HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!!!

So James is the big 1 today! We celebrated last week with a big party and today we had fun hanging out with Nana and Granddaddy. We made a special trip to see Santa Claus and enjoyed an evening at Southlake Town Square taking in all the Christmas lights and decorations.

So I had this nostalgic feeling all day of how much things have changed in such short time. Just 365 days. And how thankful we are that James came into our lives. All day long we couldn't help compare what we were doing today with what we were doing one year ago today.....

December 20, 2007 vs. December 20, 2008

3:30 am last year - Our alarm clock went off and we woke up to go to the hospital. We had about a 45 minute drive in the dark to get there.

4:45 am this year - James woke up crying.....we think he had a nightmare. But he went back to bed right away thank goodness.

5:00 am last year - We checked in to Baylor Hospital at Cityview and I was hooked up to the fetal monitors.

5:50 am last year - I met my fabulous nurses and my labor induction officially started. I started feeling contractions within about 30 minutes of getting the Pitocin.

5:50 am this year - Our house was quiet as we were all still sleeping.

8:30 am last year - The doctor decided to break my water. I remember thinking "There is no turning back now!". Silly, but it really hit me at that moment. I took a walk to get things moving.

9:00 am last year - I finally took the epidural at the urging of my nurse. I was not feeling bad at all but decided she knew what she was talking about. I coughed while they were putting it in, so they had to repeat it. Little would I know this would cause it to wear off early later on.

9:00 am this year - James woke up. He slept in so late!!! It was wonderful to sleep in.

9:30 am this year- James sat in his booster seat had his breakfast of cheese toast and a banana...his favorite part? The banana! He drank his big boy milk out of a sippy cup.

10:00 am this year - James was walking around the living room playing with his toys and Sophie, my parent's dog. He kept pointing at Sophie saying "dog". He was enjoying his new birthday presents, especially his new car.

11:30am this year - James took a nap with his glo-worm.

1:00 pm last year - We were just hanging out at the hospital....talking, watching some TV, and reading books.

1:15 pm this year- James ate his lunch and had his sippy cup of milk.

1:30 pm this year- James enjoyed some play time and book time. His favorite book is called "Neighborhood Animals" and he loves to have it read to him over and over again.

2:30 pm this year - we loaded up and went to Southlake Town Square to finish up Christmas shopping and see Santa.

3:00 pm last year - My epidural started wearing off. They came and made an adjustment, but it did not help. I could feel the contractions and everything on the left side.

4:00 pm last year - The nurses were getting a little worried about James because his heart rate was dropping whenever I had a contractction. They told us that if I did not start dilating more soon that we would have to consider other options.

5:00 pm last year - We were making predictions about James and his birth. What time he would be born, how much he would weigh, what he would look like, etc. We recorded our predictions on a video camera.

5:00 pm this year - James was meeting Santa Claus and sitting on his lap, getting his picture made.

5:15 pm last year - The nurses checked me and told me I had finally reached 10 cm and that it was time to start pushing.

6:00 pm this year - We were sitting down to have a celebratory birthday dinner for James at Cheesecake Factory. He loves looking at all the cool lights and paintings on the ceiling. James ate sourdough bread, little bites of meatloaf and chicken breast, mashed potatoes and veggies. His favorite was the tomato from my salad.

6:40 pm last year - My nurse was teasing me and told me that she had to leave in 20 minutes and that she was sad she was not going to see the baby be born after all the hard work and time she had put in. It really motivated me!

6:45 pm last year - The nurse stepped out into the hall to get the doctor. I got VERY nervous when she left and threw up all over Daniel.

6:47pm last year - Dr. McAlpine came into the room and got into all his baby-delivering gear. He told me he wanted me to have this baby NOW!

6:51pm last year - James was born!!!! I grabbed his arm the moment he was born and just kept saying "My baby, my baby, my baby". I just couldn't stop saying it! James weighed 8 lbs 7 oz and was 20 inches long. He had almost black hair and blue eyes. He looked just like Daniel in the face, except for he had my nose.

6:51 pm this year - We gathered around James, with very big and very brown (you would never believe they were every blue!) eyes, in the middle of the bookstore we were in and sang him Happy Birthday.

6:55 pm last year - James was getting weighed and measured.

7:00 pm last year - James was nursing and showing a good appetite

7:15 pm this year - James fell asleep in the car on the way home.

8:00 pm last year - James was back from the nursery and cuddling with Momma and Daddy. He had met Nana and Granddaddy already by this time.

8:00 pm this year - James was all tucked into this bed after a little cuddle time. He stayed up extra late on his birthday!



Thanks to Nell for this awesome idea!