Jana was induced this morning at 8:30 and after a great labor (if there is such a thing), she delivered a little boy named Eli Jacob Mayne at 2:17 (I think). He weighs in at 6 lbs. 12 oz., 20 inches in length, beautiful and healthy.

After a slow morning of waiting, I needed some food and decided to run and grab some lunch. Just as I was pulling into the drive through at the Dairy Queen I got a call from Jana, “get back here now, he’s coming!” So I did, then found out that he started coming but still had at least a half hour until delivery. Starving, I got permission to run to the cafeteria and served up myself a mighty taco salad. I brought it back to the room and tried to down it while the nurse continued to, um… do her thing. Toward the end of my meal I made the mistake of taking a peek at what was going on and nearly sent my taco salad back up and onto the floor. But it was nothing a few minutes gazing out the window and humming to myself couldn’t fix.

After gaining my composure, the rest went really smooth. Watching life come into this world is so amazing and beautiful. I could totally tell he was happy to get out of there and into the world where he can swing his arms and kick his legs freely. He is so happy to be here. Jana did so awesome and acted like an old pro. I love you honey.

Jackson arrived with my parents and as I held Eli down for him he stood in awe for a couple minutes just staring down at him. Then (after not seeing his parents all day), turned to my mom, grabbed her finger, then to my dad and grabbed his finger and pulled them toward the door. Basically saying, “ok, let’s get out of here.” It was classic.

It didn’t take Jackson long to warm up and show his love for his new little brother — then poke at his eyes. He’s definitely a proud big brother.

Stay tuned for Eli’s birth announcement and more photos (with his eyes open).