Grayson Joel

We've been calling Morgan's baby "Luigi" for months, because she had a dream that it was a girl and that "she" was inexplicably named Luigi. We found out this spring that she was having a boy, but continued to call the baby Luigi because Morgan and Caleb kept the name a secret until after his birth. That's got to be hard, but Morgan especially is very stubborn, so it worked, and it was wonderful to know his real name after months and months of not knowing and trying to guess (I was way off). I will say though that it was a little weird to see him and NOT say Luigi although Luigi Colucci isn't so great as far as names go. 

Baby's due date was July 31. He tried to come in June (see here for our first visit to L&D), and then not at all in July, so he must have really wanted to avoid that month, because he arrived on August 1. Carson and I drove down to Ocala that evening to wait with Caleb's parents and sisters and my uncle Mark. We arrived at 10:30 and were informed that she had just begun pushing, but we expected to wait a very long time. The baby was born at 11:08pm, so we didn't wait long. The worst part of waiting was that we didn't know WHEN we'd get to see him after he was born. We were sent pictures of the little guy, but not his stats or name, which made waiting even more frustrating. 

At about 12:30 in the morning on August 2, we got to meet Grayson Joel Colucci. Caleb announced his name as soon as we walked in the room. I got to hold him, but Carson didn't see the "take pictures!" look I was shooting him, so pictures of that are on the new parents' camera and they've been a little busy (edit: stole some from Facebook).

As expected, he's precious. I didn't expect him to be so tiny though. He was 7 pounds even, which really surprised me!

Carson and I were given the task of caring for Marlin, the "big brother" (the dog). He took awhile to warm up to us and to go outside, but eventually decided that he really liked us and that we were probably not evil incarnate. 

In the morning, we stopped at the store to get a champagne that Morgan gave me when she first found out she was pregnant and some tacky things to decorate for when they came home. AND (I'm proud of this) "Luigi's" Italian Ice because before he was Grayson, baby Colucci was Luigi. I'd been planning to get that for them for months and we had to go to several stores before finally stopping at a Publix that had it all along. 

Our final stop was the hospital to see the baby again. Morgan had looked really good but a little tired the night before (as one does after having a baby...) and she had showered and looked like someone who hadn't had a baby 12 hours before, which is really an impressive thing. This time I got to hold the baby and sit and talk for a little bit before he got hungry and we needed to leave. Carson took about 100 pictures, which more than made up for the night before. Here are some of those:

He cried for like a second, but Carson caught the moment.

She's a momma! 

I've not waited in the waiting room for someone to have a baby before and it's been a long time since I held a brand-new baby. It was wonderful. I felt as if my own sister had a baby - we're cousins but we grew up together and Morgan has referred to me as the baby's aunt although I'm a first-cousin-once-removed. 

We've cried and prayed for this baby for a long time, and watching Morgan go through pregnancy and seeing that baby for the first time? I might have teared up with joyful tears (no one saw because they were looking at that sweet little boy). I am truly happy for Morgan and Caleb, and this was the first baby in a long time that I've been this genuinely THRILLED to see enter the world. This kid's got a piece of my heart, and I've only met him once!