Too many requests for all the old toys on the website, and I haven't had time to incorporate them into the new look ... so... here's the old look. I'll spend time on it when I get back overseas.
Nothing too exciting to report lately. My mom and dad have been here since Saturday, and I'm fairly sure we're going to have to search their luggage before they leave ... in case they try to smuggle Ryan out of here...
I try to upload some new pictures at least every couple of days. I'm going to have to find a way to organize those pics better too... that first album of his is just getting HUGE!
Love to all!
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Thursday, February 19, 2004
A Birthday Story
A few people have asked for the details of the birth day, and I guess I kinda left that part out, huh? Ok, here goes:
We had been shopping for a new car for the past couple of days, and had finally just decided on one. We signed the papers, and went home for a nap (car shopping is tiring, ya know). Shelley's belly (hehe) had been contracted most the day, but since the due date was still 5 days away, we didn't think much of it; assumed it was just the kid getting into launch position...
We were planning on a couple of hours nap-time, then go out for a Valentine's Day dinner. We got home around 4:30pm, and the phone rang a couple times, effectively eliminating any chances for sleep. About 5:45pm Shelley got up to go to the bathroom and said something like, "ok, something just happened... I think my water just broke". She confirmed that her water had indeed broke, and asked me to call Jessica (her Lamaze coach in my absence), and tell her what had happened, and that we'd call her from the hospital. Jessica was so excited, I didn't get a chance to tell her much more than "Shelley's water just broke" ... she said she would meet us at the hospital. It was a good thing too...
We got to the hospital around 6:15pm, and was on our way to the birthing ward when Shelley had her first painful contraction. She had to squat for a few seconds before she could keep walking. Jessica was already there, and we went straight to a room. The clock in that room was broken: one of those old analog clocks with a 'second' sweep hand that kept slipping at the bottom, and took about 20 seconds to go from :35 to :36. This made timing contractions very interesting, especially since none of us highly intelligent people could figure out the stupid digital watch we had brought.
Shelley's contractions seemed very close together for being this soon in the process (at least to me, who only had second-hand knowledge to these things), and when the nurse checked her dilation at about 6:30pm, she was already at 5cm (10cm is baby-time).
Her contractions were also very painful. It was later explained to us that since the delivery came on so suddenly, her endorphins hadn't had time to kick in and help the pain, so she was feeling them full-on. The nurse asked her what she wanted to do about the pain. An epidural would take a little while to take effect, but would last for as long as was needed. There was another procedure that we can't remember the name of, but it would work immediately, but only last a couple of hours. Shelley wanted the epidural, but when the resident doctor came in to administer it, about 20 minutes later, he was prepping, and asked the nurse to check Shelley's dilation again. She was at 8-9cm, and an epidural would not take effect in time. They did the other thing... also a good thing...
The obstetrician arrived around 7pm; we had interrupted his Valentine's dinner with his wife... He changed clothes and immediately went to work.
I'll spare you the messy details, but suffice it to say that Shelley did a great job, and Baby Boy Grattan was born at 8:12pm on February 14th, 2004. He wasn't dubbed Geoffrey Ryan Grattan until around 10am the following morning, when we agreed on it.
Shelley insists I point out a couple of things: First, that I stop telling everyone her labor was "easy". I think I said that to a few people, and I didn't mean to insinuate that it wasn't hard. I will never know the pain of labor, except for my mother and Shelley reminding me how difficult it is...
Also, we're calling him Ryan. His full name is Geoffrey Ryan Grattan, but until he's old enough to decide what he prefers, his name is Ryan. We both got what we wanted. I like the name Ryan, and it's been well-documented that I wanted Geoffrey. So... there you go.
I've got a few more pictures to post today, so look for those later!
We had been shopping for a new car for the past couple of days, and had finally just decided on one. We signed the papers, and went home for a nap (car shopping is tiring, ya know). Shelley's belly (hehe) had been contracted most the day, but since the due date was still 5 days away, we didn't think much of it; assumed it was just the kid getting into launch position...
