Liam Benjamin Arrives!

      Several months ago, Ben and Joanne announced to the world that their family would be expanding by a factor of 1,  Debbie and I put together a plan formulated over several weeks and months, to correctly guess our grandson's name, (BIG SECRET) and to arrive in San Diego PRIOR to his arrival.  Looks like we pulled it off perfectly!

     As we worked our way home last Spring, the twitter feeds were going crazy as each cousin tried to guess the sex of the pending baby.  I myself, did not want to know, and even though I made that point very clear to everyone involved, the beans were spilled about 30 seconds into the conversation ongoing on the web with all the family.  But Ben and Joanne had a tougher secret to hold.  They had let it known that they were expecting a boy, but the name was going to remain a secret until his arrival. Could they pull it off though?
     As the months passed over in NY, Debbie soon tired of talking about "the baby" or "Baby Doo."  Our grandson needed a name, and since Ben and Joanne weren't ready to give him a name, then it was up to us.  After all, Ben and MaryAnne were named long before their arrival, and look how nice they turned out.  So after tossing several names around, Debbie announced one morning that the baby's name was now Liam Jeter Doody, aka: "LJ".  Jeter being Ben's most favorite Yankee of all time, Derek Jeter.  And so for several months, whenever he came up in conversation, we referred to him as either Liam Jeter or LJ.  So now Ben and Joanne's family had expanded from Jamo Franklin Patrick to JFP and Liam Jeter Doody.  They seemed to fit together just fine.

 

      Then at Katy's wedding, Debbie let it slip that we had named our grandson Liam Jeter Doody, and the cousin's went wild!  They loved the name!  Especially Anna!  "Whoa...whoa...whoa...that's not his name!" Debbie tried to explain.  We just made it up cause he needed a name.  By this time, Anna loved the name, and was going to use it if Ben doesn't.  What have we started?
     Anyway....per our plan we were to depart NY right after Katy's wedding, meander west making planned stops in Cleveland, Moab, Utah, Monument Valley, Utah, and arriving in San Diego on 9/25/2016, the day before Ben's birthday.  That should put us in town 2 weeks before the pending arrival of Liam Jeter. We set up camp at Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve, a few miles from Ben and Joanne.  This location seemed to be perfect since it was a few minutes drive over to Ben and Joanne's if we were needed (baby alert), but far enough away that we're not in their faces all the time.

We arrived right on schedule, and settled in at Santee, enjoying the fine weather San Diego was giving us.  Well into the 90's during the day, but cooling off nicely in the evening.

 On Ben's birthday, we gathered up the clan and headed over to Coronado Island and had a great dinner at the Coronado Brew Pub.  On Sunday, Debbie and I drove a little east on I-8 to a viewpoint to view the Blood Moon that was scheduled to arrive.  When we arrived there, we were amazed to see lots of stargazers with cameras, tripods and telescopes, joining us.  And right on schedule, just after dusk, the Blood Moon rose over the hills of Japatul Valley, and put on an amazing show for everyone.


















      On the morning of September 28, 2016, we received a call from Ben advising that Liam was getting ready to make his appearance, and that the show had begun.  Debbie and I hustled over to the house to get our marching orders on handling Jamo, as Ben and Joanne headed for Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns.

 Debbie and I had actually expected this to occur the previous evening, since the Blood Moon or any full moon tends to make these things happen.  MaryAnne was born on a full moon night, and the maternity ward was full!  At about 11:50 AM, they headed out, and Debbie, Jamo and I sat back to enjoy the quiet afternoon.



At 8:44 PM, he arrived, and Ben announced that he was named Liam Benjamin Doody. He weighed in at a health 8 lbs 6 oz's and 21 inches long.
We truly had no idea how close we had come in guessing the name, and Ben and Joanne couldn't believe it either!  Not bad for a couple of old guys.  You kids have to remember that we know you like a book.

     We got our first look at our grandson around 10 PM and everyone seemed to be doing just fine. He was guided into this world by a fine Irish Doctor and graduate of Notre Dame, named Dr. Kellie Shannon.  He should be coming home tomorrow to meet Jamo.  That is going to be a show, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

We are all thrilled to make his acquaintance, and welcome him into the world.  And look forward to watching him grow into a fine young man.  

May you always walk in sunshine.
May you never want for more.
May Irish angels rest their wings 
beside your nursery door.
And for the proud parents: 
May God grant you
a wee bit of heaven
to cradle in your arms -
a sweet bonny baby 
to hold close to your heart
A newborn babe
brings light to the house
warmth to the hearth
and joy to the soul
for wealth is family
family is wealth.