Our Baby Turned 5 Today!

Five years ago, our life changed forever...

Kate Elizabeth was born March 15th, 2006.
Scott had worked late trying to get a job done. Kate's due date was one day away and Scott wanted to get this last job finished so he didn't leave any lose ends before taking the week off for Kate. I had taken the day off work. I relaxed most of the day. I met him for dinner at Pace's Dairy Ann and then he went back on the job to finish. I noticed my contractions were beginning to linger and come more frequently as we ate dinner. I mentioned that to Scott. I don't think he thought anything of it.

Scott didn't come home until 10:00 pm. I had a feeling that Kate would be coming soon and I tried to convey that again to Scott but he was so tired it didn't register. He got cleaned up from his LONG day of work. He probably worked 15-16 hours. He got ready for bed and climbed beneath the covers to get cozy. Just as the sandman was opening the door for him, I said, "Scott, I think we need to go to the hospital now."

As we drove the 35 minute commute from our house to the hospital, Scott's sleepiness began to show. I did all I could to keep him awake, talking him through it, asking him questions. At one point he nearly swerved into the median. Safely arriving to the hospital and being admitted to triage was a relief.

The whole experience was quite peaceful, not at all like the movies where the woman screams bloody murder. I had decided to labor without pain relief because I wanted to know what the whole experience was really like. I was feeling most of my contractions in my lower back and I kept asking Scott to massage them away and for the most part that worked but he repeatedly fell asleep in the middle of a contraction, while rubbing my back. I had to keep talking to him to keep him awake.
Early in the morning, maybe 3:00 or 4:00, we called our parents to let them know where we were and that Kate would be born soon. I didn't know it but Scott's mom, my mom, Jeni, and Sam headed straight to the hospital soon after our call. They were waiting outside the door as Kate was born.
After a struggle to deliver her, the nurse plopped her on the scale and called out her weight at 9 lbs. 3 oz. I was relieved, knowing the reason I struggled during that last hour or so of the delivery was because this little girl wasn't so little!
My pregnancy with Kate was easy and uneventful. I was well. I never struggled with the pains and tiredness that everyone complains about. I got fat, yes, but I was so glad for it. I felt more fabulous than I've ever felt knowing that a little person was coming to be in our family.

Kate's delivery was easy and Kate was born perfectly healthy without complications.

As a baby and toddler, Kate's behaviors and milestones always followed all the books. Since she's the only child we have, we have put everything we have into her. Our world revolves around her.

Last night, we surprised Kate by taking her to the store and buying her a bike and a helmet.
Today, we woke her up before Scott left for work and we sang "Happy Birthday" to her and let her unwrap her present, new Barbie furniture for her doll house. She was calm and gracious and didn't even squeal with excitement like she used to. I pulled all the pieces out of the box with the help of some scissors and Kate played for a while until it was time to get ready for preschool. Kate was excited to go because her preschool class would be celebrating her birthday. That meant that she would be line leader, the class would sing to her, I would come to spotlight her, and she would receive a small surprise from Miss Connie. As I walked her to school she was so sweet, thanking me genuinely for the present and telling me that she was so glad she came to our family. I thanked her for being willing to come to us and how special she is to us.