One year ago...

One year ago today, my baby boy was born!

September 27, 2008
11:44 AM
7 lbs., 14 oz.
19" long

I was scheduled for a c-section on Monday, the 29th. My doctor was on vacation until the 28th. Yet, as luck would have it, on the morning of the 27th I woke up with contractions. They were all over the place, not really spaced apart very evenly. Some were 3 minutes apart, some were 10. The pain was tolerable at first but quickly became contractions I had to stop and breath through. Nathaniel and Daddy were laughing at me. Nate kept breathing hard and saying "Ow! Ow!" Very funny! :) I called the on-call doctor and she said she wanted me to come to the hospital to get checked out. She said most likely they would monitor me to see how far apart the contractions were and then give me a drug that would stop the contractions until Monday when my scheduled c-section was to take place. I was happy to hear that as I had BIG plans for my Saturday evening. My co-worker and good friend, Shelby, was getting married that night and I had promised her I'd make it to her wedding. Little did I know at the time that I would be sharing in her wedding day only via text and photo messages. When I got to the hospital and they started monitoring me they confirmed that I was, in fact, in labor. And then told me that they would not, in fact, be giving me the drug to stop my contractions as I would be having my little boy that morning. It turns out his heart rate was dropping with each contraction so they were not waiting. Things started moving VERY fast and furiously and within the hour I was in the operating room and my beautiful son was born.

And today you are ONE YEAR OLD!!!

I have no idea where the last year has gone so quickly! It seems like just yesterday that I was making wagers with my anesthesiologist in the OR about how much you might weigh. It's a good thing he wasn't right or you might be named "Andrew" right now! Ha! The past year has brought us such joy! It's as if you have always been a part of our family for I have no idea what we'd ever have done without you now!!

Alexander

You:

crawl like a crab (and at hyper speed!)

will let go and stand unassisted if distracted

clap

wave hi and bye

dance and "sing"

have 6 (and 1/2) teeth (you're working on the next one/two as we speak)

cruise along the furniture barely holding on,

yet lack the confidence to let go and walk on your own

You say:

hello

hey

hi

Mama (or "mom")

Dada

Ball

wow

Whoa

Car (Cah!)

What's that (dat?)

All done (Ah dah)

and I swear you say thank you - when I hand you something you say the same

two syllable babble each and every time (sounds like dah doo)

You love:

throwing balls

rolling around on couch pillows on the floor

burying your face in your blankets

playing "Where's Alex?"

splashing in the tub, water table, puddles, pool, lake, or anywhere else water collects

torturing your brother

snuggling

being tickled

climbing

following your brother wherever he goes

checking out and doing everything your brother is doing

banging on anything and everything

dancing with Mommy

clapping/playing patty-cake

wearing your brother's many hats, especially his gigantic cowboy hat

"answering" a telephone or anything that looks like one

poking Mommy in the eyes and mouth

asking "dat?" and pointing at everything to figure out your world

making all sorts of sounds

yelling

Alex, you are our sunshine. You are the best combination of strong-willed and easy going! You bring such happiness and excitement to our lives and I am so proud to have you in my world! You complete our family and make my heart whole!

Thank you for always making me smile and knowing just when to lay your head on my shoulder or engage me in a fantastic game of peek-a-boo.

We love you, Digger Fuzz Bucket!

Happy 1st Birthday!