I can't get the song out of my head.

"Isn't she lovely?" by Stevie Wonder. It's my theme song for our baby girl, Lia, who was born at 1:19am, Friday, September 26, 2008.

Yes, she has finally arrived! And guess what?! She's in perfect health. Something I had been fretting since Lis and I had found out we would be having our first kid since Lis was diagnosed with leukemia four years ago.

Everything started Thursday afternoon after Lis had her weekly checkup. The doctor must have stuck her whole arm up in Lis as my lovely wife was feeling pain afterwards. That soreness turned into cramps and an hour or so after we had lunch she was calling me at work saying she was having contractions. I went about my business until a half hour later Lis said they were getting stronger. I told her I'd call my Mom to come and assist and if things worsened let me know. Somewhere around 4-ish my Mom called to let me know that they were headed to the hospital, Lis was in pain.

I looked around the empty office, said a silent swear word or two, then decided to make a sign and slap it on the door. "Sorry! Had to leave! Wife giving birth! I apologize for any inconvenience. Thanks! Kevin" I said a couple more silent swear words, after writing an auto policy and wishing someone were here to relieve me.

We spent a few hours at the hospital before they realized that either Lis was in false labor or just not far along for us to remain there. We went home at 7pm and Lis, still in pain, took a bath, leaned against the wall, laid in bed screaming and tried to eat a piece of bread before we returned to the hospital at 10pm.

 Photo: Uncle Erik and Lukas wait for another trip back to the hospital.

This time she was a little farther along so they decided to keep us there. The doc checked on Lis and around midnight busted her water open. By then, my Grandparents, Mom, Erik and his girlfriend, and Alexandre, Jackie and their daughter Iasmin had joined us. My Dad was in New York at a dog show upset that he guessed wrong on the date the baby would be born.

Above: Waiting Room - Uncle Erik watches over Lukas. Who watches over Uncle Erik?

At 1pm they cleared the room. I just left the visitors room when Stephanie said, "She's ready, you better get in there." I did and 15 minutes later the baby was born.

I watched the whole thing. The spreading of the legs, the crowning, her black hair, the doctor putting it in a mohawk, when all we could see was her hair. The pulling of her neck, the goo, the blood and finally the sweet sound of my baby girl crying. I cut the cord - thanks Dennis and Ale for telling me it's tough, I attacked it good, three small quick snips and I was through it. My mom witnessing the entire event snapped photos and shed a tear or two. The first baby girl on my side of the family since May 1977, had been born.

Photo: That's me (without the latex) cutting the cord.

After that things are chaotic. We brought in Lukas to visit his sister. He was unsure what to think. "How'd she get out of there?" and a few uncomfortable laughs. He was in shock and wanted to get back to watching a movie with Big Feller. It was late and he'd been a trooper waiting up for Baby Sister.

Then we brought in my brother, Stephanie and my Grandparents, followed by Alexandre and Jackie. Lots of hugs, a few tears, and a ton of smiles for little Lia Marie.

I shed a few tears myself, more so than with Lukas. Thoughts of "might not be able to have kids again" and health problems for Lia and Lis, danced through my head. I hadn't thought much about the new baby and now she was here. I was relieved, happy, exhausted and in love!

That evening Lis and I tried to sleep. It was close to 6am before we got any shuteye. The night had been long and tiring but very exciting.

Later that day Josh came to visit. I got to go home and shower while he and Lukas played Lego Star Wars II. The nurses came in around 5-ish and Lis jokingly asked if she could go home. They called the baby doc and her doc and both said we could. Seventeen hours after giving birth we were going home.

That evening the same people that joined us for our memorable night joined us for some pizza and a birthday cake (thanks Ale and Jackie) for Lia.

Lis and I went to bed exhausted. We couldn't believe it was the same day. September 26. The day our baby girl was born! 

For more photos see above, or click here.

Things have been chaotic lately so I thought I'd blog about every time my mind goes out on me. Here are a list of things that have led me to believe that things aren't all there inside my head.

