.Baby ‘waited’ for father's arrival from Afghanistan to be born
LOVES PARK — When Landon Antonio Cavazos is old enough, his father will tell him of his journey across the globe to see him enter the world.
Cris Cavazos, a 27-year-old Army MP stationed in Afghanistan since August, petitioned his commander to leave for the birth of his son. He and Angie, a Winnebago County sheriff’s deputy, wed in August 2008. Landon was due Dec. 20, but he wasn’t born until Tuesday at Rockford Memorial Hospital. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces.
“He was nine days late,” Angie said. “The baby waited for his dad. I was just in anticipation and holding out for Cris. I was wondering: Is he coming? Is he not? It was just an awesome Christmas present.”
Cavazos arrived home on Christmas Eve to yellow ribbons tied around the tree in his front yard. It was a cold day but a warm reunion after a long trip and days stuck in Kuwait, he said. He surprised his wife and his parents who had driven up from DeKalb to help their daughter-in-law get in the holiday spirit.
“His older brother, Shaun, kept it a secret that he was coming home,” said Sue Cavazos, Cris’ mom. “We came up on Christmas Eve to surprise Angie by bringing everything for Christmas to her and that’s when she surprised us. She told us to go see what she had in the baby’s room and there he was. We had no idea he was coming.”
The four-day journey to witness Landon’s birth wasn’t easy for Cris.
“I left Afghanistan on Dec. 20 and I got home on Christmas Eve at 3 o’clock in the afternoon,” he said. “This is our first one, and the doctor said usually it’s not born on the due date, usually it’s a little late, so I planned for that and it worked out. I had my brother pick me up, and I surprised my wife.”
Comfortably enjoying their new family life, the couple reflected back on how their adventure together began when they met in 2003 as they prepared to venture to Iraq from Fort Dix, N.J., after Angie completed boot camp. They served in Iraq from March 2003 to February 2004 and became engaged on New Year’s Eve 2007.
“We kept our relationship up while we were overseas and got back and said if it could survive the war in Iraq we could survive anything,” he said.
Angie has a few weeks of maternity leave left before returning to work. She believes the couple’s parenting style will be regimented, but relaxed.
“I think we’re mellow as a couple anyway, so I think we’ll be the same as parents.” she said. “We want a good education and for him to be happy.”
Cris returns to Afghanistan on Saturday and hopes to be home again in the summer. His U.S. Army contract, which began in 1999, expires in December. He plans to make a career out of his military policing and has decided to re-enlist knowing the family will rely heavily on webcams, e-mails and phone calls to stay in touch.
“I might miss the little things,” he said. “Some of his firsts, his first steps, his first words and it does bother me but I was home for the biggest thing, which was his birth.”
Both of Angie’s grandfathers served in the military and Cris’ grandfather did, too. It inspired them to a life of service, a life they don’t mind if little Landon Antonio copies.
“If he chooses to serve we’ll be proud, but if not that’s just fine,” Angie said.
“I played with GI Joes as a kid so it was something I wanted to do,” Cris said. “I still have them. They’re at my parent’s house in a box, so we’ll have to break them out in a couple of years.”
The biggest challenge facing Landon, his parents say, will be choosing which professional football team to support.
“My wife’s a Packers fan, so we go back and forth,” Cris said. “Hopefully, he’s a Bears fan inside. I’m trying to persuade him early.”
Landon already has a couple of Bears and Packers shirts.
“It’ll be a little family feud,” his mom said.
RRStar
Cris Cavazos, a 27-year-old Army MP stationed in Afghanistan since August, petitioned his commander to leave for the birth of his son. He and Angie, a Winnebago County sheriff’s deputy, wed in August 2008. Landon was due Dec. 20, but he wasn’t born until Tuesday at Rockford Memorial Hospital. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces.
“He was nine days late,” Angie said. “The baby waited for his dad. I was just in anticipation and holding out for Cris. I was wondering: Is he coming? Is he not? It was just an awesome Christmas present.”
Cavazos arrived home on Christmas Eve to yellow ribbons tied around the tree in his front yard. It was a cold day but a warm reunion after a long trip and days stuck in Kuwait, he said. He surprised his wife and his parents who had driven up from DeKalb to help their daughter-in-law get in the holiday spirit.
“His older brother, Shaun, kept it a secret that he was coming home,” said Sue Cavazos, Cris’ mom. “We came up on Christmas Eve to surprise Angie by bringing everything for Christmas to her and that’s when she surprised us. She told us to go see what she had in the baby’s room and there he was. We had no idea he was coming.”
The four-day journey to witness Landon’s birth wasn’t easy for Cris.
“I left Afghanistan on Dec. 20 and I got home on Christmas Eve at 3 o’clock in the afternoon,” he said. “This is our first one, and the doctor said usually it’s not born on the due date, usually it’s a little late, so I planned for that and it worked out. I had my brother pick me up, and I surprised my wife.”
Comfortably enjoying their new family life, the couple reflected back on how their adventure together began when they met in 2003 as they prepared to venture to Iraq from Fort Dix, N.J., after Angie completed boot camp. They served in Iraq from March 2003 to February 2004 and became engaged on New Year’s Eve 2007.
“We kept our relationship up while we were overseas and got back and said if it could survive the war in Iraq we could survive anything,” he said.
Angie has a few weeks of maternity leave left before returning to work. She believes the couple’s parenting style will be regimented, but relaxed.
“I think we’re mellow as a couple anyway, so I think we’ll be the same as parents.” she said. “We want a good education and for him to be happy.”
Cris returns to Afghanistan on Saturday and hopes to be home again in the summer. His U.S. Army contract, which began in 1999, expires in December. He plans to make a career out of his military policing and has decided to re-enlist knowing the family will rely heavily on webcams, e-mails and phone calls to stay in touch.
“I might miss the little things,” he said. “Some of his firsts, his first steps, his first words and it does bother me but I was home for the biggest thing, which was his birth.”
Both of Angie’s grandfathers served in the military and Cris’ grandfather did, too. It inspired them to a life of service, a life they don’t mind if little Landon Antonio copies.
“If he chooses to serve we’ll be proud, but if not that’s just fine,” Angie said.
“I played with GI Joes as a kid so it was something I wanted to do,” Cris said. “I still have them. They’re at my parent’s house in a box, so we’ll have to break them out in a couple of years.”
The biggest challenge facing Landon, his parents say, will be choosing which professional football team to support.
“My wife’s a Packers fan, so we go back and forth,” Cris said. “Hopefully, he’s a Bears fan inside. I’m trying to persuade him early.”
Landon already has a couple of Bears and Packers shirts.
“It’ll be a little family feud,” his mom said.
RRStar
posted by madtom at 12:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home