The Big Adventures of Li'l' Max

The last ten days of my Li'l’ Max have been quite adventurous for such a young boy. Most of the adventures were experienced by him under a blanket or with his nose buried in my chest, but hey, he’ll never be able to say that we never take him anywhere.

The start of his adventurous time began at the ward overnight campout. Max loved the tent and loved even better going home before the rain came. The rest of the kids and I braved the elements and made it through the night relatively dry.

This past week Max got to see his Dad in action as he and Deb joined me in Pleasanton, California for my Young Living meeting. Of course like half the crowd, he slept right through it. I was still very happy to have my “Why” there to inspire me throughout the meeting.

After business, it was all fun and games as we headed over the bridge to San Francisco. Max got to see his very first baseball game in, of all places, one of the coolest parks around, AT&T Park. We saw some Dingers, sang “Take me out to the ballgame,” and got a little sun while overlooking the beautiful bay. Max didn’t exactly take in the sights as he snuggled up to Dad in his state-of-the-art Snugli and slept through the whole game.

Once the game ended in a disappointing loss for the home team (creating quite a stir with two “lovely,” Sailoresque lady fans behind us) we took up the task of cramming all of San Fran into one afternoon. This included an open air bus tour, riding across the Golden Gate, visiting various neighborhoods, getting Tourist Trapped at the Wharf, and riding a Cable Car up and down while our narrator told us all the different movies filmed along the route.


And through it all, Max was warming my chest with the steady breathing of a sleeping child.
The getaway ended with a short flight back home, which Max slept through of course, and reuniting with the other kids after a trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s house (thanks so much you two).
We’ve reached the boiling point several times with having FOUR kids but we have loved it so much. Max has been the consummate baby and is surviving being mauled by his siblings on a constant basis.
** In addition to this great 10 day adventure, I wish to shout from the Cyber rooftops how great the past 10 years of marriage have been with my lovely wife Deborah. I love you, Deb.

What's important

I had plans to make my next blog entry a discussion of Tweeting and how far communication has come from the Pony Express days. It would have been very insightful, trust me. Instead, last night, my basketball game started a chain of events that were far more important.

Even before I was sweating the night away at my Wednesday game, I was instructed by my wife to have the phone close. "just in case". Well in the middle of game 8 or 9 the phone rings. Amid the chuckles and comments I stop the game to answer the call. "I think this may be it" she says.

After getting home we made the call to my Dad to come watch the kids. He arrives, we leave.
At Timpanogos Hospital the monitoring begins. The contractions were short, but very painful. Painful enough to convince the doctor on call to make the decision to perform the C-section today.

So at 6:15 the doctor comes in, quite an upbeat guy I may add, and carts my wife away to the O.R. Meanwhile I get a brief chance to reflect, and since we hadn't slept all night, I doze off in the 4 minutes I had to sit and prepare.

After getting decked out in the new throw away scrubs I head over to meet up with Deb. The procedure was quick and painless...well for me. But at that moment, when I saw his face, his wrinkled body and mussed up dark hair; I knew what was important.

Our baby boy is here! Four days earlier than planned, and we still have some preparations to do but we couldn't be happier. Mom, baby, older siblings, and even Dad are doing well. What a surprise it was for our kids to wake up with a new brother. He is well loved already.

Enough talk..here is what we're all waiting for...the photos. Enjoy.

Brackification

So March Madness is here and every fiber of my being is aching to just let it go one time. No brackets, no checking my phone every 5 minutes, and no heartbreak. But alas the siren call of the NCAA Tourney has lured me to her sharp rocks of pain and I'm knee deep already in it all. I have cut back from my usual 2-3 brackets to just 1. However I do have to admit I am working to pass on the torment to my kids. Last night we had them fill out their own brackets. Good ol' Sam had his eye on the prize as he picked his brackets very carefully. Here is his Final Four in a nutshell for all you "Bracketologists" out there.
1. Utah- He's heard of them so why not.
2. BYU- Always the faithful Cougar that boy
3. American- I have no idea why...maybe patriotism
4. Stephen F Austin- Because he has a friend named Steven at school.

So good luck Sam, and good luck to the rest of you weary travelers in search of the perfect bracket. Oh and best of luck to President Obama's bracket. Wouldn't want the fate of the union in someones hand who can't pick a decent bracket.

Goodman Hospital Ward update

What better time to write a blog then when you are waiting on your wife to have her Glucose levels tested. She just drank a delicious looking orange drink (makes me really want a Sunkist right now) and so now we wait.
A couple of days ago my morning consisted of the hour long drive up to Salt Lake for Cameron's check up. This isn't one of those turn your head and cough check ups but one that involved a chest X-Ray and an EKG. The X-Ray's are now a traumatizing thing for my poor boy thanks to good ol' Dad (me). A few months ago he needed one done at Timpanogos Hospital. Well, for little kids who don't sit still they put them in this strange contraption that locks them into a sitting position with their arms over their heads. Well, to make it not so scary Dad (me) started calling it "The Spaceship". So for about 10-20 minutes Cameron screamed at the thought of having to go in The Spaceship. Now every time we go to the hospital he immediately tells me "I don't want to go spaceship". Thankfully Primary's doesn't use The Spaceship. It was also nice that he got two stickers including a really cool Ironman sticker. If you have read Deb's blog you know how much he likes Ironman. That's right, my 2 yr old likes Ironman (and no I have not shown him the movie...yet).

