My baby is turning one.

My baby will be one year old tomorrow. I can’t believe a year is already over. I prayed for so long that God would allow our family to have another babe, and he did, and I am so thankful. She has made our family whole. She has such a calm personality. She has the sweetest, happiest little spirit. This time last year we were anxiously awaiting her arrival. She arrived so quickly, I often can’t remember life without her. As an infant she was always content and quiet. Over the last 6 months, she has grown curious and is a busy little girl. She is very determined at whatever she does. She is full of personality and smiles. Most of the time she looks very serious but she is also very playful. She is everything I imagined and more. I know all mothers think this but I didn’t know I could love another person so much. We are having her a party tomorrow night. She will love all the attention. And I know she will enjoy her some cake and ice cream. Happy Birthday to my Lay bug, I love you more than you will ever know.

Her birth story… (Just for us!)
August 19, 2010 was a Thursday. I worked all day, came home prepared dinner, cleaned the kitchen, washed clothes and cleaned around the house a little. I felt really good considering I was 30 pounds heavier and had a BIG belly! I hadn’t dilated any so I was afraid that I would have to be induced. We went to bed at our normal time. Around 3:00 am my water broke. At first I thought I may have peed on myself but then realized what had happened. I woke Dave and told him my water had broken. Of course he was in a stage of panic! He jumped straight out of bed and started getting clothes on. I couldn’t move much because water kept coming out. We called my mother in law to come and get Lydia. She was sound asleep. I hated to wake her with such big news. I was very calm about my being in labor but felt so heartbroken when I had to leave my (at that time) baby. She looked so lost when we pulled out of the garage. I knew that would be the last time we would be a family of 3.
We raced, literally, to the hospital. Of course we didn’t see any cops and being 3 am traffic wasn’t bad!! We got to the hospital and Dave asked me if we needed to go into the ER door. I hate to be the center of attention so I told him no, that I could walk in by myself. So he parked in the parking lot and when I stood up I realized that I would NO T be able to walk because of the water leaking. So he went and got a wheelchair. He was still in a stage of panic so once I got in the wheelchair he wheeled me across the parking lot like NASCAR driver, over speed bumps and all. (Maybe he helped her “come down”) When the doctor checked me, I was 3 cm dilated. So we thought it would be a long process. Around 6 Dave started calling other family members, telling them I was in labor but to just take their time because I would probably be in labor all day. It started to storm outside right at daybreak so we sat in our room watching the wind blow and rain. My doctor came in around 6 and I was around 4/5. I knew that Lydia would be down soon, so I opted to go ahead and get an epidural. I didn’t want her to see me in pain. Once I got the epidural I couldn’t feel my legs at all. I remember my leg kept falling off the side of the bed and Dave would have to get up and put it back on the bed. I never experienced much pain at all. My doctor came in around 730 or so and checked me. I hadn’t changed much at all so he said he would probably see me later in the day. The anesthesiologist had to re-adjust my epidural and after that I progress really fast. Around 8 they had to call my doctor back in. After 3 rounds of pushing I had a beautiful, 7 pound, 10 ounce baby girl at 832 am. Once I heard her cry I knew everything was okay. She looked a lot like Lydia did when she was born. Dave cried more than he did with Lydia. At the same time as I had started to push, my mother in law and Lydia knocked on the door. Shortly after Layton’s birth, Dave went and got Lydia and brought her in by herself to meet her little sister for the first time. She was so excited and very quiet. She crawled into the bed with me and met Layton. I know that at the moment Lydia fell in love with her just like Dave and I had. Layton’s fingers were a deep purple color. Lydia asked me who had painted her fingernails! After Layton met Lydia, she met my mother in law, my mom and my Mimi. Later on that day we had lots of visitors. She stayed in the room with us all day and night. The next day at noon, I was released. We were home by 2 that afternoon. She slept, nursed and pooped like clockwork. Everything was perfect about her!

Lydia meets Layton!