My First Baby is 18!

I can't believe it. I have an 18 year old. He can now buy his own dry erase markers and spray paint! He can now be thrown in jail and charged as an adult. And, as he pointed out, he can now order things from infomercials (except for the lack of a credit card).

I remember being married only two months and having John call me at work with the results of the test: positive. I sat in my chair absolutely stunned. Although the smell of pizza and Dawn dishwashing liquid made me nauseous and I craved KFC cole slaw, the pregnancy was relatively uneventful. He was nearly two weeks overdue (Thanksgiving was MISERABLE that year because I couldn't eat and breathe; I could do one or the other) and was tired of being pregnant. After heading to the hospital once on the morning of the 9th and having breakfast with Kim at Village Inn following my "false labor," we went to the Griesemers for dinner. I wasn't feeling great, so I just had some mashed potatoes. On the way home, John stopped at Smith's to get me some medicine because I just felt lousy. After a few hours and a hot bath, John finally called our birthing instructor to find out what was going on. She heard me moaning in the tub and said, "She's in transition. Get her to the hospital!" So we hurriedly left and my water broke. John called Kim and she arrived at the hospital right as I started pushing. She was an amazing coach and provided support while Ian received his initial apgar score of 2 (which isn't good). All I remember was how hungry I was and that there was no food! He was born a little after 1 a.m. and I was discharged at 11:30 a.m.




I had to go back to work when he was 4 weeks old. Occasionally he would come to work with me and he would just sit under my desk quietly. People never even knew he was there. He was such a good baby!

Ian struggled with feelings of inadequacy, always wanting to do what was right, and a need for perfection through elementary school, and probably through junior high as well. He served as part of the student council in 6th grade and refused to participate in the macarena. Oh, how that would come back!

In 9th grade he discovered lacrosse and was faced with hitting big guys coming at him fast with sticks and participated in 10th grade as well. At the end of his junior year, he told us that he wanted to run for student council for the next year. And here he is, a senior, tech rep on the senior council (having to perform an impromptu song and dance for the judges after sharing his macarena experience in the interview process), winner of first place in the FBLA invitational for Visual Basic, and proud owner (birthday and graduation present) of CS4, an amazing graphics program that allows him to do all the stuff he's been learning in school.

We are so proud of him. He has a strong testimony of the gospel and still has that desire to do what is right. He is an example to many around him and a leader among men. We love you, Ian!