The Surprise of Colby

The Surprise of Colby

Life has a way of surprising us when we least expect it. My second pregnancy was one of those surprises. Just five months after welcoming Oscar into the world, I found myself feeling unwell, never suspecting it could be due to another baby on the way. It was during a significant snowstorm that we discovered we were expecting again. The joy and shock of it all were overwhelming, and I was initially scared to tell Evan, fearing he might be upset. But to my relief, he wasn't mad at all. We decided to keep this pregnancy a secret for a little while, sharing the news only with our parents. Looking back, I doubt they kept it a secret!

At that time, we were living with Evan's parents. Evan had started lineman school before Oscar was born, and moving in with his parents was a practical decision to save money. But after Oscar was born, Evan had an accident at lineman school, falling off a 9-foot pole. He ended up needing surgery and couldn’t return to school. Supporting our growing family moved to plan B: Evan got a job at Valley Tools in Garden City and took on a morning freight job at FedEx.

As our family grew, we knew it was time to find a place of our own. We found a cute little duplex on Tamarak Street, not far from my parents. It was the perfect place for our expanding family.

Being pregnant with a very active little boy under 12 months was not easy. But when it came time to find out the gender, Evan’s grandma insisted it was a boy, hoping for more grandsons. And for the second time, she was right! We were thrilled to learn we were having another boy. Colby was due on October 8, 2006, but my doctor induced me on October 6, 2006. I made sure to keep my epidural in place this time. After six hours of labor, with the epidural still effective, Colby arrived. He had a calm expression on his face and was absolutely beautiful. Initially weighing in at 9 lbs, he peed shortly after birth, and his official weight was recorded at 8.15 lbs 20 inches ling.

I remember feeling uncertain about his name after he was born. We had decided on Colby Ray Schafer, but looking at him, he reminded me so much of my brother Nick that I considered naming him after him. Ultimately, we stuck with Colby, a name that suits him perfectly even to this day.

Oscar was over the moon to be a big brother. He embraced his new role as Colby's protector, always watching over him, holding him, and even helping to feed him. Our hearts were full, and we felt incredibly blessed to welcome Colby into our family.