As always, Surfers Healing was awesome this year. It was huge turnout, bigger than ever! Gavin even had his own little fan club there to "Ooh and Aah" over him! It was an unforgettable day, especially since Sara was starting to go into labor with Bodie! We knew from the previous two births that she labors slowly and methodically, so we felt it best to spend the beginning stages of labor at the beach! It sure beats staring at the ceiling in a hospital room!

Gavin did pretty well this year. I was worried he would be scared, because he's been a little bit leery of things lately. We had a bad experience at the waterslide in town this summer. I spent ten minutes talking him into trying it with me, and he loved it! That is, until the very end when we flipped off the tube under the water. I felt pretty awful about that. He was only submerged for a second or two, but he got a nose full and came up screaming. I lost a little bit of his trust on that day, I think. When it came to surfing, though, he was prepared. We showed him lots of surfing videos and home movies of a younger Gavin surfing in prior years. He really loved it, but he wouldn't let his feet touch the board. The poor surfer had to hold him up the whole time!

It was a perfect day at the beach. Gavin's entourage included his Grammy and Papa Geno, Aunt Mollie, his school counselor, teacher and developmental therapist. All of these awesome, caring people got such a kick out of seeing Gavin's happy face while he rode the waves. We feel lucky that Gavin has so many people in his life that love him. It takes a village to raise a child, and Gavin's village is full of the best.

If you haven't seen the "tribute to Surfers Healing" video we made, you should go watch it. On our home page, click the "learn more" in the green box, and it'll take you to a page with the video. Or, here's the address:                          http://www.snugfits.com/Surfers-Healing.html

What a week we have had! Baby Bodie has finally arrived! Sara started going into labor the day of the big Surfers Healing camp. She woke me up at about a quarter to  3 and announced that we'd be having the baby that day. Well, that was just the start of a very long labor. Bodie wasn't born until 30 hours later! The labor was progressing so slowly, I didn't think it would ever happen. Sara felt well enough to go to the beach, she wouldn't miss Gavin surfing for the world! It was a perfect day. Surreal, actually. We got to hang out with Izzy Paschowitz, the founder of the camp. He suggested we name the child after him. The weather was perfect. We put up a shade tent, but Sara managed to get a sunburn anyway. Gavin surfed like an old pro, I was worried that he would be nervous about it this year. That'll have to be the subject of another blog.

We finally went into the hospital as the contractions became more frequent that evening. To abbreviate a long story, that was a really rough night for Sara. Her parents came to the hospital at about 1:30 a.m. and her sister Mollie stayed home with the boys. We went through 3 shifts of nurses, each one commenting about Sara's sunburn and the virtues of sunscreen. The baby would not budge! He just would not come out. It was like he had been in the womb for so long (he was about 2 weeks overdue) he just decided to stay there. When he finally made his entrance to this world at 9:28 that morning, he weighed in at a hefty 10 lbs 14 oz! No wonder he was stuck! He was ten pounds of potatoes in a five pound sack! Somehow, Sara survived. I don't know how she did it.

What a joyous feeling though, right? I mean, there's nothing that can compare to seeing your child for the first time and hearing that little voice cry out. And the relief that comes with the joy is just as intense. That huge burden of worry is released a few minutes after the baby is born, and the doctors and nurses check him all over. So much can happen in the delivery room, its just a great relief when it's all finally over and everybody is okay.

Gavin was so excited to meet his new brother. Garrett was just a little bit curious about him, but really couldn't grasp the magnitude of what that little bundle in the blankets would mean for his life. Garrett is warming up to him now. For Gavin, though, it was love at first sight. He was so fired up about Baby Bodie finally coming out of Mama's tummy. When Mollie brought him to the hospital to meet Bodie, he just stood and stared at him, saying "It's Bodie!" It brought tears to my eyes, it was so sweet. The funniest thing was when I said "Gavin, do you like your new baby brother?" Gavin spun around and looked all over the room wildly and said "Where's Garrett?!" He thought we had traded in Garrett for Bodie, I guess! That was so cute. I could see the panic in his face - he wasn't willing to give up his little brother. I got the whole thing on video, I'll have to try to post it here.

Baby Bodie is the best baby yet. He is so quiet and sweet and calm. He even cries quietly! So far, he's just a real easygoing little dude. We couldn't ask for an easier time with him. Of course, our biggest problem now is deciding  which "Snugfit" to put on him for his birth announcement photo shoot! My favorite idea is "Arrr... Surrender Ye Booby".  When I mentioned it to Sara (regarding Bodie's birth announcement) she just raised an eyebrow. I'll just keep my ideas out of it, she's the graphic artist.