Look who's one!

I really can't believe this day is happening. How on earth can little Emma Mae be a year old already? This year has flown by! I remember the time after Jake was born going by so slowly. I felt like I didn't know what I was doing as a mama and I couldn't wait for him to get bigger because I thought things would be easier then. But with Emma, I keep thinking SLOW DOWN! She's reaching all of the milestones so quickly and we no longer have a little baby in our house. She is a babbling, toddling, giggling little girly-girl.

I still feel like I remember everything from the day she was born. Everything went according to plan. We had a c-section scheduled for early that morning. The two weird things that happened were after they got Emma out. First, while I was in recovery the nurse helping me out forgot that I was numb from the waist down and while she was checking on me she picked both legs up off of the bed I was on and then just let them go when she walked away. I saw my legs go from up in the air to flopping onto the metal rails of the bed and knew that it really would have hurt if I COULD have felt anything at that moment. The nurse apologized and then came and arranged my legs to where they at least looked comfortable. The second thing was that I got the biggest case of the hot flashes since all four of The Golden Girls hit menopause. I was just drenched with sweat for a few hours after Emma arrived. The nurses didn't know what to make of it. They brought a fan into my room and blew it directly on me until I cooled down. Weird.

Emma was just such a sweet little baby. I'm sure part of the reason I feel so nostalgic about her getting older is the fact that I know she's our last baby. With Jake, we cheered on every little accomplishment. With Emma, we still cheer but part of me thinks "well, we'll never get to experience that first time again." That's the last time we'll see our child take those first steps. Good grief! Will I feel this way for the rest of her life? Because I'm gonna look kind of silly crying at all of her school functions just because it will be the last time one of our kids started the eighth grade or because it will be the last time one of our kids got a driver's license. What lies ahead for all of us? I'm thinking lots of laughter, probably a few tears, the sharing of lots of chocolate and maybe some good old fashioned fighting when she becomes a teenager. (Although I hope we can avoid that.)

For now, she is our princess. Our peanut. Our Little Bit. And I just love her. Happy Birthday Emma! You are SO big! LM