Emma...

Oh, little Emma. How your birthday has passed. On your birthday, we were scurring to doctor appointments, then to shopping, then traveling up the mountain, then to fixing food for the Ward Dinner Party, then home to find the power out (practice exercise challenge given by our bishop). We celebrated, briefly, but I wanted to post something just for you.

What a treasure and blessing you are to our family. You are such a sweet baby, always serious, yet very mellow. You love your dad, your polk-a-dot blankie, and your binkie. You love to cuddle, and to hold your arms up in there when you want picked up. You talk now. You walk now. You have grown so much in a year. Oh, how we love you so much, especially Megan. She likes to be your "other mother".

I still recall the day that I delivered you, that chilly November day. One of the pipes burst on the third floor, flooding the second floor (which is where I was). It was comical to know that they had shut down the hospital for a few hours (all elevators, stairs, etc). Routinely, I was induced and sat in a hospital for most of the (12 hours min. with almost all of the rest).

My favorite number is seven. Two of your siblings have been born in the 7th hour. And that day was the 7th of November, year 2007. So, I was feeling pretty lucky - hoping you would be around 7 lbs and born in the 7th hour. However, seven o'clock passed and I was still at a 5. Ughh! At a few minutes past eight p.m., I remember feeling like I needed to push. Jason thought I was crazy. Knowing my history of taking forever to dilate, he reassured Jaime on the phone that even though I was feeling the urge, it was still going to be a while.

It wasn't a few more minutes before the nurse checked me again and RAN to get the doctor. He just about didn't get his scrubs on in time. Within moments, you just came into this world. We never knew ahead of time what Heavenly Father was sending, however I had a slight hunch that you might be a girl. I was so glad to see your little healthy body and know that you were finally here! Ah Ha! Now the girls were gonna out number the boys in our home, just like I grew up with!

You have been such a joy in our lives. I can still remember your precious little body curled up on my shoulder. My how the time has past and you have grown. We are so grateful for your sweet spirit in our family. You bring us so much joy and peace.

You gotta love how your older siblings HELP you with EVERYTHING! Yet somehow, you TALKED and WALKED before any of the others, go figure - maybe you are just trying to keep up!