March 2006

Caleb William Ardle

I think we finally passed the threshold of what it takes to be a big family, at least in this day and age, and we are thrilled!

Caleb was born at 2:14 am on March 20 at the University of Michigan hospital. Being five days late, Shelly and I went in for her scheduled induction on Sunday night and just a few hours later were parents of four. He was 6 lbs 8oz (making him our lightest) and 20.75 inches long.

I guess this gets easier with each child since this was the easiest delivery for Shelly yet. With both mother and child doing well I got to go home for a few hours sleep before being woken up by three excited children who couldn’t wait to see their baby brother.

With my parents, I took the kids to see Shelly and baby Caleb. You can read their first impressions on the next page. Lindsey was pretty sad when we had to leave mommy and baby at the hospital one more day but even more excited the next day when they got to come home.

Caleb got to get a new car seat since our older one had passed its useful life, having carried the other three. Apart from that and some new clothes he will certainly get a lot of hand-me downs. But, I don’t think he will mind because he will benefit from having lots of love handed down too!

So, now our van is full, our house is full and our table will soon be surrounded at meal time. But we have three great little helpers, two additional mothers, and one great big brother who is glad to have numbers evened up around here!

Thank you for praying for us throughout this pregnancy and delivery. We are very excited about our latest gift from God!

Kids' Column

I finally have a brother! I don’t show much about being excited, but I made him a necklace and I hold him whenever I get a chance. I will teach him lots of things when he grows up. Daddy says that he doesn’t even know how to wrestle yet. Daddy and I are good at that, so we will teach him. We got to go to the hospital two times in one day to see Mommy and Caleb.

OK. I’m not so sad any more  that God gave me a brother instead of a sister. He is cute! It is fun to kiss him and hold him. We went to the hospital and Mommy’s bed was so neat—it had all kinds of buttons and I tried every one. Mommy said she had a hard time figuring out how to fix the bed after I left. Lindsey and I cried a lot when we had to leave Mommy and Caleb at the hospital. But it sure is fun to have them home now. I got to move my seat in the van so now I sit next to Andrew. It is a great seat and I can even turn around and look out the back of the van now.

I finally have a real baby to play with! I love babies so much that I point them out wherever we go. It is so exciting to be a big sister. I am reminding Mommy and Daddy a lot that “Baby” is here. They won’t let me hold him by myself—something about seeing me throw my baby dolls on the floor concerns them I guess. I am no longer a baby because babies can’t help with the laundry and setting the table like I have been doing. Oh, the best part about Caleb is that he gets to sit next to me in the van. Right where I can keep a close eye on him!

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