there was a little girl...

There was a little girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. 
And when she was good she was very very good. 
And when she was bad she was horrid! 

The date was February 16th 2008. It was evening, I was very very pregnant and we had just had dinner.  Stir fry if I remember correctly.  I was clearing the table and the moment I walked into the kitchen with the dirty dishes my water suddenly broke and I knew then that my little one was on her way.  Even then, she wanted to make her intentions very clear!  The bag was already packed.  So we spent another hour or so calling grandparents, putting big sister to bed and smiling at one another as we said over and over again "she is coming, we are going to have a baby tonight!"

Once Taylor was settled we decided to head off to the hospital.  I needed the IV of antibiotics this time and we knew, since my water had broken, that limited us on time. As we pulled up to the hospital I had my first contraction.  As I checked in and got my room, we were looked over and I was already at 3cm.  Exciting!  Things started pretty quickly after that - we did a lot of walking around, standing and swaying - my little one was looking the wrong way and that caused the contractions to be centered in my back.  Things got hard about midnight - I was having trouble not pushing when I was only at 6cm so we were more limited on what movements we could do.  That slowed things down some...but as soon as we moved past that I knew she was going to come soon.  I hit transition about 3am (I always get sick very suddenly at that point).  And at 3:45 I knew she was ready to come!  They called the doctor in and he agreed we were ready.  About 10 minutes of pushing and at 4am on Sunday February 17th 2008 my little one was here!   She came right to my chest and I believe my very first thoughts were "awe, she looks just like a squished pumpkin."  All bright red and howling away.  They got her weighed (worked a little to get her squelched out - you knew...with the bulb squelchy thing?) and wrapped in a towel and she nursed wonderfully right away! 

 

  Just 8 hours of labor, no ripping and no complications.  Perfect.  We had an amazing nurse that allowed me to do things my way and did not pressure me into get an epidural because "SHE didn't want to see me in pain" (The nurse we had with Taylor couldn't handle that).  I was up and walking around in less then an hour and the biggest pain I dealt with was my legs being sore from yard work the day before!  Big sister got to come in the next day and she loved her Ayla from the beginning.

See?  Squished pumpkin!  A very cute one though, she had those cheeks from the beginning!  She is still a very cuddly one, I am lucky that way.  She wants a mama cuddle first thing every morning and right after nap time.  She is a mama's girl!  But she also has to check in with daddy every few hours or things are not quite right in her world.  She likes everyone home, she wants things HER way.  As long as everything is perfect and exactly as it should be she is one happy girl!

 Perfection!

 So today we are celebrating Ayla.  We started with presents and she certainly liked that!  She remembered exactly what you do with those. 

After breakfast Taylor insisted on making Ayla a birthday card.  And of course if Taylor is making a card then Ayla has to too, so both of them sat a colored for a while.

Ayla got a viewfinder with Peter Pan pictures for it, a few outside toys and best of all?  A remote control car!  She loves it, and so does sissy and daddy!  Mom thinks it is a little loud...but you know how moms are, they never seem to understand these things. 

Taylor's finished card

At the moment they are both watching Mary Poppins.  Ayla's choice as a treat movie on this special day.  Once she tires of that (no chance of finishing that one!) we will get dressed and go outside to play with bubbles and dig in the dirt with a new shovel, pail and little dump truck.  Tonight Grandma, Granddad, Auntie and Uncle will come over for cake, ice-cream and more presents.  A simple birthday, but I hope it is a special one.  

So happy birthday my little one.  I love you very much and I can't wait to grow up some more with you in the years to come.  I promise to do my very best to be as good a mom as I can be for you and for your specific needs.  I will pray for you everyday, I will be consistent and teach you to obey both mom, dad and God.  I will give lots of hugs and the occasional time-out.  I will strive to be the mom you need me to be in order to help God shape you into the person he wants you to be.  It is a big job, I am truly honored I was picked to be a part of it all.  I love seeing every but of your personality as you grow.  Be patient with me sometimes - after all I am learning right along with you. But if we stick together and remember to trust and laugh I think we will both turn out just fine.