Well, it's a new year and boy have our lives changed over the past 12 months! As I reflect back over 2008, I can't believe where the time has gone and how much I've matured. I've gone from "It's all about me" to "It's not about me at all anymore". Here's a quick look back. I was four and a half months pregnant at this time last year. David and I cleared out the "office" to make room for our little bundle of joy that was on the way. We had just found out that we were having a girl and I was starting to feel her move. The thought of becoming parents was much more real to us and I remember feeling both excited and scared. We had our hardwood floors refinished and the house was looking good. I remember the next few months going by slowly as we awaited Emma's arrival. I stopped working at the end of March and was able to do some "nesting" and relaxing, not realizing how precious those last few moments of peace and quiet were. We took all the preparation classes, read all the books, and registered for all the baby gear we could possibly ever need and want. It was fun having other friends that were expecting around the same time as us. I was blessed to have four baby showers within a month of each other and got pretty much everything off my registry. By the time May rolled around, the baby's room was ready. All we needed was the baby. Both Luke and Charlotte decided to make their appearances before their due dates so I was sure that Emma would want to join them. I remember my due date, May 13th, coming and going, and feeling soooo uncomfortable. I was ready to get that baby out and start my life as a mom (or so I thought)! I'll never forget those drives twice a week on the 605 N to the doctor's office hoping for a sign she was coming. I remember feeling discouraged the morning of May 19th as my mom joined me for my appointment. My doctor examined me and said, "Let's get you checked into the hospital. You're having this baby today." My attitude changed in an instant! I was so excited, called David, and we drove over to hospital. We won't get into the details of my long and exhausting labor and delivery (27 hours in all), but I will say that I was sure glad when it was all over. I remember hearing Emma cry for the first time and just feeling so relieved that she was okay. The next month or so is a blur. We had so many visitors and so much support from friends and family. We're grateful for all the meals, advice, and open arms that helped us through that wonderful, but exhausting and challenging time. It took a while for things to start to feel somewhat normal again and I'm just so glad that I had so much time off of work to adjust and adapt to motherhood. We enjoyed meeting baby Dominic in July, who decided to take after Emma and overstay his welcome in the womb. At the end of August, Emma went on her first family vacation to Doc and Al's Resort in Bridgeport with the Luckey family (at trip I've gone on annually for the past ten years). Then, Lori and I worked out all our plans for job sharing and began that new adventure in September. I must say that I love the part time gig. It's the perfect combination of being home with the baby and going in to work a couple days a week. It's still challenging balancing work and motherhood, especially because a teacher's work is never done, but we're making it work. I think Lori and I make a pretty good team and I'm so grateful to her for taking this leap with me. You know that once Halloween comes along, the rest of the holidays just fly by, and I feel like that's exactly just what they did. David and I decided to buy Disneyland passes in November as our early Christmas gift to one another and were able to go a couple of times with the Albericos. Emma seems to enjoy the sights and and sounds of "The Happiest Place on Earth". The holidays overall were a lot of fun in spite of Emma getting her first cold the day before Christmas Eve. She was a good sport and remained fairly happy eventhough she was congested.
We've enjoyed watching our precious baby girl grow and change on a daily basis. I can't belive that she is going to be eight months old on Tuesday. She's gone from being a tiny seven pounder who only ate, slept, and cried to a vibrant, interactive twenty pounder who is on her way to walking and talking. We're not sure if she'll even do the crawling thing. She'd much rather be on her feet, standing up, than on her knees. She does however, scoot backwards on her tummy and hop forward in a sitting position so she's definately on her was to being mobile. Emma is such a happy social baby, smiling and waving at anyone and everyone that'll look her way. She loves to jump, dance, sing, clap, bang on things, pat you on the back, and play "peek-a-boo". We are looking forward to a great year in 2009 and are excited for what the good Lord has in store for the Higginbotham's.
