One year ago...

Our little Olivia turns one tomorrow.

I've been thinking a lot today.
It was one year ago today that I was at the hospital in Labor. I remember waking up at 3AM on my due date having contractions. Two hours later they were 5 minutes apart.

I immediately knew I was in Labor. My contractions continued to be 5 minutes apart for the next 4 hours, and by 10 AM we found ourselves at the hospital.

My contractions were not that bad but they were consistent...now about 3-4 minutes apart so they sent me walking for one hour.

It was a beautiful spring day. Jared and I walked around the neighborhood near the hospital...looking at houses for sale...even though they were houses we could never afford to buy.

By now my contractions were getting stronger and I would have to stop walking until they passed.

I went back to triage...they checked me...and they sent me walking some more.

By noon I was admitted.

For the next 5 hours my contractions still were totally manageable...painful yes, but I was getting through them on my own.

Then the Dr. broke my water...and my once "not so bad contractions" turned really painful.

I remember Jared asking "so when does she start screaming"...he quickly learned that I am a suffer in silence kind of person.

Many hours later and 25 minutes of pushing, Olivia entered this world kicking and screaming. She missed her due date by 14 minutes.

When seeing her for the first time we were overcome with emotions. Every frustration, every pitfall, every hard day we had ever felt in the last few years of trying to get to this point seemed to fade away in the distance as we sat gazing at this perfect being we had created together.

I finally felt complete...and whole. I had my two girls. I had experienced motherhood in two different yet equally amazing ways, and I had my husband by my side. For those few moments life was perfect.

This past year has been a joy. Olivia has a fiery spirit...just like her sister, and the two of them fight over everything and anything.

This girl can cry louder than any other child I have ever heard and she is totally attached to her mama.

We are excited to watch her continue to learn and grow, and see where the next year takes us as a family.