Seems Like Yesterday...Now She's One

The cake's been ordered. The birthday banner is now hanging on the kitchen wall. The menu is complete.

My baby's turning one today.

Audrey's birthday party package came to the house a few days ago.  I opened up the box as she looked on. She pulled out her princess crown and bib and began playing with them.  And it struck me hard. She's really been here for 12 whole months.

As everyone says of babyhood--it goes sooo fast.  It literally seems like I brought her home yesterday. Even her birth was swift.  I remember waking up around 6 am, my water breaking at 6:15 and Jason encouraging me to get out of the bed so we could head to the hospital. The contractions were hitting so hard I didn't want to leave the comfort of my bed. Jason packed everything up, dressed James Charles, and was finally able to convince me to head to the car around 7:45 am. Of course it would be rush hour.  And we were heading to Dallas.

Jason didn't know it at the time, but I came very close to having Audrey in the car.  I didn't want him to panic as we were driving through the traffic, so I didn't tell him how I was really feeling the urge to push. I also think it helped me focus on my breathing. We arrived at the hospital around 8:20 am.  I got out and was wheeled to the triage.  The nurses were shocked to see I was already dilated to a 10! I was immediately wheeled in a room and gave birth to Audrey Grey at 8:45 am. No walking around, no drugs. I nursed her for the first time around 9:15. It all happened so fast Jason almost missed it all.  Thank God my sister-in-law got to the hospital just in time to watch James Charles.

View outside hospital room

Family came by to visit. I updated everyone on Facebook and posted pictures. But what I remember most is how peaceful of a baby she was. And how it snowed that Saturday evening. And how it felt to hold her close all night.

 Not much has changed since then, other than her growing up so fast, as babies do. Of course it didn't take long either. We brought her home and it seems that she was smiling and rolling over in the bed the very next day. Then she was babbling and crawling.  Then she was pulling up, trying to walk, playing with her brother. And then, she was mimicking words like, "thank you," "look at that" and "up up".  And now she's one.

There are so many things I could write, but then we'd all be here all day. I just know that I'm blessed to have her in my life.  I always dreamed of having a little girl after my son.  We already have a strong bond and I pray it stays that way throughout our lives. I look forward to days at the spa together, watching her grow in faith, teaching her to cook, and limitless education.

But for now, I'm going to enjoy the day.  We're celebrating Audrey's big day with family at our house. I can't wait to see her dive into her first piece of cake. Well, technically it will be her second if you count the crumb the fell into her mouth as I was getting a piece of cake this time last year. Nah, today's the one that counts.