Eight Years Ago Today…

May 1, 2019 / 19 Comments
8 Years Ago…

Eight years ago today, this little guy kicked his way into the world, into our lives, into our hearts. Literally…kicked his way out. Born at 35 weeks and 4 days and weighing in at 6 pounds 15 1/2 ounces, we were not quite prepared for him. We thought we had 5 more weeks of preparation. He had other plans. We had just settled into our new home. I had spent the past 6 weeks tearing out carpeting, painting every surface, changing all the fixtures and appliances getting the house ready for our new addition. It felt like I had just finished it all, had sat down in my big comfy chair with the intention of relaxing and enjoying all the newness in the peace and quiet for the next month before a baby arrived. And bam! Baby arrived.

Look at the little button nose.

On the evening of April 30, 2011, my husband and I sat on our back deck enjoying the most scrumptious dinner of steak on the grill with my sister, her husband, and my nephew. I was starting get some of that anxiety that new moms feel as they are so close to embarking on the craziest journey of their lives. My sister causally told me that I should have a glass of wine to relax. The baby is fine, all of his organs are formed, one glass of wine won’t hurt. I took three sips and squish! My water broke. To make a long story short, we headed off to the hospital to discover that the little guy had been sitting breach since at least 28 weeks when I went in for a 3-D scan. According to the doctors, the little bugger never flipped and with one swift kick to my uterus, he broke my water. He was brought into the world via C-section in the wee early morning hours of May 1 exactly one month before his due date of June 1. Funny thing is…his grandfather predicted it. My father-in-law’s birthday is also on May 1 (Happy Birthday, Pap) and as soon as we were given a due date of June 1, he said to us, “Nope. That baby is going to come on my birthday.” We told him he was crazy. That was a month early. We hate to burst your bubble but you are not getting a grandson on your birthday. Damn it if Pap wasn’t right and we were so very wrong.

There are not many photos of me pregnant. But here’s one.

And we welcomed Archer (Archie) James Herling into our lives and hearts and souls and we would never be the same again. We love you to the moon and back, little man. Happy, happy birthday.

Homecoming Day
Phillies fan from the start (he really was never given a choice in the matter).
He also was never given a choice about Penn State…
Mommy love
First Halloween
First Christmas
Oh, the helmet adventure. What a learning experience that was!
First family photo shoot
First birthday with Oogie’s Ice Cream
Always representing Oogie’s Ice Cream
Second family photo shoot
Another family photo shoot
He is the proudest military kid you will ever meet.
Family photo shoot while Daddy was deployed.
Uncle Fritz and Aunt Kaitlyn’s Wedding
With Grandma
First day of pre-school
Second grade

5 Facts about Archie…

  1. His favorite color is orange.
  2. His favorite food is pizza.
  3. He is super funny and sarcastic with a fantastic sense of humor.
  4. He is a Kindle addict.
  5. In second grade at 8 years old, he is nearly 5 feet tall.

We are so blessed to have this amazing young man in our lives. He is smart and funny and caring and such a worrier. He is silly and goofy and always makes us laugh (except when he is pissing us off, as children will do). And we love him more than we thought we were capable. Happy, happy birthday, sweet Archer James.

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Parties.

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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