We were planning on a couple of hours nap-time, then go out for a Valentine's Day dinner. We got home around 4:30pm, and the phone rang a couple times, effectively eliminating any chances for sleep. About 5:45pm Shelley got up to go to the bathroom and said something like, "ok, something just happened... I think my water just broke". She confirmed that her water had indeed broke, and asked me to call Jessica (her Lamaze coach in my absence), and tell her what had happened, and that we'd call her from the hospital. Jessica was so excited, I didn't get a chance to tell her much more than "Shelley's water just broke" ... she said she would meet us at the hospital. It was a good thing too...
We got to the hospital around 6:15pm, and was on our way to the birthing ward when Shelley had her first painful contraction. She had to squat for a few seconds before she could keep walking. Jessica was already there, and we went straight to a room. The clock in that room was broken: one of those old analog clocks with a 'second' sweep hand that kept slipping at the bottom, and took about 20 seconds to go from :35 to :36. This made timing contractions very interesting, especially since none of us highly intelligent people could figure out the stupid digital watch we had brought.
Shelley's contractions seemed very close together for being this soon in the process (at least to me, who only had second-hand knowledge to these things), and when the nurse checked her dilation at about 6:30pm, she was already at 5cm (10cm is baby-time).
Her contractions were also very painful. It was later explained to us that since the delivery came on so suddenly, her endorphins hadn't had time to kick in and help the pain, so she was feeling them full-on. The nurse asked her what she wanted to do about the pain. An epidural would take a little while to take effect, but would last for as long as was needed. There was another procedure that we can't remember the name of, but it would work immediately, but only last a couple of hours. Shelley wanted the epidural, but when the resident doctor came in to administer it, about 20 minutes later, he was prepping, and asked the nurse to check Shelley's dilation again. She was at 8-9cm, and an epidural would not take effect in time. They did the other thing... also a good thing...
The obstetrician arrived around 7pm; we had interrupted his Valentine's dinner with his wife... He changed clothes and immediately went to work.
I'll spare you the messy details, but suffice it to say that Shelley did a great job, and Baby Boy Grattan was born at 8:12pm on February 14th, 2004. He wasn't dubbed Geoffrey Ryan Grattan until around 10am the following morning, when we agreed on it.
Shelley insists I point out a couple of things: First, that I stop telling everyone her labor was "easy". I think I said that to a few people, and I didn't mean to insinuate that it wasn't hard. I will never know the pain of labor, except for my mother and Shelley reminding me how difficult it is...
Also, we're calling him Ryan. His full name is Geoffrey Ryan Grattan, but until he's old enough to decide what he prefers, his name is Ryan. We both got what we wanted. I like the name Ryan, and it's been well-documented that I wanted Geoffrey. So... there you go.
I've got a few more pictures to post today, so look for those later!
Monday, February 16, 2004
Sunday, February 15, 2004
Welcome Home Geoffrey Ryan Grattan
Well, this will definitely be a Valentine's Day to remember...
I just wanted to get some pictures uploaded, and let everyone know we're home safe and sound. Mom and baby are both doing great, but a little tired. Dad is a bit worn out too...
(ignore the time/date stamp... it's still set for overseas)
Geoffrey Ryan Grattan was born at 8:12pm, February 14th, 2004. He weighed 6lbs 2ozs and was 20 inches long.
The rest of the photos are being uploaded to the photo gallery right now... They haven't been edited at all, so they'll be huge, and most of them will be sideways... :)
I just wanted to get some pictures uploaded, and let everyone know we're home safe and sound. Mom and baby are both doing great, but a little tired. Dad is a bit worn out too...
(ignore the time/date stamp... it's still set for overseas)
Geoffrey Ryan Grattan was born at 8:12pm, February 14th, 2004. He weighed 6lbs 2ozs and was 20 inches long.
The rest of the photos are being uploaded to the photo gallery right now... They haven't been edited at all, so they'll be huge, and most of them will be sideways... :)
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
... so close ...
I landed in Denver at 2:43pm MST. I left Romania at 7:15am (which would have been 10:15pm MST) ... you do the math, I'm too tired.
I missed a connecting flight to GJ by 15 minutes, so now I'm sitting in the "Red Carpet Club" trying to kill the time until the next flight. I was very close to renting a car and driving the last few hundred miles, but I knew if I did that, Shelley would be a nervous wreck. So... here I sit... and wait.
