Extra Extra...read all about it

Extra Extra....Read all about it: Worlds most beautiful baby born to hot mama.

Dateline Greenacres Washington May 19,2011. the day started out like any other. Brenda Headed off to her job and me to mine. I knocked off work a little early so I could mow the lawn and get ready to go to the hospital for the induction.

Here is Brenda before we left....late of course, but this time it was my fault and the hospital wasn't really on a timeline.

Going Up.

Brenda needed some medication before inducing labor.

Here she is. The side effects of the medication was very minor contractions that the machine could read, but Brenda could not feel. It turned out not to be a good thing for the baby as the heart rate dropped from 150 to 80 everytime there was a contraction and we really thought it may be somewhat serious when 3 nurses ruched in and gave Brenda a shot to stop contractions, gave her 2 IV's of fluid in about 10 minutes, and had her get on all fours to relieve pressure and get the heart rate up. Mine at this time was starting to rise as well without medication

The contractions subsided mostly, but there still were some and the heart rate continued to dip with every mild contraction. the nurse hinted they may have to do a C-section. Then 5 minutes later everyone came into the room in full scrubs and I guess that was the clue we were heading to surgery. Little different than we thought, but the umbilical chord was around the outside of the head and getting pinched with every contraction so if the contractions got any more severe the baby would have been in more trouble so there is no time like the present.

We managed to get a pic right before she got hauled off to surgery.

She was totally with it during the surgery and I loved to look over the screen to see the whole thing. Lots of blood and tools poking out of her...interesting. The doctors must have thought I may get faint, because they told me not to stand up and look to much, but I just had to see him get pulled out.

There is James Patrick De Jong. 8lbs 3ozs 20" long and looking great. Born May 20, 2011 at 2:44 am

Mama and baby. Brenda was smitten at first sight, just like she was with me. I also was very happy and although I hate to admit it...I cried

That also made Brenda even more happy.

Then I went with James to the next room for monitoring and all the normal stuff. We had a great time while Brenda got sewed up.

Brenda in the recovery room just trying to mimic James's cuteness.

Loving it.

Brenda looks good even after all that.

Here is my boy.

Another of the thousand or so cute faces we have noted. \

Face number 843 "tired and hating bright flashes"

First diaper change....yukyukeewwwyukyukyukeeewwwwww
Then the parents show up. Patrick (my dad) and James Patrick.

Jim(Brenda's dad) and James Patirck.

Here we are this morning.

Going home tomorrow

Whats going on now?

So I know the time is getting close for the baby...really close, but thought I would update you all on what we are doing now.

Here is my bike before the awesome new farkle.

After. To the untrained eye you may have to take more than one look, but if you notice, I have added engine guards to the silver bullet. I also use them as foot rests on longer rides. They make the bike cool looking.

Here is a common sight around our house. Brenda is eating and getting the baby some Vitamin D. I think she believes if she suns the kid, it is going to come out tan like she seems to always be. At this rate it may have a sunburn.

Two weeks ago we had some friends over and there was a thunder storm, then this rainbow.

Here are two of the girls. As we walked around the house it took about 2 seconds for one of the girls to find the tree and climb up. Then out of nowhere flying through the air she hit the ground like a ton of bricks. As I stood there in shock.... thinking... wow I hope she is not hurt, and does my homeowners ins cover this. I could still could not believe what I had seen, a 15' fall from a tree and after a couple of gasps she rose to her feet and appeared to be ok. It could have turned out to a lot worse and we were very glad that she ended up being ok.

We have been out and about in Spokane as well Hiking by the bowl and pitcher. There is a swinging bridge and it is a very nice place to hike this time of year.

Here we are enjoying ourselves. No other pics of the hike, but you can trust me that it is nice.
I decided the other day that I should also take some pictures of the wife...and the chickens as well. Either of them are due to produce at any time.

This Sunday night we got a chance to go to a Newsboys concert. Brenda said that if she could fit into her Tshirt from 1994 we would go...and she actually fit into it.

