Welcome to ‘liam

June 9, 2018 — Today we say hello
to the newest member of the family.
His name is William Daniel Sapone:
Son, Grandson, Brother, Nephew, Cousin.

By the way, he is stunningly handsome,
but you knew that, eh?

At 9.7 pounds, 22 inches, he is already
writing his own story, with the loving and wise guidance of his proud parents,
William and Maria.

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William Daniel Sapone: Born at 2:01 PM, Saturday, June 9, 2018
— 9.7 pounds, 22 inches long.  He will be called Liam. 

 

My first observation, right after noticing that he is really good looking (did I mentioned that?), was that he seems remarkably calm and composed. His eyes are open in his first picture (above, center), seeming to focus on his fingers (“Wonder what these are for?”), until his attention is diverted by his PapaDan’s gentle humming of his favorite Beatles’ song “Here Comes The Son.”  He quickly closed his eyes and returned to his “calm and composed” posture. I figured he was soothed by the sheer musicality of my rendering of the tune.  Others in the room suggest that I may have bored him back to sleep, a credible suggestion that I quickly rejected. (OK, so I made this up.)

 

 

ANYWAY, needless to say, I was thrilled at having the privilege of sharing this first afternoon of William Junior’s life (in the hospital) with Papa Manny (Maria’s father), and Liam’s spectacular parents Maria and William.  They were both smiling.  Manny and I got to bring some dinner (she wanted a steak) to the proud parents while Diane and Gretta were hanging out with Madison at home. Below are a handful of pictures from William, Junior’s first couple of days in his well-appointed suite in Kaiser hospital in San Leandro and then home.

Welcome to our family, Liam!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the most important pictures of all — Madison meets Liam:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How’d We Get Here?
Two Saturday’s ago, we tried a well-known trick to entice the baby to make his Grand Entrance — we took Will, Maria, and Madison to Skipolini’s Pizza in Walnut Creek.  It has a long history.
Here’s the story:  In the spring of 1981, a woman burst into Skipolini’s Pizza, near the end of a long pregnancy (is there any other kind?).  She demanded that they give her a pizza that would make the baby arrive soon.  Seeing her desperation, the manager concocted a pizza with thirteen toppings, extra onion and extra garlic, and six types of meat. The woman left Skipolini’s after eating the “Prego” pizza and went into labor that same evening. So began the story of the original “Prego” pizza.  After years of success, the “Prego” pizza has grown in popularity, recommended by doctors and OBGYNs, recognized on local radio, TV, magazines, and newspapers.  SO, here we are, waiting for our “Prego” and hoping to get this show on the road.

Of course, it worked, sort of, mostly, that is, eventually.  Maria went into labor two weeks later and William Daniel Sapone was born at 2:01 pm on Saturday June 9.  Learn about the legacy of Skipolini’s  —>   http://www.skipolinispizza.com/prego.php

On the big day, I got an urgent call at 7:30 that it was time to come and stay with Madi while her parents went to the hospital.  I arrived at 8:00 and Will and Maria swooshed off to the hospital while PapaDan and Madi played with Play-Doh and watched “Paw Patrol.”  Meanwhile, Manny and Diane (Maria’s parents) arrived and joined in the serious work in Play-Doh and crayons with Madi, until it was time to take Madi to Vic’s for breakfast.  While getting ready to go to Vic’s, the assembled grandparents demonstrated their calm experience under pressure.  PapaDan locked the front door while Manny put Madison in her car seat in his truck parked in front of the nearly identical house next door.  Diane had a bag of things in the truck to put in the house.  So, Dan & Diane purposefully walked up the steps of the porch to the front door.  Dan lifted the key to the lock, noticed that the doorknob and deadbolt seemed different from the door he had just locked, but ignored the observation. For a moment, it felt like the right house because there was a dog barking inside, just as Winston had been barking inside of Will and Maria’s house that I had just locked.  Manny saved us by shouting, “You’re at the wrong house,” so we walked back toward the right house as the neighbors opened the door.  They were most gracious when Diane explained that “our daughter was about to have a baby.”  They seemed to understand our condition.  We went next door, unlocked the more familiar front door of the right house, placed the bag inside, relocked it, and …  we were off to Vic’s.

OK, I guess you had to be there …

And the sun sets on June 9, 2018 — the first day in the world for William Daniel Sapone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so it begins …   

2 Responses “Welcome to ‘liam”

  1. Manny says:

    You couldn’t have said it better Dan. Great piece; just the beginning of little Liam’s journey. And love the pics!
    Thanks,
    Papa Manny & Nana Diane

  2. Lewis Bell says:

    So nice talking to you last night. Congratulations on the new Sapone. Love Liam.