I flew business class the entire way, except this last 1h15m hop I have to fly coach, in a puddle-jumper. Flying out won't be so bad, because I'll START the in the cramped seats, and finish the trip comfortable; but finishing a trip over over 8000 miles in Oh well, it's worth all this to get home, ya know?
I just talked to Shelley, told her everything is fine. I'll be seeing her in about 3 hours, and fully expecting her to be a "blubbering idiot"... hey... her words, not mine. I know better than to call a pregnant woman who is just DAYS from popping anything but "sweetheart"...
So, for obvious reasons, I'm going to be here very sparsely. I'll start the picture upload sometime this weekend, but that'll be about it until after the new arrival... err.. arrives.
Love to all! Thanks for reading my inane babble!
I missed a connecting flight to GJ by 15 minutes, so now I'm sitting in the "Red Carpet Club" trying to kill the time until the next flight. I was very close to renting a car and driving the last few hundred miles, but I knew if I did that, Shelley would be a nervous wreck. So... here I sit... and wait.
I flew business class the entire way, except this last 1h15m hop I have to fly coach, in a puddle-jumper. Flying out won't be so bad, because I'll START the in the cramped seats, and finish the trip comfortable; but finishing a trip over over 8000 miles in Oh well, it's worth all this to get home, ya know?
I just talked to Shelley, told her everything is fine. I'll be seeing her in about 3 hours, and fully expecting her to be a "blubbering idiot"... hey... her words, not mine. I know better than to call a pregnant woman who is just DAYS from popping anything but "sweetheart"...
So, for obvious reasons, I'm going to be here very sparsely. I'll start the picture upload sometime this weekend, but that'll be about it until after the new arrival... err.. arrives.
Love to all! Thanks for reading my inane babble!
Thursday, February 05, 2004
Time, despite popular opinion, does not "fly"...
... though I'm having "fun" ... well ok, not FUN but I'm definitely not NOT having fun ... Time is definitely slowing down. We're down to 5 days before I'm flying home... and time has nearly slowed to a crawl.
I finally have my final itinerary in hand. (leaving Frankfurt at 12:45pm, landing in Denver at 2:50pm ... a 10 hour flight, and only 2 hours will have passed... now THAT's time slowing down a LOT). Shelley was, of course, relieved that I actually had travel plans.
So I'll upload all my pictures when I get home (and have a real connection). I have a TON of them, and of course will have a lot more in a few weeks. Some of you will want to see what the little munchkin looks like (let's hope he looks more like Shelley than me...)
Love to all!
I finally have my final itinerary in hand. (leaving Frankfurt at 12:45pm, landing in Denver at 2:50pm ... a 10 hour flight, and only 2 hours will have passed... now THAT's time slowing down a LOT). Shelley was, of course, relieved that I actually had travel plans.
So I'll upload all my pictures when I get home (and have a real connection). I have a TON of them, and of course will have a lot more in a few weeks. Some of you will want to see what the little munchkin looks like (let's hope he looks more like Shelley than me...)
Love to all!
Monday, February 02, 2004
Very appropriate...
I found this in the Stars & Stripes, cut it out, and scanned it... actually I photocopied it before I scanned it, to get rid of the "newspaper" color. What's my point? Nothing, just showing you ALL the work I go through for you people! :P
Anyway, that very much adequately describes my attitude lately. Everything that I do seems to send a LOT of junk my way, but I just smile and make it seem like that's just what I expected... it impresses a lot of people! ;)
I'm in Romania, nothing exciting to report. I've got some good pictures, and only have *** 8 MORE DAYS *** until I'm on my way home ...
Love ya, every last one of you! Well, ok, some of you I just like a lot...
Anyway, that very much adequately describes my attitude lately. Everything that I do seems to send a LOT of junk my way, but I just smile and make it seem like that's just what I expected... it impresses a lot of people! ;)
I'm in Romania, nothing exciting to report. I've got some good pictures, and only have *** 8 MORE DAYS *** until I'm on my way home ...
Love ya, every last one of you! Well, ok, some of you I just like a lot...
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