One Year Ago Today

one year ago today i was on my way to the hospital for a routine, past my due date non-stress test appointment at 10:00am, having irregular contractions, telling colin that my dream for the next few hours was to have my test, be told that my contractions weren't false labour, to have our baby by noon and be let go from the hospital the next day.

so what really happened?  after being hooked up to the monitor for an hour i was told the contractions weren't regular enough to be real labour, no need to do an internal exam to check, to go have some juice, go home, and go to a different hospital if labour came on because their rooms were all full.  i silently begged to differ, and attempted to eat a muffin in the hospital cafeteria with colin.  around 11:15, or so, my water broke, so we made our way between contractions back up to the maternity ward, i was examined by a nurse, examined by another nurse for a second opinion, was told i was 9cm dilated and rushed to an empty, clean room (wasn't i just told there were no rooms?)  then my nurse told me to let her know when i felt the urge to push and to go ahead.  what?  seriously?  colin laughed, looked at his watch, and said, "you still have 9 minutes left in your plan to have the baby by noon..."  challenge accepted, and at 12:00pm on the dot my sweet baby daughter molly jane was born, and after being deemed absolutely perfect in every way, she was placed in my arms, gazing right into my eyes with her beautiful bright eyes, like she knew without a doubt that she was mine and i was hers.  and we went home at noon the next day, just as we'd hoped.

it's been a joy, an honor and a blessing getting to know her; she's sweet and feisty and hilarious.  i could (and often do) just sit and stare at her, just to see what she's going to do next.  before she was born i dreamt she'd look like her daddy and she does, a little baby girl colin, and never once have i wished it any other way.  i look so forward to seeing what she's going to look like when she grows up, what her passions will be, if she'll be good at art or good at sports, if she'll want to go shopping or work on cars.

i hope i'm able to help teach her to be herself, to encourage her to do the right thing, to do what she loves even if it's not what i love, and to love Jesus.

i can't wait to see the ever-evolving relationship between her and elliott.  i hope they will always have the adorable, loving relationship they have now, that he'll always want to hold her and hug her and help her, that she'll always feel how much he loves her.

one of the highlights of my day is watching the look on her face when he gives her a kiss goodnight on her forehead before i put her to bed, it's the happiest face, like she's getting a kiss from her favourite celebrity.

and today she is one year old.  she's mastered "mama", "dada", "hi" and "pepper", and attempts a whole handful of other words like "grandpa", "pepper", "brother" and "duck".  she already has 11 teeth and has taken 2 steps on her own a number of times.  she just started sleeping through the night (knock on wood) and just stopped nursing completely.  she can make clicking sounds, kissing sounds, and fishy sounds on command, as well as some of the most hilarious silly faces i've ever seen a little girl make, just to make us laugh.

so happy birthday, pretty molly.

i'll love you forever.