Breaking overnight news: Videos of Levi's first steps, and more!!

We interrupt my 2-part biking/hiking European mini-travelogue (link) to bring you this important announcement...

Baby Levi took his first steps last night!

Vine video: Click "unmute" to hear Levi's (and Daddy's) screams of joy... or just enjoy the silence

Readers may remember Garth's Blog celebrating the day that Lena took her first steps a couple years ago, and this day is every bit as exciting!  At 15 months old, we expected that Levi would've been walking already.  But better late than never!  Levi was so proud of himself, right along with Daddy, Mommy, and big sister.

While Kathy and the grandparents keep shopping for Levi's baby clothes, I'll start tracking down deals on mountaineering crampons for his baby shoes.  There are some thrilling outdoor adventures in store for this one.



So what happened next?


Levi fell down...

... Then Levi got back up onto the step, and then he took another step or two.


There was plenty of cheering and applause...

...And then Levi finally psyched himself for his next trick:  Standing up on his own, without using the step!

Vine video: You'll definitely want to hit "unmute" for this clip.  For whatever reason, Lena is congratulating HERSELF for this accomplishment.  It's all just too adorable.

We have a baby hiker on our hands!!

Top 10: Most popular NON-travel posts (Unpublished #2)

This is Part 2 of a previously unreleased "Best of" series from January 2014, based on page views for my 2013 posts.  The 2014 page hits haven't been tallied yet.  My new blog content still isn't quite ready.  We've been celebrating baby Levi's first birthday since last Thursday with all of our might!  In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to have a look back.

Links look like this.  Last week's "Honorable mentions: Most popular non-travel posts" is here.  And the list of Top 10 travel posts (from 2013, *snicker*) is coming next!

10.  Blog Changes: Twitter Feed and More

A throwaway post about the latest tweets from @garth_hamilton on Twitter being added to my blog’s sidebar, as well as some other design changes

9.  Dude (Looks like a baby):  We're having a boy!!

As if the bad Aerosmith jokes in my earlier Lovin' an Elevator: A tale of entrapment misadventure at PDX Airport weren't desperate enough, I returned to the well for our baby's gender announcement.  This one features an early guest photo appearance by baby Levi!

8.  Our home’s first Thanksgiving

For a change, we had the family (plus a special guest) over to OUR house for Thanksgiving dinner.  This post also includes pics from the always-huge day after Thanksgiving extended family dinner at my parent's house.

7.  Father’s Day week photo spectacular

This was a simple collection of exclusive Daddy-daughter photos from the previous year.

I had so many favorites that the pics spilled over into Father’s Day week photos, Part 2: The Outtakes.

6.  Olympic Mountains, Day 1:

Lena’s 1^st camping trip

The spectacular photos of Mount Ellinor (which I'm climbing this winter season) and Mount Washington from Olympic Mountains, Day 2- Back on the trails took a back seat to family camping photos of Day 1.  Okay, so it was only car camping.

Scouting out Mount Ellinor/Washington  for Daddy's upcoming double-header climb

Lena lovingly sidetracks Daddy from setting up the tent

As a bonus, the follow-up "Day 2" camping blog boasted another exclusive-- A photo of Lena hiking her first mini trail!

5.  Sunriver, Pt 1: A wedding countdown (feat. Kathy)





The excitement began to build during our preparations for Brent and Cheryl's wedding in Sunriver, near Bend.

And the Kathy-penned Part 2 featured the wedding ceremony, toasts, cake fight, reception, and after-party!

Sunriver, Pt. 2: A wild wedding (feat. Kathy)

4.  Once upon a time in Enchanted Forest

Lena visited Oregon's unique roadside theme park, Enchanted Forest, for her first time.  Daddy, Mommy, Grandma Lora (Mimi), and Uncle Tony came along for the ride.

3.  Breaking news: We’re pregnant again!!

Hot off the press-- Baby Levi cometh!

2.  Banks Lake heats up! (Pt. 2 of 2)

This entry was chocked full of tubing/ wakeboarding near-wipeouts pics from the second day of our family’s 31^st annual Banks Lake camping trip.  That night's birthday shenanigans in Coulee City were just icing on the cake.

Camping photos from Day 1 were featured earlier in Banks Lake camping, Take 31.

1.  Video: Breaking news: Lena’s first steps!

A lifetime of Lena hiking, running, skiing, climbing, and playing sports has begun!

Coming next on Garth's Blog, one final "unpublished" post from January 2014 before we get to the new stuff...

Top 10: Most popular travel posts!

Baby Levi flips!

What the flip? Our baby boy Levi completely rolled over from his back onto his stomach yesterday morning! All by himself.

At nearly 6 months old, of course Levi has been flipping over for quite some time now... but with a literal catch. He hasn't quite been able to pull out his little left arm to complete the roll.

