The Debut of Max McGoo

I can already tell that Max is going to be a feisty trickster. He came two weeks later than we all thought, and only after THREE trips to labor and delivery triage first.  When he finally decided to show up, he came out screaming louder and longer than any of the other babies.  To add proof of his defiance, he has brown hair instead of blond.

But, oh, don't we *LOVE* him?!!

For two weeks before Max was born, every time I came home from somewhere, Scotty asked me if I "got Max out yet."  He was super excited.  He had repeatedly told me that Shari is my baby, and Max is his baby.  My parents brought the kids to the hospital to see Max soon after delivery, and I could tell that Scotty was hesitant to approach me.  (I think it was all the cords and machines.)  When it was time to go, everyone left the room, but Scotty stood near my hospital bed.  Very seriously he asked, "When Max go come home?"

I told Scotty that Max would be home on Tuesday.  I thought Scotty might cry when he said, "Mom, I want him come home now.  I wuv (love) him!"  So even though Scotty was protesting getting his picture taken, you can know that deep down inside, he was perhaps the happiest of all.

Poor Aunt Sarah, who loves babies even more than I do and is having to suffer through this long-distance, has requested more detailed pictures of Max until she can get here to see him and hold him for herself.  We took his clothes off last night and snapped a picture before putting his PJs on.  He was only undressed for about 30 seconds, but put up the biggest fit over it.  To quote Miss Cornelia from the Anne of Green Gables series, "Isn't that just like a man?"

A close-up of the scrawny legs (typical feet crossed):

But we fed him and got him settled.

For the record, here are the facts and stats:
Full name: Max Eric Humpherys (selected by Daddy and Nicole -- see story below)
Born: 22 July 2012 (the same day as his cousin Ashlee in Texas) at 11:16 a.m. (3 1/2 weeks early)
Weight: 6 lbs. even
Length: 19"
Physical characteristics: Brown hair, blue eyes, dimple in left cheek (hard to capture on camera!)

I told someone that I had too many kids because I ran out of names.  One evening, not too long ago, Clint said he wanted the baby boy to have a family name.  I asked what he had in mind, and he confidently said, "Max."

"Max?!  Do you mean my grandpa's brother?"  And, indeed, he did.  We visited Max's grave in Chillicothe, Missouri last year.  He was a flight instructor in WWII and died during a training exercise in Florida.  Rumor has it that his plane malfunctioned, and instead of ejecting and letting the plane crash into the base, he stuck with the plane to take it out of the populated areas and went down with it.  He was given all sorts of honors and a military burial.

The next day after this conversation, Nicole approached me and said, "Mom, can we name the baby 'Max?'"

Thinking the coincidence was too great that she and Clint both conceived the same name, I questioned her motives, "Did Daddy tell you to ask me that?"

She vehemently denied it.  So I pressed her, "Where did you come up with that name?"

Nicole sheepishly answered, "From The Little Mermaid."

Surprised, I replied, "You mean, from the DOG on The Little Mermaid?"  Nicole nodded.

I figured since I didn't have a list, and since Clint and Nicole both really wanted the name, and since it is cute, "Hey, why not?"

The "Eric" part?  Well, Eric's my brother, and he's a great guy, too.  And come to think of it, he's quite feisty himself.  Life's never dull when Eric's around.

So Max Eric it is.  He has a legend to live up to.