You are 14 weeks old today. I don't know if that is true - according to the last ultrasound, you would be 14w1d today. I always use Monday as our weekly birthday. Not much new to tell you about anything exciting. However, today is your Grampa Bob's birthday so, I have to tell you about him today. I was hoping maybe your dad would write this today but he said it would take him 2 years to write 3 lines. So, I will give you my perspective on your Grampa Bob.
Your Grampa Bob died last year while I was pregnant with your brothers. Ever since I met your dad, Grampa Bob was not in the best of health. He had several heart attacks and his lungs were starting to give out. When I was first getting to know your Grampa, he intimidated me quite a bit. He was gruff, talked loud and talked a lot :) I had a hard time understanding your dad's relationship with him because it was so unlike my relationship with my parents. They talked on the phone multiple times a day. That blew me away! But, after your Grampa was gone, it was kind of lonely. Somedays, I still think "Oh, Bob should be calling Mark pretty soon." What I learned about your Grampa is that even though he was gruff and a man set in the ways of his generation, underneath it all, he just loved his family. He just liked to talk to them on the phone. He just liked to watch TV with them. He just liked to be around them. Him and your Gramma didn't travel much or do a ton outside of the house and he was content with that - as long as he had someone to talk to. Or, if we are being honest with each other, someone to yell at. I don't think I will ever forget the screams of "Ruth" or "Andrew". He wasn't yelling at them but he would yell across the house to get their attention and ask them for something. He was so in love with your cousins and each time we were pregnant, he was just as in love with our babies as he was with them.
Sometimes, your Grampa made me really mad. He would tease me because he thought I was lazy and didn't do anything around the house. He didn't think I knew how to cook. While it wasn't nice of him, he had 2 reasons to think that. 1) Your dad was always telling him that he couldn't talk on the phone or come over because he was cleaning. To hear your dad talk, you would think I had him shackled in a shock collar and would buzz him if he wasn't cleaning the house 24/7. Anyone who saw our house would know that was a load of crap. :) 2) I didn't spend enough time around your grampa to tell him the truth. When your dad would go over his house, I would stay home. So, I couldn't debunk all those lies your dad was spreading about me :)
I hope that you have met your Grampa Bob and he is helping keep you healthy in there!! I am sharing a picture from our wedding with you. I made all the men in the family wear tuxes. Your grampa pitched me a fit for weeks before the wedding. He kept telling me he was going to show up in blue jeans and a white t-shirt. He really didn't have a choice - I was pretty adamant about the tux thing - but he ended up being a good sport!