Just minutes before I left for work yesterday, that all changed. After kicking around on his back all morning, Levi executed the move perfectly.  He'll be climbing things with Daddy in no time.



Following the flip, Levi even did a little push-up for us.  Here are Levi's first moments of independently achieved tummy time:

Of course, Lena wouldn't stand idly by while Levi hogged the spotlight:

As soon as Lena heard my camera clicking (Thank you, Sprint and Samsung, for my Galaxy Note's loud, always-on artificial shutter sound!), she dove right in there.



Older siblings must feel they need to try extra hard to get noticed. Remind anyone of a different pair of Hamilton siblings?

Vintage photo credit:  Summer Sorenson's Facebook page

Photos: Baby Levi's first week alive

Jumping ahead:  A more recent pic of the newly expanded Hamilton 4.

Levi's first Sunday at Aloha Church of God:  Daddy, Peggy, Aunt Jamie, and Larry proudly admire the newest Hamilton, four days old.

This photo dump from January is yet another "catch-up" post. So many blog-worthy adventures have happened recently... but those can wait until after we share a few moments from our baby boy Levi's first week in this world.

Here are some pics:

Grandma and Grandpa Eason capture the moment as Lena excitedly reaches out to hold baby Levi, for her first time ever.

Note:  See Part 3 of my "Birth of Levi" posts from a few weeks ago for more precious photos from their initial sister/brother meeting!

Levi's first night at home

Lena holds her new baby brother

Outtake:  He's mine!

Uncle Mike and Aunt Summer finally meet their 2 day old nephew

Levi's first breakfast with the family

Grandpa Bo plays with his two grandkids

Levi's first Sunday morning in church

Our church family gets their first peek at Levi, four days old.

"I love it that it's Levi's first Sunday to be alive, and he's in church."

-Pastor Tim, from the pulpit

"YOU sing, Daddy!"

-Lena, trying to steal the spotlight after church... and then wanting to hand it off.

Coming next week on Garth's Blog...

More never before seen Levi photos:

Showing off Levi around town, visits from family and friends, and getting Levi out on the hiking trails!

And coming in April...

Snow play, more outdoor fun, and overseas hijinks!!

The birth of Levi, Pt. 3: Lena meets Levi!! (with video)

Posted from Belfast, Northern Ireland this morning:

Part 3 of this story actually happened on January 16 in Beaverton, Oregon.

Loading our newborn son Levi into the car at Providence St. Vincent hospital

The time had finally come. After three days in the hospital, our two day old Levi was finally ready to come home with Daddy and Mommy.

As mentioned previously in The birth of Levi, Pt. 2: Levi's first two days (link), the moment when our nearly 2 1/2 year old Lena would meet her newborn brother Levi was one of the most anticipated moments of my entire life. I wanted everything to be perfect. As I drove Kathy and Levi home from the hospital, I asked Kathy to phone her parents at our house to make sure Lena would be ready.

My heart lept into my throat as we pulled into our driveway. I gently set down Levi's car seat on the ground, and Kathy approached the door.

Anticipation...

Tom and Lora opened our storm door so little Lena could step down into the sidewalk. I fired up my Galaxy Note's video camera and held my breath.


My lack of technical expertise is preventing me from successfully uploading the clip here to Garth's Blog.  But the photos that follow are still shots from that priceless video:

Lena gets a first glimpse at her baby brother, Levi.  After months of buildup, is this what she was expecting?

Lena goes in for the first kiss.  It's an air ball.

Inside the house:  Lena's arms involuntarily pop up at the sight of Levi, in anticipation of holding her new baby brother.

The first sister-brother kiss!!

And finally, here is the first ever photo of our whole family together:

Introducing the newly expanded Hamilton clan!  Lena is happier than she looks.

So let's end on an even happier note.  My video upload above may have failed, but anyone who missed the Vine that I tweeted on January 16 is in for a treat.  Here's a 7 second video clip of Lena trying to say baby Levi's name, while holding him in her lap:

 Click in the upper right corner of this Vine video for audio of Lena trying to say, "Levi"!


This was, without exaggeration, one of the greatest days of my life.  Our family is complete.  Lena and Levi are perfect together!

The birth of Levi James Hamilton, Pt. 1: A timeline

Levi James Hamilton, 36 minutes old!

From Saturday, February 15:

Our baby boy Levi turns one month old today!  Four weeks ago from last Wednesday, our family received the greatest blessing since the birth of our 2 year old daughter Lena (link).

As shown below, both the timing and method of Levi's birth were quite unexpected. Here is a stripped down timeline of the events leading up to that glorious moment:

Friday, January 10: Our yet-to-be named baby's due date

Not a peep from that womb. Kathy stayed home that evening and I volunteered, as planned, with Compassion International at the Roadshow tour. I jumped every time my phone vibrated.

