Jeremy Aint Gonna Be a Leap Year Baby!
March 2, 2008 by Ryan
Jeremy Michael Miller was born February 27th, 2008! He has a little hospital stay to get through and so we have a live feed setup if you want to check in on how he’s doing (he’s doing great!)
Pray for Jeremy
November 27, 2007 by Ryan
It’s hard to describe the emotional rollercoaster my family has been through this last 2 weeks. For those of you who have not heard, we have some concerns for our little boy, Jeremy Michael. He’s due in early March. I’ve waited to write about this until my wife had and she did a good job of explaining what we’re up against.
We’re Pregnant!
When we found out we were pregnant it was a pleasant surprise: we weren’t trying, but we weren’t not trying. It actually was about perfect because the baby would be about two years apart from our daughter Kimberly. I really did not care whether it was a boy or a girl. If it was a girl, Kimberly would have a sister right close to her age. If it was a boy, hey! it’s our first boy!
Saying Hi to Jeremy
About two weeks ago, we went in for our doctor’s ultrasound. I just Twittered…
Just saying hi to Baby Jeremy @ my wife’s ultrasound!
After the ultrasound, I went to take care of Kimberly as Beth went to go talk to the doctor. The doctor called me in. She said us down and told us they saw some things that concerned her and that we’d need to go see a specialist. Needless to say we were in quite a bit of shock. I think I had always assumed everything would be okay. I think most parents in general think that way.
We went to see the specialist the next day, which was nice to not have this unknown hanging over our heads for too long. He did another ultrasound and then sat us down to talk about it. Again, I’m not going to rehash all the details, Beth did a good job in her post. From that discussion we were faced with that reality that our little boy had Spina Bifida and the possibility of worse. The doctor explained that there might be a chromosome defect and we then spoke with a genetic specialist. She told us that the most likely of the rare problems we could have would be Trisomy 13, which would most likely mean we wouldn’t have him for very long.
Perspective
I was going to write that it “hit us like a ton of bricks” but, honestly, we were fairly calm about all of it. There have been things that have come up in the last while that, I believe, happened to prepare us. We’re very blessed to have the perspective that we do. We know that whatever happens, in the grand scheme of things, we’ll be okay. We know that if he was only with us a short time, we wouldn’t be losing him forever. If we do get to have him, whatever challenges he’s going to have we can do it. Not on our own, but with the Lord’s help. We have wonderful families that will be there. We know that we’ve been seal as a family, and that we will be together after this life.
The Results
As it turns out, I have been writing this post here and there since that time and we found out that there are no chromosome problems! And we are so grateful and happy that there aren’t. I want to thank all those that prayed for us. One of the first thoughts that I had was to call my family and ask them to pray for Jeremy. And we still need those prayers and that faith. Now we know that Jeremy will be with us for a long time and now we are praying that he will be able to walk and not require a shunt.
I am so excited to have him. I love him already. Knowing how much I love Kimberly, I can’t wait to have my little boy!
Scouts, Soldiers & the Internet
November 19, 2007 by Ryan
The internet has opened up so many channels to explore the world and I am definitely one that is very integrated into all of it. So when I got a mass email about a Boy Scout doing his Eagle Project online I didn’t erase it within 3 seconds. Funny enough, the scout’s name is Ryan! He’s put together a site to get people to write letters to soldiers in Afghanistan. Here is the site:
To quote a line from his home page, “Regardless of personal feelings on the war or politics in general, we believe showing our support to our military is just the right thing to do.” I think it’s a great cause and a great idea. My Eagle Scout project was a great experience…different, but still a great learning experience. The cool thing I see is that he got GoDaddy to host the website for free! It reminded me of going to HomeBase to get wood donated for a food drive stand. I remember how nervous I was about asking, so bravo Ryan for getting GoDaddy on board!
Yes, I am an Eagle Scout, so here is my contribution to a fellow scout! Check out the site and send a soldier a note!
I Think I Crossed A Line
November 12, 2007 by Ryan
Have you ever done something that you know is going to stir up a hornets nest? There are things that you can do and things that you can’t do to sports fans…and I think I crossed the line with one of the most stubborn dedicated A’s fans. It’s my cousin Sean. He was lamenting on his site, Curveball City, about how badly Bay Areas sports have performed as of late.
I’m normally not this cruel, but you have to understand that their loyalty to the A’s is amazing! It doesn’t matter how many times the Angels beat them, the A’s “are better.” And I don’t hate the A’s to be honest. I think it’s amazing what they do for the money! I’m reading Moneyball! I think that walk-off bunt was a thing a beauty a few years back! But they’re root for the Yankees or the Red Sox before they’ll root for the Angels (a least as far as I know). So yeah, I took the opportunity to pour some salt. I commented on their latest post:
Sean,
I have an offer to make you:
Right now you are in LA for law school. I am offering you the ability to become a SoCal sports fan. No questions asked. We’ll overlook any conflicting past allegiances and you can be welcomed in with no “fair-weather” stigmas attached.
Think about it. And let us know!
Ryan
PS
Joe Torre’s coming to town…why not become a Dodgers fan!?
That last jab should be particularly offensive courtesy of Kirk Gibson.
I am just bracing for the backlash.
We Evened the Odds!
October 5, 2007 by Ryan
2-to-2!
Two girls (Beth & Kimberly) and now two boys! That’s right Jeremy Michael Miller is on his way! He’s due late February, maybe early March.
We found our we were pregnant a little while ago and have been waiting to find out since. I honestly would have been happy either way. If it was a girl it would have been fun for Kimberly to have a sister right close to her. And if it was a boy (as it is) then, hey! We have a boy!
I am so excited though. Our neighbor said to us, “If anyone needs a boy, it’s Ryan.” I guess I’m just a big kid! I can’t wait to play catch, to go to his first baseball game, and all that male-bonding stuff!
I hope it doesn’t seem like I’m going to have favorites because I love Kimberly! I can’t even put it into words! She’s my baby! I think she is going to be a great big sister.
Kids are awesome! If you don’t have any, you should make some. (Yeah, yeah! At the right time, right place, with the right person, yadda yadda. I know!)
Kimberly Performing
October 5, 2007 by Ryan
As promised, here is a video clip of my little girl! She has grown up so much in the last two or three days! She is so smart, so curious, and so adventurous (which is good & bad). I love watching her figure things out. You can just see her mind working. And this kid already knows too much about electronics and how they work!
She really does have her own personality. I can see it in how her reaction has changed to when I come home from work. Obviously, for a long time she didn’t have any clue if I was there or if I was gone. But eventually, when I’d walk in the door she’d see me and brighten up with a smile. Then after she learned how to wave she started smiling and waving. Then after she learned how to walk, Beth would prompt her to come over to me and I’d pick her up and give her hugs. Next she started doing it on her own where she’d come over and reach up for me. That changed to her running up and hugging my legs. Now, she wants me to drop everything and give her hugs. If I come in and she doesn’t catch me at the door she’ll find me and basically give me a “Daddy! I want you to hug me!” I love it!
As for the video here, it is a clip of her doing a little performing for the camera. She does the actions to Etsy-Bitsy Spider and then, I told you she was smart…well, just watch!
Ridiculous! Just Ridiculous!
September 29, 2007 by Ryan
September freaking 29th!
Gotta Love YouTube
September 26, 2007 by Ryan
This will be my first video post. I finally found a easy way to embed YouTube videos.
Check out my cute nephews wrestling. These boys are little tanks! I imagine they’ll be wrestling like this for the rest of their lives being that they are brothers and so close in age. Their giggles just crack me up!
I’ll get some videos of Kimberly on here soon!
