Matt knew, after winning the Super Bowl, that his life would never be the same. People would interrupt his daily walks with Lily to ask for an autograph or a picture. Matt and Julie, though, were more concerned about getting ready for the new baby. Lily was getting very impatient. She turned three in March and was eager for the new baby to arrive.
Five days after Lily's birthday, and two weeks before the baby was due, Julie said she wanted to rest.
Matt said, "No problem. I'll go to church with Lily and take her out for Daddy-daughter day. We'll stay out of your way completely."
Early that afternoon, when Matt and Lily were at Lily's favorite kiddie restaurant, Julie called Matt and said, "I think I'm in labor." After they hung up, Matt told Lily, "Mommy's having the baby!"
Lily said, "Yay!"
Matt picked up his cup of water and said, "To the baby."
Lily picked up her chocolate milk and repeated, "To the baby."
Matt and Lily left, and Matt soon found that being a second-time dad hadn't made him any less nervous.
After putting Lily in her car seat, he said, "We need to get home quickly." Matt never had done this before, and he knew it was stupid, but he floored it. He said, "Lily, never do this." He sped all the way home. Amazingly, he was not caught.
When they arrived home, Lily squealed, "That was awesome!"
Matt thought, Great. My daughter is already a speed demon.
At the hospital, they learned that Julie was in active labor. She ended up receiving her epidural and was soon comfortable again.
Lily's birth had been relatively smooth, but that was not the case with this one. During the pushing, it was discovered that the baby was breech. The birth was long and difficult, and the baby had to be pulled out. It was a boy-Landon Gabriel Taylor Saracen.
He was blue and not breathing and needed to be resuscitated. Matt and Julie were terrified, but Landon soon let loose a loud scream.
When they brought him back, Julie looked at him and said, "Oh, poor baby. Your face is all swollen."
Matt said, "Yeah, we'll have to wait a couple days for the swelling to go down."
Lily was allowed to come in then and see her baby brother.
Matt said, "Lily, this is your new baby brother. Do you like him?"
Lily said, "Yes. What's his name?"
Julie said, "Landon."
Lily kissed him and said, "Hello, Landon!"
Two days later, they noticed that the swelling on Landon's face had gone down. They realized how cute he was, with his blond hair and blue eyes. He looked like Julie, and Julie said, "Well, it's only fair. Lily's a mini-you."
The doctor said, "Landon is beautiful and as healthy as his big sister and there is not a thing wrong with him."
Matt, Julie, Lily and Landon then went home, eager to begin life as a family of four.