The concert was pretty good and had really good effects. The last time we saw them in San Jose the venue was huge and only had about 150 people. Here in Spokane the venue was small and the crowd was huge. This place was packed and hot as all getout.Thankfully Brenda did not ask them to marry her this time.

The Baby room is getting all set up now.
I tried to break the changing table in, and have provided you the G version. Another view of the room.
Here is the growth chart from when I was a kid. We thought we should put it up in the room.

Here is a short video of the concert. Michael Tait (former DC Talk) is now the front man so the covered one old DC Talk song.

Part 3: The Ride Home

The adventure begins. My father knows a guy at his church who drove to Virginia last summer and then for various reasons could not drive it back. Enter John De Jong. I offered, since I was already going to be out there anyway, to drive it back for him if he would cover the cost of the trip. How often do you have a chance to go across the country on a bike and have your expenses paid? Not often, and I know that once my wife has the baby, I am pretty much not going anywhere so it is now or never.

I picked the bike up on a Sunday and then drove through Shenandoah national park and then to West Virginia.
Here is the bike. The big reason the bike could not be shipped is the trailer I towed.

This was my view for the next 2500 miles. I will never get tired of this view.

Here is the bike in Shenandoah NP.

The first night I stayed in a hotel. Day 2 would bring me to IN and my sister and brother in-laws.

In WV there were a lot of great views.

And here I am with the beast.

Another great roadside attraction.

Southern Ohio was very nice.

Then into Indiana.

Here is my little niece.

After Indiana I left for IL and my old hometown. It rained all day since the minute I left and the temperature never got above 42 degrees.

My hometown has a few dutch people in it.

I arrived at Stephs house and the went to her parents for pizza and to see Brett and Mel, whom I have not seen in about 10 years or so.

Mel is due the day after Brenda is. It was great to see them and it sounds like they have a great house in Savannah.

The next day I left for Sioux Center. The high for this day was about 43 and the low was about 30. There was about 1' of snow in Storm Lake and lots of snow along the road all day. Man was it cold, but great to be back in the Midwest again.

Matt and Janey just moved there three weeks ago and it was great to catch up with them and meet the two kids they have had since I had seen them last time. They looked like they were doing well.

I also checked out my old stomping grounds...Man if that building could talk.

The next day I found the bike had some heated gear in the trailer. If I ever take a trip like this again I will buy heated gear. that stuff was a life saver. I think it gets up to like 105 degrees and feels like a massage...unbeatable.

SD was a bit boring and cold and rainy for the first 4 hours of the day. I was not going to stop at the Badlands if the weather was the same, but it miraculously got warmer and sunny.

It was a perfect day at the park and without a helmet law, I could take the bucket off and enjoy the slow ride and the sites.

More awesomeness.

Then on to WY and MT.

Oh that does not look good, but I ended up going around the storm and not getting rained on. I made it to Billings for the night (800 miles this day), and awoke to light snow and very cold temperatures.

I was advised not to go anywhere that day, but I continued to check the DOT reports and the pass looked like I could make it so I did.

I stopped at the Belgrade MT Harley dealer had great coffee and recommended a good massage place. I only rode 3 hours this day, but needed a little TLC.

I went to the grocery store before going to Kris's house

Here is Kris. We had a great time. His wife is very nice and she is also due in the not so distant future.

The next day I was going home. I woke up to very cold weather, but the sun was up and the high was supposed to be 60.

Ice on the bike.

This has got to be wrong...but it was pretty cold

The air was so clear and the scenery was amazing.

Entering ID.

I think I may have had the hand warming grips on a bit to high. I just bought this pair of gloves before the trip.

Cour D Alene.

Entering WA...only about 4 miles to the house.

And then there I am, safe and sound.

It was such a nice day that I wanted to go on a ride that afternoon. I can never get enough riding in, but I had to mow the lawn instead.

All in all a great trip and stayed two nights in hotels and four at friends houses. This is a great way to see the country, and hope to do it again someday.