Happy 3rd Birthday, Leyla...

Dear Leyla,

In just a few of hours, you will be 3 years old. When I was little, I used to love hearing the story of how I came into this world... so Leyla, here is your story. ;) 

The moment we found out that I was pregnant, we went out and bought two books: What to Expect When You're Expecting and 1001 Baby Names. As the weeks went on, we tried to come up with two names... one girl name and one boy name. Before we even knew that we were having a girl, we fell in love with yours right away... It's funny because we never did end up agreeing on a boy name.

You were in a rush from the very start to make your mark on this world. It was a Friday afternoon... and I was wrapping up work before I officially went on maternity leave. I was going to have the entire following week to relax and prepare for your arrival. You, my dear daughter, had other plans for us. ;) My water broke a week early on my last day before maternity leave...  right at my desk. When I finally realized what was happening, I waddled across my office to Pat's. "Uhhhh, Pat..." I said with a shake in my voice. His eyes were fixed on his computer screen. "Hmm?" he said half-listening. "Um... I think that my water just broke...". Then there was SILENCE. I'll never forget how white Pat's face turned. =) He proceeded to look straight at my feet... probably expecting to see a nice puddle forming? {HA!} 

Sometimes I think, REALLY? I was in labor for 30 hours?!? I remember the beginning pretty clearly... the Lakers were playing on TV and my closest friends and family were with me. As the minutes turned into hours... day into night... it all kind of turned into a blur. When my doctor finally decided that a C-Section was necessary for your health and mine, I could tell that your dada was nervous... but he almost didn't have any time for it to sink in because we were rushed into surgery so quickly. I held your dada's hand through the entire procedure... and it was while clutching his hand I heard you cry your first cry. Though I was groggy, I'll never forget that moment when they brought you to me, all bundled up in a perfect little package... when I looked at your little face for the first time, I cried with you.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Leyla... may you always be so determined to make your entrance. =)

Love, Mama

I'll end this post with a few photos from our hike this Memorial Day Weekend... My mom and dad love to hike so they'll be excited to hear how well she did on a 3 mile trail.