Randall William Rhoten was born on July 26, 1995. He only weighed a little more than 6 pounds, but he was a hard delivery for a first time mother. Jen and I hadn’t been together all that long before we found out she was pregnant, so we were still navigating how to be together when Randy showed up. Jen and I were so young ourselves, we didn’t know anything about how to be parents.
Randy as a baby was a learning experience all on its own. Unlike his brother James, who was the best behaved baby ever, Randy was difficult and demanded a lot of attention. I remember there would be times that Jen and I would be sleeping on her bedroom floor (her bed wasn’t built for two lol) and Randy would be in his crib. She and I would turn out the light and lay down, hoping he would nod off too…
But nope!
He’d stand up in his crib and cry until one of us picked him up lol. Then, we lay him down in between us and not long after, he’d fall asleep. As quietly and carefully as we could, one of us would pick him up and slowly ease him into his crib. Looking back on it now, it reminds me of those movies where thieves are trying to steal a valuable diamond and they lower themselves down from the ceiling, trying not set off the alarm lol. Quietly……easy…..almost got him in the crib….he’s still sleeping….and as soon as his little head would hit the pillow……BAM! He’d jump up and start screaming! Lol Randy ALWAYS wanted to be held. He loved to fall asleep in our arms while watching Toy Story (on VHS lol)….
While he wasn’t the easiest baby to deal with, he was always worth it…
For the love of Randy... 