Chapter 3: Suddenly, I Became Me.
As soon as I was born, they quickly took me away and started working on me. My mother said, "What did I have?" They had taken me away so fast that she didn't know whether she had had a boy or a girl.
I came breach and my little behind was all black. My dad said I looked like an old man because I was so wrinkled. I surprised Dr. MacArthur when I stuck my foot out of my Mom. He thought I should come head first. They cleaned me up, and put an IV through my naval. I got some food and antibiotics through it.
I had to stay in the hospital for three weeks before I could come home. I weighed 3 pounds and 11 ounces when I was born. As soon as I had gained 1 pound they let me go home. I was very lucky and didn't have anything wrong with me. They had put me on oxygen for a few hours but soon took it away.
It was hard on my Mom having me in the hospital. She came three times a day to feed me. They fed me through a tube, and also let me have a bottle. I was so used to the bottle that I never would nurse for my mother. After two months of trying my mom said, "Enough is enough," and put me on formula. I ate every three hours because I had gotten used to that in the hospital. So my parents didn't get very much sleep because every three hours I was ready to eat again.
My mom didn't take me anywhere for a long time. I was still very little. The doctor told her not to take me anywhere for two months. Finally I was able to go out in the middle of October, which was when I was supposed to have been born.
My dad's favorite holiday is Halloween. He didn't want me to miss out on my first Halloween. So he put me in a cloth pumpkin that my mom made and took me out trick or treating. We only went to two places, but I did get to go. We went next door, and across the street.
I slept through my first Christmas. We went over to Grandma and Grandpa Horans. I slept on their bed while everyone opened their gifts. After we opened our gifts we went to Salt Lake to see my Great Grandma Horan.
After almost 6 months, my mom took me to the doctor for a checkup. I now weighed 14 pounds and 9 ounces and was 23 1/4 inches long. I was growing up rapidly. My mom gave me cereal for the first time on the 19th of January. On the 20th, I rolled from my stomach to my back.
On March 18th, I went to Phoenix for the first time. I got to meet my mom's brothers and sisters and my cousins. Mom and dad were planning a trip to England with Grandma and Grandpa Fife, and I didn't even get to go!
On April 24, 1985 I started to crawl. I was now 8 months old. Weighing 17 pounds and 4 ounces and was 26 1/2 inches long. As soon as I learned to crawl, I went all over. I was a good baby and when my mom said not to do something, then I didn't do it. I was allowed to play in 1 cupboard in the kitchen and I loved to get out all the bowls and pans.
I have always liked music and would sit at the piano and play. I soon learned about clapping and would play and then clap, play and then clap.
I got a little toy to dog on wheels to ride on named Barnaby from my dad's cousins. I liked to ride around the house and anywhere else I could on it.
On June 1st I went on my first airplane ride. My mom and I flew to Phoenix. Mom went to Uncle Rodger's wedding. We got back home on June 16th (Fathers Day). I couldn't be gone on my dad's first Father's Day could I?
I had a party on my first birthday. My grandparents and my Uncle Gary were there. Mom made me a Donald Duck cake. I had a great time. My grandpa had painted the rocking chair and horse that were my dad's for me.
The day after my birthday my mom and dad drove to Burley, Idaho and left me with my aunt, uncle and cousins. My mom's twin sister Beverly looked after me for three weeks while my mom and dad went to Europe. While I was there I was introduced to M&M's and root beer. I hadn't had candy up to that point.
In October I was climbing and getting into everything. On October 2nd, when I climbed up on the dresser and knocked a plant off, my mom had to rearrange my room so I couldn't climb around as easy.
I went out trick or treating again on October 31,1985. This year I was a clown. I started walking in November and now I could get into things even faster.
In December I went Christmas caroling, and took around chocolate cards that my mom had made, it was a lot of fun. This year I was awake for Christmas. My grandma, grandpa and uncle came over to our house and then we went to Salt Lake again to visit my Great Grandma Horan.
On December 31st I demolished my crib. I would jump up and down and pull on it until I would dislodge the mattress and could get out of the bottom. After doing that twice one day my mom got rid of the crib and put me in a bed.
On March 1st I went on another airplane ride to Phoenix. My mom went to look after her sisters children, my cousins, while their parents were in Florida. I had a lot of fun playing with my cousin Matthew. We played in the dirt, the swings, and on the slide. I went on my first Easter egg hunt at Honeywell while I was there.
In April my mom bought a swimming pool for the back yard. I loved to fill it up and play in it. We had 3 tubes that I would play on in the pool for hours.
On June 25th, 1986 we went to Yellowstone. We also went to Lewis and Clark Caverns. My favorite part there were the bats. Mom and dad had wanted to know how I would do in a cave, so they had taken me to Timp Cave earlier. I fell asleep right before we got in, and didn't wake up until they got me out of the cave. But i did enjoy going to Lewis and Clark Caverns, and managed to stay awake.
Then we went to Moose Jaw Saskatchewan and Buffalo Pound Lake in Canada. My Great Grandma lived there and Sylvia and Arthur. We had barbecues, canoe rides, a bon fire with lots of marshmallows, and all kinds of other fun things. I loved to play in the sand by the lake, they gave me a little shovel and pail to dig in the sand. I had lots of fun in Canada.
On July 12th I went to the Hogle Zoo. I loved to see all of the cool animals.
It was almost time for my second birthday. My dad wanted me to be able to blow out my candles on my own, so my mom bout me bubbles and I practiced blowing. When my birthday came I was able to blow out all 2 of my candles. My dad was so proud!
I still liked to play the piano, listen to cassette tapes, have my mom read me stories and play with my friends.
In October my parents went to Florida on a cruise. They left me with Doug and Sue Helsten. While I stayed with them I got to go to the Sand Dunes and even got to ride a 4 wheeler!
On my third Halloween I dressed up as a football player and my dad took me out trick or treating. I still only went to a couple of houses.
In November it started to snow and I started to make my first snowman. It was very cold and some of the neighborhood children stopped and helped me. I decided it was much easier to have them make it and I liked watching them.
It was now 1987. I went to my grandma and grandpa's a lot. My favorite games to play at their house was pool ball, and cookie in the pocket. I watched basketball games with dad, and liked to dance with my mom.
In February I got to help decorate Valentines cookies. My mom said that i put too many sprinkles on the cookies though. We ran out after 2 cookies and had to buy more. After we made and decorated cookies I got to take some to my friends. I got to decorate more cookies in March for St. Patrick's Day.
I helped my mom tend Shane Rowley. I told her I wanted her to have a bay so that I could have a little brother or sister. I knew how to give a baby a bottle, and burp him, and bring him blankets. What else is there to know?
I was a happy, energetic boy with beautiful blue eyes, who liked bubble baths, hair cuts, riding my big wheels, and my toy dog Barnaby, dancing and listening to music and stories.
Current Commentary
Wow, that was a lot of stuff. I credit my mom for keeping such good records. I don't think I would have remembered any of this. I love how many cool experiences I was able to have at such an early age. Caves, 4 wheeling, time in Arizona, Idaho, and Canada, swimming, "playing" the piano, dancing, decorating cookies, building snowmen. What a lucky boy I was to have such great parents that taught me and were willing to do so much with me and include me in much of what they did.
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3 comments:
I am so happy to see that Burley, Idaho made the blog.
Hope you're having a great vacation.
It helped me become me. Who knows when I would have been introduced to candy and soda!
The reason you got rootbeer was that we went to Pizza Hut for the kids to get their "Book It" Pizza. It sure was hard on your mom to leave you, but you had a good time at our home.
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