Sebastian, the Big Brother
- Name: Sebastian (No middle name)
- Birth date: 5 August 2001
- Birth time: 10:32ish
- Birth weight: 8 lbs, 15 oz
- Birth length: 21 inches
Why is he the big brother? Because of Dylan, that's why!
6 years old - August 5, 2007 - Seventh Birthday
Coming soon!
5 years old - August 5, 2006 - Sixth Birthday
Sebastian at 5 years
On his birthday, Sebastian got to pick the meals of the day. For breakfast, the family went to IHOP and Sebastian feasted on strawberry waffles with maple syrup and whipped cream. The IHOP staff came out and sang Sebastian a birthday song and delivered a free bowl of ice cream. At the time, he seemed a bit embarassed by the surprise, but he later said that it was fun.
Sebastian went to Toys'R'Us and picked out his gifts. His favorite gifts were a Star Wars Storm Troopers gun and a snow leopard stuffed animal named "Snowy."
Back at home, the whole family enjoyed hot dogs for Sebastian's lunch request. For dessert, we enjoyed an ice cream cake with a stegosaurus on it, just the way Sebastian wanted it. He was very impressed with the cake.
Sebastian was gearing up for Kindergarten (just a month away!) and seemed quite excited about entering the "big kids' school."
Sebastian was already reading words (including words with the silent "e" and a few nontraditional letter combinations like "ay," "ee," and "ea") with ease. He could read common words immediately after looking at them. He enjoyed not only reading books, but learning to read new sounds and words, too. Hooked on Phonics time was a fun time of the day!
4 years old - August 5, 2005 - Fifth Birthday
Sebastian at 4 years
Sebastian's 4 year old summary coming soon!
3¼ years old - November 11, 2004 - Becoming a Big Brother
On November 11, 2004, my wife went to the doctor's office and confirmed that we were going to have a second child. That news would eventually bring us Dylan in August 2005.
Sebastian had been asking about having a brother to play with. He was hoping that a (male) sibling would come along.
After my wife gave me the good news, I grabbed the camcorder and handed Sebastian the phone. Here is the news and Sebastian's reaction:
3 years old - August 5, 2004 - Fourth Birthday
Sebastian at 3 years
Sebastian's 3 year old summary coming soon! In the meantime, enjoy this random lorem ipsum passage:
Aliquam non sapien eget velit commodo placerat. Ut vitae odio eget lorem facilisis fringilla. Sed fringilla magna ornare metus. Vivamus vel orci. Nullam egestas, quam ut dignissim tempus, odio massa tristique sem, non luctus diam mi quis nulla.
2 years old - August 5, 2003 - Third Birthday
Sebastian at 2 years
Sebastian's 2 year old summary coming soon! In the meantime, enjoy this random lorem ipsum passage:
Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos hymenaeos. Nulla facilisi. Ut mollis ante nec ante. Phasellus placerat lacus sed magna. Vestibulum lectus lacus, faucibus eget, condimentum nec, aliquet viverra, dolor. Donec luctus, ipsum ac elementum blandit, quam justo commodo tortor, ac rhoncus ipsum dui eu massa.
1 year old - August 5, 2002 - Second Birthday
Sebastian at 1 year
Sebastian's 1 year old summary coming soon! In the meantime, enjoy this lorem ipsum passage:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Mauris in est bibendum nisl adipiscing mattis. Phasellus nec nisi. Cras tristique iaculis lorem. Nulla in est vitae risus dignissim nonummy. Ut neque mauris, vehicula nec, dignissim ac, viverra sed, quam.
0 days old - August 5, 2001 - First Birthday
Sebastian as a newborn
Sebastian was due to be born on July 28, but the date came and went. Sebastian apparently wasn't ready for the big move, but the doctor was -- he wanted to deliver the big boy as soon as possible. My wife, however, was not in a rush because she felt that the baby would come in his own time.
Over a week after his due date, Sebastian slowly began his journey. The progression of my wife's contractions were so slow that we called her doctor at around midnight. There was no frantic running around or anything like that. In fact, we thoughtfully packed her things up, headed to the grocery store, and shopped for snacks for our trip. We didn't even arrive at the hospital until after 02:00.
After hours and hours of labor, the doctor said that he would have to go with a C-section if things didn't progress. He left the room, and my exhausted wife went into overdrive to avoid that surgery. Eventually, our son found his way out into the world, weighing just an ounce shy of nine pounds.
One extra note: Before Sebastian was born, I headed down to the hospital cafeteria to get myself a morning drink. I purchased a Dole orange juice from the juice machine and sat down to have a drink. I noticed that there was a Dole contest underway. I looked behind the label and, lo and behold, I had won $5! Less than a couple hours later, I won a prize even more precious. I tell Sebastian that it was easily one of the luckiest days in my life.