Dear Annie,

To my darling Anna Elizabeth,
One day you may wonder about when you were born.  And, I'm afraid that I might not be able to remember every second of it, like I want to.  So, I wanted to record some of my favorite parts about the last two weeks.

On February 12, 2014, we arrived to the hospital at 5:30 am, ready for induction, because you decided not come on your own (and I was worried about your size, since your big brother was 2 weeks early, and almost 9 pounds).

By 6:30, I was hooked up to the IV, and the show was started.  You wasted no time in getting here.  The one hour that I sent Dad away to take Eli to the babysitter, I started hurting pretty bad.  I thought I was being a baby about it, since they had just checked me and I was only 3 cm, but I asked for my epidural, and come to find out, I was 9 cm.  Just like that!  Luckily, Dad made it back, and you were born less than an hour later, at 10:04am, only 3 1/2 hours after getting started.  Mimi was on her way, and just missed it by about 25 minutes!  They say that when a baby is placed in your arms, you fall in love immediately.  Well, I knew I loved you before you came, but that love poured from my heart the minute I saw you.

Here are some things that you should know...

1.  You look perfect...from your cabbage patch nose, to your perfectly shaped head, to your long, skinny toes.  And, the best part...I think you look a little like me, which, I secretly love (because Eli looked nothing like me!).  You weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces (which is the same as your dad weighed).  You measured 19.8 inches long.  

2.  You don't know how lucky you are yet, but you seriously have an awesome, and I mean awesome dad.  He has this shirt that his dad gave him, and he wore it the day Eli was born.  A couple of weeks before you arrived, he had it hanging towards the front of the closet, ready to go for the day you would come.  It is special to him.  And, so are you.  He is so glad to have you be part of our family.  He is still a little scared to change your diapers, but I'm sure he'll get used to it!

3.  Mimi came for a whole week to help take care of you...and me.  She really is something.  She blocked off her work schedule a couple of weeks before you came, so she would be ready at a moments notice.  Even though she just missed your arrival, she was the next one you met after me and dad.  After going home, juggling you and Eli was a little tricky, but she helped me and dad through all the blissful chaos that filled our house.  Even though I am sort of all grown up, I still need my mom.  I hope that when you are 35, you feel like you still need me the same way!

4.  Your big brother loves you a lot.  There might be a day when he pesters you enough to make you wonder about this.  But, I can tell he is going to be a typical over-protective big brother.  He wants to hold you all the time, kiss your forehead, and he calls you "Eli's baby".  He says that you are so "toot", in other  words, cute. He has only thrown his shoe at you once.  Sorry about that.

5.  So many people love you.  We are so lucky to live in Texas, close to so much family.  Not everyone gets that!  Within the first few days of your life, so many loved ones came to meet you...Grandma, Grandpa, Mimi, Gramps, Aunt Janae, Uncle Hunter, Aunt Ashley, Aunt Meg, Sadie, Cinco, Uncle Zack, Aunt Beca, Grace, Uncle Ryan, Aunt Kim, Kylie...the list goes on and on.  And, naturally, everyone just loves you.

6.  You are only 2 weeks old, yet there are so many things about you that I adore.  Like, you hate getting a bath, but love getting your hair washed.  And, every night at 3am, you will get the hiccups for about an hour. And, we are learning more about you every day.

  7.  I love our home...I love each room, and each person that fills it!  But, I love it even more now that you have a place in it.  I'm so glad that you are part of our family.  And, I'm certainly glad that we get to even up the house with more girly stuff...I was starting to get bombarded with trucks and balls!  This is you in your room.

8.  I am so glad that you are here.  But, there is this strange part of me that misses having you inside of me...where you could go everywhere I went and I could feel your every move!  It sounds so crazy, but for this reason, I love our time alone, usually when you are nursing.  It's just you and me...for a few minutes...until your inquisitive big brother comes to check everything out.  He thinks it is pretty cool that you can get milk from my "boot".

Anna, you are beautiful, sweet, and you have become the light of our family.  We are so glad you are here!

I love Anna, she loves me.  We love Eli, yes-sir-ee!  He loves us, and so you see, we are a happy family!

Love,

Mom