Parker Bae Allen at five months old doing his "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover".
Haden Brek Allen at six months old at St. Marys Water Park.
The boys are only 22 months apart and I remember both of their births like a movie I've seen a hundred times.
With my first, it lasted 7 hours and 40 minutes. The nurses ushered him over to the the "incubator" and I was chatting with the doctor while Joey stood there still dutifully holding my hand. After a few seconds or so, I felt my hand getting lifted higher and higher and I looked up at Joey only to see him craning his neck trying to get a glimpse of his new son, with no regard whatsoever for me. . .or my hand which was starting to tingle from the lack of blood flow. I said, "Joey, I'm good here, go on over there." He shuffled over to the nurses and they handed Bae to him. I smiled and remember thinking that our lives were forever changed.
Fast forward 22 months or so, and we were in the midst of welcoming our second son into the world. When it was time to leave for the hospital, Joey strapped Bae into his car seat and got his little bag of snacks and toys, both of us thinking he would go right back to sleep. He didn't. It's like he knew something was going on, though he wasn't sure what it was. The delivery was easy, much like the first, but I was thinking much of the time about Bae out in the waiting room with our family. How I was somehow being neglectful of him and how I hoped he was ok. I must've asked a dozen times how he was and Joey finally said, "Heather, he's fine. He'd much rather be playing with them anyway!" I laughed because I knew he was right. The labor lasted only 5 hours and 20 minutes. When Brek finally arrived, and Bae came in to see his new brother, I watched as my "baby" met his baby brother for the first time. I smiled and remember thinking that our lives were forever changed.
Brotherly Love
As I look at the boys now, at "just-turned four" and "about to turn six", I'm reminded of the moment that both of those precious beings entered into my life. I want to tell my sis-in-law to prepare herself for the strange feeling of being pulled in different directions when it's finally time for the new baby to make her debut into the world. But, I also want to tell her that when she sees her "baby" meet her baby sister for the first time, to remember that exact moment. I want to tell her to let time stand still just for a second, and to capture that memory like a photograph in her mind, and to know that all of their lives are forever changed.
For this child, I prayed, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.
-1 Samuel 1:27
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