"New Baby Comes"

These were the words spoken by Axel when we asked him what we should name the new baby.  He was quite consistent with that response.  Well, "New Baby Comes" has finally arrived -- nearly 3 months ago!  Our apologies to Axel, for selecting a different name, to Tobi, for not having a baby girl (which she had already named Carly), and to the new baby, whose blog post was left until months later while his father was trapped in the service waiting room at a car dealership and finished in the airport on the way home from a business trip.

Although we've disappointed our children -- certainly not for the first or last time -- we are quite excited by the arrival of a small, kissable, round-headed person whom we have named Soren Isaac.  Now that I've had a longer observation period, I would have to add the adjective "worried-looking" to the previous list.  I don't really blame the little guy, since most of the facial expressions occur when his older brother is forcibly implanting Soren’s pacifier into his mouth or jumping onto the couch from the coffee table -- inches away from his head in the (semi-permanent) feeding position.  Come to think of it, I've seen the same look when his older sister sat on him.  You show discernment beyond your...months, baby boy...it is wise to be slightly terrified of your two siblings and to already have some instinctual sense of self-preservation.

Shauna and I both came across the name Soren separately...we're still not sure who suggested it first, but whoever it was, the other had already been thinking it.  There was only one problem...the meaning of the name Soren is "severe" or "serious".  It didn't change the fact that we liked the name, but we were still undecided when Shauna went for a pre-op appointment 3 days before the scheduled C-section.  I was at home with the kids in the middle of the work day when I got a call from Shauna saying they were sending her to the hospital to monitor her blood pressure.  After her blood pressure normalized and was no longer a concern, OUR level of concern was bumped up a few notches...what if they decided to do the C-section NOW?  We still have 3 days to prepare, right?!  Maybe not...

With the pressure on, it was time to get serious (see what I did there?) about choosing a name.  At this point, our call had ended, and we were using possibly the best method of marital communication. No, I’ll expand that...possibly the best method of all communication currently known to man -- text messaging.  As technology allows special moments to be immortalized forever, this fine example is no exception.

Without further ado, I share with you the intimate details concerning the careful consideration of our third child's name (Ben’s comments in blue):

And there it is -- Soren Isaac's name was decided over text.  Just because I find it funny, and it helps me understand where my older kids get their whining tendencies, here's the update from two hours later:

“Usual” at the house has become many wonderful moments and laughter, peppered liberally with others of frustration, temporary feelings of desperation, and outright insanity.  Basically, parenthood in general – amplified by having 3 children under 5 (including one Axel).

Welcome to the craziness, Soren Isaac…we love you!