* I completely renamed a volleyball coach for an item I wrote for Friday's paper. Her name: Nicole Bowie. That's what it said on my call list sheet that I was handed. I wrote her name as Nicole Brown and I continued to say 'Brown said...' and '...said Brown.'

* I misspelled two people's names (coach and a player) in my football story in Saturday's paper. Didn't even bother checking the roster - I guess.

* I set up my parent's motorhome policy with the old PO Box address of the office. Now the ex-owner gets my parent's mail.

* I left off a digit in an address causing the mail to return back to us.

* I completely renamed a client's wife, calling her Linda instead of her real name Florence.

* I left my shoes at my parent's house Monday night so today I'm sitting at work with gray slacks and brown sandals.

* I didn't bring a jacket, coat, sweatshirt, anything that will keep me warm tonight when I cover a girls soccer game for the newspaper.

Okay, I wrote all that on Tuesday, so three days later let's catch everyone up on what's going on with Kevin.

As I mentioned I'm coaching Lukas' soccer team. This is quite the challenge as the kids can only pay attention for 5-10 minutes at a time. Birds fly by and the kids stop and point. Dirt piles on the field, the kids stop and play in the dirt. I had an entire agenda for the kids and 18 minutes into the practice I was done. I didn't know what to do. I think what made it harder was every time I looked up I saw a line of parents, arms crossed, watching my every move. I did get a few helpers from the parents. It was not as relaxing as I hoped it to be. I'm sure things will get better once we get settled in. The kids seem great and seemed to have a good time.

I don't know if any of you have been watching America's Got Talent. This was the first time that I had actually watched the show. I started watching it when things were less busy and have since TiVo'd the shows so I can watch them when I get home from work. We're down to the final five and my favorites from the start are still alive and kicking.

They are called Nuttin' But Stringz. You can check out their audition video here.

Or check out this video:

Just weeks remain until Baby Sister arrives. We're about two weeks away. Yes, I'm still scared and worried.

Lis is beginning to get the Braxton Hicks contractions. She noticed them more over the weekend when we went to Wenatchee for our annual trip over the mountains to see Koby in action at the Wenatchee Kennel Club's dog show.

We always enjoy going to Wenatchee for the dog show, mostly because of the weather. It's warm, it's relaxing and it's a nice drive up and a little over the Cascades. This year my Grandparents and our friends Alexandre, Jacque and their daughter Iasmin joined us. We hung out, played soccer until Ale and I got exhausted, played in the park and went out to dinner. We had a good time. You can view our photos here at Wenatchee Dog Show photos.

I'm beginning to get nervous about the baby coming. With my busy schedule I'm afraid Lis is going to go into labor when I'm covering a game on a Friday night or at work. Odds are that it's going to happen when we're doing something else.

I'm also worried about myself. I misspelled four names in the last two articles I wrote. The sports editor wrote to the prep editor who sent me an email saying, "KJ is not having a good week. Please talk to him about the importance of spelling names correctly." This hasn't happened before. I usually do a good job of spelling names correctly, right now I'm on an awful streak. I also screwed up an application at the insurance office, incorrectly writing the insured's wife's name. What is going on? I think things are starting to get to me. My mind feels tired and I can't seem to remember things easily anymore. Am I getting old? Gulp!

Speaking of clients, I've given three people the opportunity to come in later to make their payment and we'd front them. I did this as a convenience as two of them are clients I've known for a long time and third was a mistake we made. Now I'm getting screwed as none of them have come to honor our payments and we're out money. See what I'm saying - I'm lame!

Well, I guess that's it for now. Back to work I go. For the second straight day (Friday and today) I'm left alone in the office to handle the phones, and incoming clients. I love work!

Which reminds me...quick apologies...I've read over my last few entries and they've all been work-related. It's really made me realize that I need a change or I'm secretly addicted to work and the drama, stress and frustration and it brings to my life.

