One Year Old, Part Two

Dear Evie Bea (a.k.a. Pookie),

One year ago on September 19, 2008, Daddy and I were sleeping (tossing and turning, me in a hospital bed and Daddy on the couch) in a labor & delivery room at the hospital. Suddenly, a knock on the door! Your birth father said to us, though the door, "She's here!" and then he ran back down the hall to the room where your birth mother was holding you and admiring your beautiful new face.

We jumped out of bed, our hearts pounding with excitement and...we didn't know what to do! We didn't want to call anyone right away because it was so early (5 AM) and because we didn't want to be on our cell phones when the nurses brought you to us for the first time. But we also didn't know how long it would be until we got to see you. We paced around the room anxiously, wondering whether you and your birth mother were both okay, wondering what you looked like and wondering what to do.

Every footstep we heard in the hallway sent us hurrying to the door to see if it was you; every newborn cry we heard put us on alert that you could be on your way. This was it! Our lives were about to be forever changed. We were about to become something that we had been dreaming of and wishing for for years: parents.

After a long, tense half hour, finally we heard you coming! The nurses wheeled you in a hospital bassinet, with your birth father at your side. You cried all the way, and we could hear you coming closer and closer to our room at the end of the hallway. We eagerly waited at the door of our room, and then there you were! The nurses wheeled you into our room and your birth father lifted your little 8 pound body, wrapped in a blanket, out of the bassinet and handed you to me. "Congratulations, Mom and Dad," he said, with tears in his eyes. Both Daddy and I also teared up as we caressed your little hands, kissed your soft head and memorized your tiny face. Then we started giggling about your crying because you sounded like a baby goat: "Mehhhhhh, Mehhhhh!"

We hugged your birth father and thanked him and asked about your birth mother. He reassured us that she was healthy and told us that she had held you, kissed you and cried over you right after you were born. Then he told us that he loved us, kissed you on the head and returned to your birth mother's room. Daddy and I stood gazing at you in wonder, and then we fell in love with you.

Every day since then has revolved around you. Even when we aren't with you for a few hours, or when you are asleep, you are the first and most important thought on our minds. You are a bright, soft thread now woven tightly into the fabric of our lives.

As your parents, we've had a huge impact on you this past year and know that our love for you and time with you is shaping the person you will become. But you've had just as much of an impact on us, and you have done an excellent job of turning us into a Mommy and a Daddy. Keep up the good work, because we have a lot more to learn and you're our favorite teacher.

Evie, thanks for being our Bea Girl. We love you with the biggest love we can muster, and we thank God for you every day.

Hugs and Kisses,

Mama and Dada