I warned my fellow Compassion volunteers (with Third Day front man Mac Powell within earshot) that if I got The Call, I would disappear in a flash.

Monday, January 13: "Hold tight until Friday."

4:30 P.M. The post-due date followup at the doctor's office ended with us scheduling a C-section delivery for Friday morning. "Don't worry," our OBGYN assured us after Kathy's examination. "It's very unlikely that this baby's going anywhere anytime soon."

Vine video: Our baby boy's heartbeat!  Click the "mute" button in the upper left corner to toggle the sound on/off.

Then, the very next morning...

Tuesday, January 14: And so it begins.

Times are approximate. 

6:00 am- Kathy's water breaks at our house in Beaverton.  So much for the baby not "going anywhere anytime soon."  Was a C-section immanent? Or, after our scary complications with Lena's birth, would this be our chance to finally have a natural delivery?

Over the phone, the on-call doctor advises Kathy to begin preparations for leaving for the hospital.  Contractions hadn't started yet, so there was no hurry.

6:20 am- At PDX airport, I'm outside working my second flight of the morning when my cell phone begins to vibrate in my pocket.  I had no idea that it was The Call.

6:25 am- Kathy calls her parents Tom and Lora in Salem so they would begin making their way to our house to watch 2 year old Lena.  Due to the flu outbreak, heightened visiting restrictions would prevent Lena being at the hospital with us.

6:40 am- As I frantically search for a ride out to my Jeep parked in the airport employee parking lot, Kathy hops in the shower at home.  Who knows when her next chance would be?

7:30 am- After weaving through rush hour traffic, I pull into our driveway. The scramble is now on to throw together some clothes, toiletries, and snacks.  Kathy's scheduled C-section was slated for Friday, four days later, so neither of us had finished packing.

8:00 am- Kathy's parents arrive at the house, we call off our emergency backup babysitters (Steve and Brenda from church), and then I whisk Kathy away to the hospital!


8:50 am- We arrive at the hospital.

Not quite in labor yet, we check in Kathy at Providence St. Vincent Hospital

There was no room at the inn, so they set us up in a triage room for a few hours.

1:00 pm- We finally get moved from the triage area into a full-sized birthing room.

1:30 pm- Contractions begin, but they are irregular.

.

3:00 pm- Kathy has only dilated to 1 cm.


Contractions slowly pick up throughout the afternoon and begin to intensify into the early evening.

5:30 pm- My dad stops by the hospital to offer encouragement, support, and grub.

Sorry, Bo. No grandson yet.

7:45 pm- Only dilated to 2 cm.

8:00 pm- Kathy requests an epidural when the pain becomes unbearable.  

9:00 pm- No more pain from the contractions.  When no further dilation occurs within the hour, the nurse leaves us alone in the room to sleep for the night.  We would try again in the morning.


Kathy drifts off to sleep. I do some reading, and then get ready for bed.



9:55 pm- Thinking the coast is clear, I quietly sneak out of the birthing room to brush my teeth before bedtime.  A few minutes later...


10:00 pm-  I return to find the room bustling with excitement.  The nurse and Dr. Hoffman are setting up equipment.  They announce that Kathy has somehow increased from 2 cm to fully dilated in the past two hours!

The doc tells us to get ready to have a baby.

11:00 pm- The pushing begins.  The delivery nurse and I physically assist the doctor in ways that I will not describe in this public blog.*

Wednesday, January 15: Levi's big entrance.

12:26 am- While the nurse and I hold up Kathy's legs, Kathy gives one final push.  Our baby boy enters this world screaming!!

The proud, overjoyed daddy cuts the umbilical cord.

We name him Levi James Hamilton.  The name Levi comes from the father of the ancient Israelite tribe who served God in the Hebrew temple.  James was the name of my great grandfather, James Clive Perry.

"Big entrance" is an understatement.  At 9 lbs 6 oz, Levi was no small baby.

Beating Lena's formidable 8 lbs 15 oz birth weight, Levi weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 6 oz!!

But Levi's 20 3/4 inch length couldn't quite topple Lena's reign as the longest Hamilton at birth.

Apparently Kathy and I only have big babies.  That's how we roll.

We'll continue this story next week and share new photos.

Part 2 brings our family and friends into the picture at the hospital...

...and Part 3 tells about one of the most anticipated moments of my entire life!

*An informal poll among my friends who have experienced labor and delivery confirmed what I already suspected: my level of physical involvement in this birthing process was highly unusual.  Following each instruction from the doctor, I kept waiting to hear, "Just kidding. That's why we have trained hospital staff."