Skyler's Lucky Number

Today we celebrate Skyler's 7th birthday! I really can't believe how quickly time goes by. Skyler is our first-born, and will always hold a special place in my heart. Of all of our children, she seems to be the only one who actually likes me (a little bit). I think this is due to the fact that she was born while I was still in college and Sara was working. I was able to spend a lot more time with her as an infant than I have with the other children. While the other kids just view me as an obstacle from getting to Sara, Skyler may stop sometimes and ask for my assistance before disregarding me and going to Sara.

Here are just a few of the great things about Skyler:

• Her middle name starts with my favorite letter in the alphabet, the silent K.
• She is very artistic and creative.
• She has taught me about "feelings". (Growing up without any sisters, I wasn't too aware of that whole sensitivity thing. I'm still not too much into it, but at least Skyler has got me started.)
• She has always been very well-behaved. She wasn't much of a screamer as a baby and she always has been pretty laid-back. (We really were spoiled as parents by Skyler and Geronimo when they were babies. I sometimes refer to that time period as the calm before Hurricane Cooper.)
• She is good at making friends. When I pick her up at school, all kinds of kids tell her goodbye. She's only in the 1st grade, but there are lots of the older kids who know her too. Maybe I can live my life's dream of being popular through her.
  
• Her math skills are superb. (What accountant wouldn't be proud of that?)
• She likes Star Wars.

I will never forget the day she was born. It's ironic because at the time, I didn't know much of what was happening. For those of you who haven't heard, here is the story of Skyler's birth.

We were living in Utah at the time, and I would go fishing quite frequently. On a fishing trip with my friend "Scuba Steve" I scraped up my leg on some twigs. It left a decent looking wound, but it didn't bother me and I didn't think anything of it. The following Friday I went and played some pick-up basketball at the local playground. The wound on my leg turned out to be more than just a scratch. All the physical exertion from playing basketball got my blood flowing and caused me to start itching all over my body. When I got home I hoped that a cold shower would make the itching stop, but it didn't. I made it through Friday night, but the itching became unbearable.

Just as my problems were getting worse, Sara started going into labor. Naturally, I made her go to the store and get me some oatmeal to bathe in to see if that would work. It didn't and oozing blisters had started to form all over my body. The leg wound was oozing profusely as well. At that point the university medical center was closed until Monday morning, and we needed to get Sara to the hospital. So, Sara suggested I take some Benadryl. I asked her how many pills to take and thought that she said 4. It turns out that she actually said 2. Picture this: We arrive at the hospital with Sara experiencing labor for the first time and me covered in blisters that are oozing enough that I'm just sticking paper towels all over my body to absorb it. Add to that the fact that I am now stoned out of my mind on a double dose of Benadryl. (It did stop the itching though.) I couldn't even stand up. So, Skyler's birth occurred with me sitting in a chair next to Sara holding her hand and having no idea what was going on around me. My vision was hazy, which was great because I really didn't want to get a clear view of all that was going on. And, overall I am sure that I was absolutely no help during the birth (Which isn't any different from the other 3 births). On Monday morning Skyler was born. I got to hold her for a few minutes before I rushed off to the medical center to get myself treated. It was a very eventful weekend.

At the medical center I saw a doctor who told me that he had never seen something like what I had (This would be the first of two times in my life, so far, that a doctor would say that to me). He then proceeded to call all the other doctors in to have a look at me and eventually asked me if he could take pictures of me to possibly submit to a medical journal. He also cut out one of the blisters to do a biopsy on. He gave me some medicine to stop the itching and eventually the blisters went away. We still don't know what it was. And that is the story of Skyler's birth. I highly recommend that all husbands take 4 Benadryl right before going to the hospital.

Happy Birthday Skyler!