Happy 4th birthday, Scarlett

I brought you and your brother to the movies a few weeks ago. Before the movie started (and despite the fact that I was chasing your brother down the aisles) I glanced over at you and you were singing along to "Firework" as it was playing in the background of some preview for a movie about prom. For a brief moment, I was awestruck. You were beautiful. You couldn't possibly be mine. You were self-sufficiently sitting in your seat (sitting, admittedly, at the very edge so the seat didn't flip up and swallow you) and you were in your own little world, obviously very pleased that this particular song was playing, a song I wasn't even aware you knew (and did I say you were beautiful? I think I may have). I will remember the sight of you at that particular moment for a very, very long time.
I spent quite a while thinking about just how to write this post. I didn't understand why it was taking me so long - far, far longer than any other year - to figure out what to write to you...and then I realized I wasn't approaching it correctly. I didn't want the same little montage of all the "big girl" events and milestones that had happened to you in the past 12 months. While those things certainly exist and are in no way insignificant, they aren't an accurate representation of this past year with you. In this past year you've sprouted into such a...person. This is the first year that I felt like in addition to the things your father and I tried to instill in you, like manners, patience, and consideration, your own characteristics and talents began to emerge. Like ambition, sociability, and your love of story-telling and art. I am so incredibly proud of the person you are becoming...but I'll never complain if you fall asleep in the car and I get to carry you, sleeping in my arms, into the house.
Baby you are a firework.
Happy birthday, Scarlett.

Mayhem - complete and total Mayhem.

As most of you are aware - both Scarlett and Holden's birthdays are in May....only 5 days apart. Needless to say, this month has been nuts. And on top of everything else, we moved. But that's for a different post. Holden turned one on May 13th. Here he is in all of his one-year-old glory. He still likes to eat wrapping paper...

but, more importantly, he likes to eat cake too.
All done!Joe and I got him a ride on trike...which he loves and which we promptly took away from him so we could pack it. (We're horrible parents.) Scarlett turned 3 on May 18th. We picked her up at daycare and she was rockin' a paper crown that her teachers made for her. She had worn it all day and it was torn to almost shreds by the time we got there and I used an entire roll of Scotch Tape to repair it once we got home. (How could I not?) Nan got Scarlett a doll named Sophie and she was so incredibly proud of it. Can you tell?

And Scarlett got pink princess "cupcapes" with candy hearts.
In between their two actual birthdays, we threw a joint party for the kids at a local playgym. Initially, I was hesitant, but it couldn't have gone any better or been any less stressful. The babies had fun. The preschoolers had fun. And Scarlett and Holden don't even require therapy because they didn't get their own parties...well, they don't require therapy yet. Here are the kids getting ready to leave for their party.

There were playhouses there.And ride-on toys.And roller-coasters.And cheese doodles. There were swingsets.and the swingsets had slides.
and some of those slides went into ball pits. There was a bouncy castle.And a treasure hunt. Look at all those Stork Club attendees sitting cross-legged like circle time. They took direction on how to find the clues.Which they promptly searched for,promptly found,and they scored some pretty sweet treasure. There was pizza. And cake.

And lots of cute babies that would stay still long enough for me to get a picture of them...like Gio (Holden's best bud).
And Avery (Holden and Avery go way back...like 10.5 months back). And Miss Gwen...(the future Mrs. Holden Adams). Yay birthdays! Yay birthday party! Yay it's done. Whew.

Happy birthday, Scarlett

Ahh Bubsy. 2 years old already. What are you doing to your mama, little girl? Stop growing up so quickly!

I treasure every second that you let me hold your hand. I treasure every second that you let me cuddle you. You're such a busy little girl now and when you stop long enough for me to give you a "big squeeze" I'm in absolute heaven. You've really got a hold on me, baby girl. You always will. Happy birthday, Bubs.

Her big day...

To my Scarlett,

Today is your first birthday. You don’t quite know what that means yet – but it’s a good thing; a great thing even. It means that you have been here with us for one whole year. On May 18, 2007 at 5:40 pm – you were born.
The hospital room was chaotic. There were doctors yelling, phones ringing, machines beeping – and then, all of a sudden, there was you. You were tiny and so quiet despite the chaos. You didn’t cry at all. You just…looked. Your dad held you first, and I watched as the tears streamed down his face, off the bridge of his nose and onto your blanket. He didn’t wipe them away; He didn’t take his eyes off of you; He just held you and cried. (If life offered a pause button, I’d have pressed it right then.) Your dad would go on to proudly tell his friends, “there’s something about a girl…there’s just something about a little girl,” and I’d smile knowing the exact moment he had figured that out.
We left the hospital and we could barely carry everything to the car. So many people had brought you flowers and balloons and stuffed animals. Your dad’s hands were too full and he accidentally let go of a balloon in the parking lot. He and I both stopped and smiled as it floated up and over the streets of downtown New Haven, as if announcing to the whole city that you were finally here. (And even then, we knew that one day you’d like that story.) When we got home, our neighbor was planting you a beautiful garden on our back deck. She said she wanted to give you “something pretty to look at.” There were flowers everywhere – and they were all for you. We opened the back door, we brought you inside, and then – a year flew by.
Ah, my baby girl, what was life before you? In this past year you’ve slept, you’ve woke, you’ve smiled, you’ve cooed, you’ve laughed (and my heart skipped a beat), you’ve rolled, you’ve sat, you’ve clapped (and we did too), you’ve crawled, you’ve walked, you’ve talked, and we’ve loved every second of you. Right before you were born a woman was trying to explain to me just how much I was going to love you when you came. There was a softness in her eyes, and she was literally glowing as she said to me, “You’re going to love that baby so much. You don’t know it now, but just wait…you will soon enough.” At the time, I thought, “Well, of course I’m going to love the baby”…but she was right. I had no idea just how much. Now I sit here with a softness in my eyes just thinking about you. Thank you for this past year, my baby bubbaloo. You make everything worth it somehow. Happy birthday, Scarlett.

Scarlett's here!

Well...we all made it! I finished my last final at 10:20 pm on Thursday night, and got my first labor contraction at around 12:45 am - not cutting it too close, right?! I went back to bed and woke up here and there throughout the night. Joe got up to go to work at 5:30 am Friday morning and I warned him that he MIGHT get a phone call later in the day - 10 minutes later, my water broke! We went to the doctor's office at 8 am and she told me I was only 2cm - and to go home and rest until the pain became unbearable - well...the pain became unbearable pretty quickly! By 11:30 am I was on my way to the hospital. It turns out somewhere in between 9:30 and noon I had quickly dilated to 7 cm (with no pain killers - might I add). They rushed me an epidural and by 1 pm I was 10 cm and ready to push. 3 hours later - I was still pushing! I was determined though, and at 5:40 pm Scarlett made her first appearance. It turned out that the cord had wrapped around Scarlett's neck, and she was getting pulled right back to the starting point at the end of every push! She had to go to the NICU for a few hours, but she's fully recovered - as have I. Everyone is doing well and Joe and I are very happy to have our little girl!