Seven years ago

this day, September seventeenth, was the day that I went to the doctor to have my first weekly check up of the last four weekly appointments that were left before you were due to be born. I went to the doctor excitedly with your dad and grandma Wood, in anticipation of hearing your heartbeat maybe hearing if I had progressed, may be just a little. I remember walking with them from the car in the parking lot past the other medical buildings and other doors to the doctors office. I was checked for progression and very surprised to hear that I was 5 centimeters and 80-90 % effaced. I hadn't learned a whole lot about what this all meant before and asked how much longer that I had. The doctor told me that I could be seeing him in a few hours or in a few days. I remember asking the nurse how I would know when I was in labor. She said that I would just know that contractions weren't like anything I had ever felt and that my abdomen would be squeezing/ contracting.It wasn't quite that way though. I went to Kmart on redwood road and picked up some clothes for you, a swing, some bed sheets and a few other things that I hadn't yet bought for you. Then I decided that I was just fine and convinced your grandmother to take me with her back to Layton, a mere 40 miles or so from the doctors office and hospital. We got to the Layton mall around noon and ate at Chick-Fil-A. I noticed that my seat was wet and my back was hurting in about two minute intervals for 90 seconds. Your grandmother was concerned to say the least and decided to drive me all the way back to the hospital, where I indeed was having back labor. We arrived at the hospital after 1:00 p.m. You're dad finally arrived three hours later. It was before we had wireless internet and his computer use was tying up the phone and we couldn't get a hold of him to tell him to come to the hospital for three hours. Good thing it was a long labor. It was all progressing fine, but they wouldn't let me have you until I had two rounds of antibiotics. They had just done the group B strep test that day and hadn't gotten the results back yet. To be cautious they needed you to get the antibiotics to be healthy. The last antibiotics finished after midnight. You came in to this world after 13 hours of labor a little after 3 am on Wednesday September 18, 2002.

You have since then be my daily companion when it was just you and I. I would sit on the floor and play with you for hours until your dad got home. We would play little people, read books and play chalk outside. You got your first stitches when you were two. You grew even more when Abbi came along and became for the first of many times a wonderful big sister. You were so well behaved when she came along and were patient with my time and loved being with your little sister.The year you were three you learned many new songs, you learned how to write your name and how to pedal your bicycle.
At four you learned to tie your shoes, started learning to read.
At five you took ballet, started reading books that were beyond most kids for your age. You decided one day after months of me trying to help you that you were just going to ride your bike without the training wheels, and you did! And you rode around the block that first time without them.You started soccer that has continued even to today you keep growing with that and get better all the time.
This year you discovered that you could skip rocks and seashells. You threw a rock in the Great Salt Lake, it skipped and everyone you did after that were just as great.

You are a very compassionate child, you reach out to others. You include everyone with your play. And are very sad when you are left out. I see you reading to the younger children all the time. You teach other children. You are so creative, make up games and toys out of the simplest things. You have the biggest imagination that I enjoy watching you use. When you were little I remember you crying when uncle Bud and aunt Tara got in a fight and one of them hit the other with a catsup bottle. You would also cry when people would rough house, you didn't want anyone to get hurt. You are so sensitive and loving.
It has been a struggle many times to help you learn to read, to encourage you to do new things and keep at it. But to see it all pay off, to see the rewards that you reap from both of our efforts are well worth it.
You are an amazing girl. I am proud to be your mother, Happy Birthday Alona!