And Then There Were Three (part 1)

Welcome to the world, Haden Asher.

Your mother and I love you very much. We first discovered that you were coming into this world on April 7th, 2008 just before 4 AM in the morning. I was rather groggy, but quickly woke up to the realization that your mother and I were about to be responsible for a whole 'nother life on this planet.

We celebrated by stuffing our faces as Kirby Lane. I suggest you go there one day at 5 in the morning one day. They have pretty good celebratory breakfast food. Just make sure we know you're there and who you're with.

It wasn't long after this that you gave your mother what we'll call the Sleepless Nights. For several weeks she simply couldn't sleep and it took a while for her body to you growing in her tummy. I, being the knucklehead that I am, managed to sleep right through her awakeness, but she never gave me a hard time about it. Just expressed her jealousy of my awesome ability to sleep.

It was was only 13 days after we found out that you were coming that I sold my beloved motorcycle, Titania, and bought my camera, Haruko. I sold off the bike because your mother was worried about something happening to me. That wouldn't have been good with you on the way, so instead I bought the camera with the money and that's why we have such wonderful looking pictures of you. One day I'll show you how to take good pictures with it and enjoy the world from that point of view (after, of course, I brush up on my own skills).

Another thing that happened was that your mother got the Vicious Sickness. She didn't throw up very much, but she could almost only eat certain kinds of chicken noodle soup for a long time, and felt very very nauseous nearly all day every day for weeks on end. She pushed on through it though, knowing that you were going to be the prize for all of her hard work. I made a lot of soup during this time, and if you ever get sick I'll be happy to make it for you too.

We did lots of things while you were growing in your mommy. One thing we did was go to the doctor and listen to your heartbeat. That was really fun to do. We also saw you on an ultrasound, but you kind of looked like a peanut at that point, so we didn't know what you would end up being. That would come much later.

Your doctor was named Doctor Solomon. He was a true blessing to your mother and I, and we are so so grateful that he was who took care of mom during her pregnancy with you. The doctors we went to did lots of things, and we even found out that you were a boy!! We were so happy, but it took a long time to decide on what your name would be. We both had very different preferences, but in the end we were both very happy with what your name ended up being. Haden Asher. A good, strong name.

Your momma got bigger and bigger as the days went on. Not only did she get bigger though, but she stayed a beautiful as she was when she somehow married me. You got bigger too! And developed all the things you would need to live in the outside world.

On our one year anniversary your mommy and I showed the world the meaning of the world carnivore. You come from a family of meat-eaters, and Fogo de Chao was just what we wanted. One day we'll take you there for a super-special occasion of your own, and I'll make sure how to show you how to grill your own meat for mass human consumption.

Then the big day arrived. We had gone to the hospital in the afternoon on December 7th, and after doing some tests and sending us home, we ate dinner, went home, and went to sleep.

To be continued...