to an IV and I proceeded to walk the halls while Spot dealt with the kids. After a few hours the kids were getting so bored but we had no idea what to do with them. I finally got the impression to ask Spot if his parents had kept in contact with anyone in Ottawa since they moved years ago. He called his mom and sure enough they still knew someone and gave her a call. I don't know where she lived (but I've been told since that it was about an hour away from the hospital) but she dropped everything and came to our rescue - a true guardian angel!!! What a blessing that was. She came and met us and lovingly took our kids, I remember being worried for a moment, after all I didn't know this person, but that feeling only lasted a moment and then I was overcome with a feeling that the kids would be fine and I didn't need to worry.

The rest of the day was spent walking the halls and waiting and waiting. Finally at around 4:00 I started to feel something and our wonderful nurse insisted that I get the epidural as soon as possible! I had told her that it was my dream to have this baby without feeling anything at all - after having three natural births! She made sure that dream came true! Bat Man was finally born at around 5:00 and I literally laughed him out. I couldn't stop laughing because it was so funny to me to not feel any pain. It was wonderful!

We had a few minutes with our new little son. He was perfect. Spot called our angel and asked her to bring the kids back. I got cleaned up and rested a bit and then she came with the kids. They were so thrilled to see the baby. What a day!!! Spot left with the kids to get them back to the hotel and to bed. (I can't remember but I think our angel drove him back to the hotel...remember...we had no vehicle!!!)

I got settled in my room and about 5 minutes later there was a knock at my door. One of the VP's came looking for Spot and thought they would find him there. He was Bat Man's first visitor! (I didn't know him at all!!! - it was a little awkward!)

I don't know how Spot made it through the next 2 days - 3 kids in a hotel room, can't be fun!!! I was finally given the okay to go home on Sunday morning. I remember stealing one of those green pads they put on the beds in the hospital so I could sit on it in the van. Luckily we brought the baby car seat and my hospital bag...just in case. I remember stopping at McDonald's on the way home and just looking forward to being home!

What a story!!! We're sure he's going to be a Prime Minister or something political...seeing how he was born in the nation's capital.

The reason for his moniker "Bat Man" is he wasn't named for 30 days after he was born. We had girls names picked out and so we'd try a different name out every day until one stuck. He was almost a Winston, in fact he was for a few days. Thank goodness something told me not to stick with that. Finally, the forms had to be filled in and sent (they give you 30 days to do so) and so we had to settle on one. While he was "no name" the kids would call him Bat Man.

Bat Man likes routines. He gets up each morning at 6:30. Has breakfast, brushes his teeth and gets dressed and is ready to go by 7:00. He likes to follow the rules and likes perfection.

Bat Man has a beautiful voice and likes to sing. He also likes to play the piano - if only he had a good piano teacher! He also likes to play our guitar...once again...lessons would be helpful!

Basketball has been his favorite sport this spring, that is, until football starts! He's so excited to start in the Atom level and be able to wear the equipment this year. He's also signed up for swim club with his brothers and sisters.

He's destined to be a plumber...he just can't keep them pulled up! enough said!

Bat Man loves numbers! He is excellent at Math. He's super smart and does well in all of his courses in school. Once again, perfection is important to him!

He got baptized on Good Friday (April 10). It was a nice program and he enjoyed his special day. We went casual afterwards and had hotdogs for lunch. It was a hit with everyone and perfect for Bat Man.

We are so happy to have him in our family! Oh, the best thing about Bat Man is his laugh! But don't get him started because it's hard to stop him once he gets going! We love you Bat Man!!!