Three Sisters!

To get the ball rolling, I’m going to start with something simple and something Christmassy, although I promise right now that not all of my posts will be Christmas-related.  This afternoon I started a list of ideas about Christmas and only came up with four.  One will definitely be saved for later in the month.  The others will appear randomly—depending on how much time I have to write each day.

Toward the end of 2006 Amy was pregnant with our fourth child, who was due to arrive at the end of April.  With Sariah and Zac we found out the gender well in advance.   With Ally, we decided to let it be a surprise until delivery.  We wanted to do something different, so as cheesy as it sounds, we decided that it would be fun to have the baby’s gender be a surprise to open on Christmas morning.

At the appointment when everything is revealed, the ultrasonographer checked everything out: counted toes, analyzed brain matter, told us when to close our eyes, and sealed the pictures in an envelope.  Little Sariah, Zac, and Ally could hardly stand to wait.  We placed the secret near the top of the Christmas tree (so grubby little hands couldn’t “accidently” reveal the surprise) and waited.

Christmas morning arrived as usual with squeals and Santa and the brightly colored mess of recyclable paper and plastic.  We had decided to open the envelope last.  And although the three little yahoos chomped at the bit for me to put sets together, dress baby dolls, and insert batteries, the kids quieted down when Amy pulled down the small envelope.  Zac—hoping for a brother—and Sariah—wishing for another sister—started crossing their fingers.  Ally may have just slurped hers.

“It’s a sister!” exclaimed Amy (or something close to that).

Sariah cheered.  Ally joined in.

Zac’s stood speechless for several seconds.  Then his eyes brimmed with tears and held for a few more moments before exploding: “But I already have two sisters!”  He broke down, weeping like a kid who Santa had passed over.

It took several minutes to console him.

The need for special “guy time” between a boy and his dad shot to the top of the priority list.

A day later he came up to Amy with a crayon creation in his hand.  “This is for ‘Little Bit’” he said.  Apparently he was over the trauma that would be Brooklyn.  Then he sneaked away to terrorize his other sisters.

It’s a good thing Sam came along a few years later.