October 4th 2009....What a day!

Well, we dodged the bullet! We were so worried that I was going to be out of town or shooting a wedding when Mandi went into labor. God was good, and we got through the thick of things. To celebrate, we decided to go to Carrabba's for dinner with our good friends Brian and Ambre. We all packed the kids in the car for a good evening. On a side note: Mandi and I ate Carrabba's the night before we had Eisley 4 years ago. In the backs of our minds we were hoping that the Sirloin Marsala would do the trick again! Well after a good night of laughing at our kids and stuffing our bellies we headed home, got Eisley in bed, and settled in for a good nights rest.

So now we fast forward to 5am. Evidently Mandi had been up with some pretty bad cramping while I was crashed out snoring. Around 9:20am on Sunday morning she tapped me on the shoulder. I though it might be Eisley telling me that it was a sun shiny day. and I needed to get up, but it was Mandi. She was super calm, but I could tell she was uncomfortable. She told me she thought it might be time. So I popped out of bed thinking we needed to hurry, but Mandi said she was ok and she wanted to get ready. We all took the time to take a shower, and pack up our last minute things. Mandi did her hair and makeup. Eisley got dressed, and I started making trips to the car with the bags. While all of this was happening I noticed Mandi getting more and more uncomfortable and she started to let me know that the contractions were getting worse. We all hopped in the Element and took off. From the moment we left the driveway it seemed like the contractions were getting stronger and stronger, and Mandi wanted to talk less and less. This is when I started pretending that we were in a movie scene. I figured that would give me a reason to drive like Dale jr. on the way to the hospital. I just wish I was in a cooler car!

We arrived at the hospital around 10:20am, and got Mandi up to the 3rd floor right away. I was relieved to be there, and excited about the day to come. They immediately got Mandi into a bed. It was perfect timing because she started to experience some CRAZY pain. They told her that she was already 5-6cm dilated. Everyone seemed shocked that it was happening so fast. Mandi braced herself for each new contraction, and they gradually got worse and worse. I was pacing the floor frustrated that I couldn't take her pain away, and that I didn't know how to comfort her. This is when we started getting really concerned that the labor was moving way too fast to get an epidural. Mandi was literally crawling up the wall in pain, while verbally praying for an epidural. I could see that the nurses were concerned that it wouldn't happen, however, they never let Mandi know. After several contractions, prayers, and pleads with the nurses, an angel named "George" walked into the room. George was calm and cool, and totally took care of us. After prepping his drugs, he prepared Mandi for the epidural. She was fighting like I have never seen her fight. I wasn't sure she would be able to hold still for him to place the needle in safely. She sat up like a champ and flexed every muscle in her body and endured a contraction and an epidural at the same time. After about 15 second her body relaxed and she was good to go! George was the Man! I think Mandi even verbally told him she loved him. I was ok with that considering the situation.

Come to find out that Mandi was already fully dilated and ready to push. JUST IN TIME! Sandy the nurse...(also an angel) started getting things ready for the pushing to begin. I called the family and told them it was happening now, and they needed to head to the hospital. Everyone was surprised. It was almost surreal to be asleep one minute, and then an hour later be in a hospital watching my wife give birth. Things were ready, and Mandi began to push. The epidural definitely did the trick, because she didn't feel anything. Sandy coached her through the first few pushes, while I was watching and doing what I could to help. It was about 15 minutes and 3 pushes later, and it was time to call in the Doctor. Doctor Grace had told us that she was unavailable that weekend, so we had one of her replacements. His name was Dr. Crowfoot. At first we were a little concerned, but as soon as he walked in the door we were very comfortable with him. He came in, got ready, and helped Mandi through the last few pushes. It was at high noon on the dot, and baby Ember Haze appeared! She was gorgeous, and Mandi immediately became more beautiful than ever. She is my hero! I walked over to be close to Ember and watched them get her cleaned up and measured. She was a chunker! She weighed 8lb 9oz and was 21 inches long. We joked that she looked like an Eskimo with her big cheeks, and swollen face. She was the most beautiful Eskimo ever.

We were spending time with Ember Haze while the family was making their way to the hospital. Eisley had gone to hang out with Nana while Mandi was in labor, so she was our first priority to get into the room to see her new sister. Mandi and I have loved Eisley with the most immense, real, dedicated love ever. We talked about how it would be hard to love another child that much. Man were we wrong. It was immediate! Now take Ember and add Eisley to the mix. Can you say "Love Explosion"? Eisley came into the room with biggest blue eyes ever. She immediately melted in love for her new little sister, and life suddenly made sense for me. I sat there and took pictures of my 3 girls in the same hospital bed smiling and hugging and kissing. I cried behind the camera while thanking God for giving me a glimpse of Heaven for just a second. It was the best moment of my life.

Mandi getting ready to have Ember.

Ember Haze Callahan enters the world.

Mommy holding Ember for the first time.

Daddy holding Ember for the first time.

Eisley getting excited to hold her baby sister.

Perfection!

Sweet kisses!

First family picture

Our beautiful little chunker!