We're getting into the stretch run - no pun attended - for the birth of Baby Sister. Yes, no name has been solidified though all indications are we're leaning towards Lia, as that's the name Lis likes. Other names we're considering are Angelina and Victoria, though it appears Victoria is now out of the running.

Thankfully things are beginning to settle down for me, though that just means I take on another task. I never learn. I've finished up my three prep sports previews for the newspaper. I've ironed out the accounting headaches that I've had the last couple of weeks at the insurance gig. Now it's time to relax and enjoy the next couple of weeks before Baby Sister arrives. Ha!

We've decided to put Lukas in soccer. It was either preschool or soccer so we chose the latter. It'll get him out of the house and playing with some other kids his age. However, the YMCA sent out an email saying they need a coach for the team. Guess who stepped in and volunteered himself? That'd be me.

Oh yes, the guy that consistently complains about how he's too busy, has just volunteered to coach. I figured it didn't matter anyway as I'd be watching Lukas play during that time anyway. But now I'm in charge of 10 3-4 year olds. And I know nothing about soccer.

Here is how my week now shapes up. Note: I work 9-530pm Monday thru Friday with an occasional free Saturday tossed in there.

Monday - Small Group 7-9pm

Tuesday - Newspaper 7:15 - 11:15pm

Wednesday - Soccer 6-7pm

Thursday - Newspaper 6:45 - 11:45pm

Friday - Newspaper 6:30 - 11pm

Saturday - Soccer game in the morning

Sunday - Church (9am - 12:30pm) and Foundation Class (5-7pm)

I wrote the above two days ago. I let you know because things are no longer feeling settled down. I think the wheels are slowly coming off this office. Things are so chaotic and disorganized that it's driving me crazy. For instance, they all know that Lis is pregnant and I've warned them that I'm taking my final four days of vacation off when the baby is born. Lis' due date is October 1st. Also the day that three out of the four people in the office are out. The fourth has been here for three hours - THIS WEEK! So now I'm worried about the office and my clients. I hate that I do this and I hate that I can't be rewarded with a better job because I do this. So things are no longer settling done, they appear to be headed in another chaotic direction. I can't afford to go job searching with a kid on the way, but I also can't afford to lose my job (as the boss as threatened, then rescinded then threatened again and again) if the office doesn't pick up the production.

I know I've complained a lot in the past couple of months of how I've been really preoccupied. And you know how I know it's true? I'm totally not jazzed about fantasy football and have put little thought into my teams this year. This bothers me! I studied a little for my drafts, but as the week goes by I put little effort and thought into how I'm going to design my team. It may be because it's only a week into the season but I think the true reason is that I'm so busy with life that I can't enjoy the things I want to enjoy.

This weekend was an awful weekend for football as the three teams I cheer for (Colts, Chargers, Seahawks) all had disappointing losses, as did the two fantasy teams I care most about. Argh! There's a lot of time left but still, nobody enjoys getting out of the gates with a L.

In other news...part of what has made me stressed and busy was that I was working on three fall prep sports previews. Two of them have been printed, and though I wasn't proud of the tennis preview when I submitted it, when I saw it in print on Thursday. Click here for my tennis preview and five players to watch out for. Click here for my interview with Sultan High School quarterback Zach Beebe. I'll keep you posted on my swim preview which appears this Tuesday in the Herald. Wish I could go back to school to do more writing. UPS does have a tuition reimbursement program. You work part-time and they pay for your tuition. If only I could afford it.

This past weekend we went to the cemetery to visit Uncle Jeff. It would've been his 48th birthday on September 5. Afterwards we went and checked out some old trains and then Snoqualmie Falls. Check out our pictures above.

Thank you to everyone that continues to read my blog. It was nice to hear that my Aunt Jo continues to keep tabs on me and my journal. It's nice to see that I continue to get hits despite the fact I've been a huge slacker when it's come to journaling. I truly love writing and sharing my stories with everyone, and getting my thoughts out of my head and onto 'paper'. Thank you to those that have stuck by Lis and I these three years. I hope to keep on rocking, especially when Baby Sister arrives. Thank you!