Oh so back to the visit. I am happy and relieved to report that Cameron still is as healthy as can be with surgery not needed for another few years. We took a survey recently that was studying his condition (because it's so rare) and they asked if he is as active as other 2 yr olds. Well as I've been writing this blog he has thrown several balls down the stairs, retrieved them, and thrown them down again. He has also fallen off the bean bag (very gracefully I may add) twice and jumped right up.

We are so blessed to have this boy (and yes the other two are amazing as well) in our lives. He truly is a reminder to us every day how special life is.

Christmas time in the city

As the holiday season winds down the yearly reflection period is now upon all of us. Will I write in my journal more? Will I exercise more? What will I do in '09 to make myself better?

'08 is ending pretty well and what a great year end it has been. After some great Christmas parties with the ward and with work I had the chance to settle in and watch my talented kids finish out the year with some spectacular performances. Sam and Ness both were fantastic entertainers not only in their school programs but on the wrestling match and the stage. Sam finished his season and won the award for "Hardest worker", while Nessa tapped and jazzed her way to a wonderful dance performance.

Before Christmas I was able to cruise down to Vegas for a little Vegas Bowl action and male bonding. Despite the poor result on the field it was another successful trip. We even had the chance to see a celebrity or two. As we were walking through the shops at Caesars we saw ol' Pete Rose himself signing autographs at a sports memorabilia store. The sad part was that no one was in line to meet this ones great baseball player. Even sadder that I didn't feel compelled to meet him. The lesson here boys and girls is that Cheaters never prosper. Sorry Pete you had a good run but you dug your own grave.

On a happier note Christmas week was full of great times with the family. We had the chance as a family to see the ultrasound again and yes we are still having a boy. We are taking suggestions on names from now until he's born so if you want to be the one that gets credit for naming our son feel free to contribute.

Christmas Eve was great and Christmas Day was memorable. The kids were of course bouncing off the walls and made the day just so exciting for me. Santa done good this year, thank goodness. What an ordeal he's put through every year to make things go smoothly.

I hope this post finds everyone well. Happy New Year to all and to all best wishes and prayers.

Golf, Wrestling, and Warriors

So I WAS going to use this blog to talk about my brand new slightly-used golf club set that I scored off of Craig's List and how I went out golfing last week and despite being a terrible (we're talking Charles Barkley terrrble) golfer still had a good time. I WAS going to mention how bad I slice the ball and how only one good put made it all worthwhile.
I WAS ALSO going to use this blog to talk about the emotional toll it was to watch my boy wrestle yesterday in a tournament. I WAS going to mention how sad it is to see big kids cry after losing and putting their all in 1 to 2 minutes of excruciating pain, and how despite all this my boy just had a good time (he was sure tired). I WAS ALSO going to mention how sad/funny it was to see screaming parents and coaches. There was the coach that would repeatedly yell "SQUEEZE" at the top of his lungs at his wrestlers, and the "Woohoo" Mom that was so loud out there. I never wrestled as a kid but word up to all those who wrestle and leave it all out there on the mat.
Oh, I WAS ALSO going to discuss in the blog how fun it was to finally for the first time in my life see Saturday's Warriors. I know what you're thinking, really? First time? Why now? Well it was on and despite not ever seeing it I do know almost every word to ever song (thank you older brothers and sis). I'll save my critique of the show and leave it at that. No need to jump on something created over 20 years ago. Let's just say, "Things were different then."
No. This blog is not about golf or wrestling or cheesy roadshow-esque movies. This blog is about giving Thanks. Thanks for all the wonderful gifts and blessings I have. It was all summed up tonight as I lay with my baby trying to calm him down and I felt his heartbeat. Although it sounds like a washing machine, it beats great and he is happy and healthy. Every beat is a miracle. That's a lot of miracles. Multiply that by a few times and I've got quite the miracles right here at home.
Happy Thanksgiving week everyone.

Typical Fall Sunday

As is becoming a sad tradition in the Goodman household Cameron was sick and I had to stay home with him. For some the signs of changing seasons is turning back your clocks, for others it's the changing of the leaves. For us, it's Cameron's colds brought on by his compressed bronchi, an unfortunate result of his heart issues. So for the past two years we have kept him at home each Sunday to recover or avoid being sick. It's about that time of the year where we have to shut him down for the season, just as he was beginning to adjust well to other kids his age. Maybe he can be a little healthier this year, we shall see.

But things weren't all gloomy this late October season. We've had a blast going from movie theaters to farms to Trunk-or-Treats to good times with friends and family. After going with the family to see High School Musical 3 I am anxious to get my testosterone going again in late November with Quantum of Solace and Transporter 3.

As the weather cools down so does my traveling. There is just one more trip to Sunny San Diego in a week or so. I hear we may get a bit of snow around here so it'll be nice to see the sun one last time.
Don't forget to vote everyone..and for you 1 in 7 people that are still undecided, what's taking so long? You have less than two days.