Happy 1st Birthday Adrienne! (warning for a very long gushy post about my baby)

Adrienne Lyn,

You turn 1 years old today! I am so happy you came into our family. From the moment you were born you knew what you wanted. Actually before you were born you knew exactly when you wanted to be born. No matter what. You came two weeks early, when Papa was out of town on a business trip, Grandma was in Arizona, and everyone else lived hours away. Thank goodness for our neighbor Shelly Nielsen and for Suzanne and Tom who followed Heavenly Father's promting to randomly come to Logan from Salt Lake to visit us. Suz and Shelly came with me to the hospital and stayed to comfort me when the nurses informed me that you were coming so fast that there was no time for anesthesia or any type of pain killers. You were born within two hours of arriving at the hospital! You were born at 8:03 pm and were 7lbs 11oz and 20 inches long. You have the same middle name as Grandma Semken.

I felt so much relief and a rush of excitement when the nurse placed you in my arms when you were only seconds old. You were born quickly that unfortunately we were not able to give you antibiotics to clear up a virus and you were placed in the NICU for seven days. We brought you home with oxygen. And you knew you wanted to get better, so you did. That was such a stressful time for me. I was busy between worrying about you, visits to the hospital, and working at the rental properties (it was move in and move out days and it was crazy, people are so ignorant and non-understanding of a mom who had just given birth). Despite all that I felt so much love when I looked at you and held you that I forgot about everything else. You were a little angel in my arms. When Dan and I brought you home from the hospital, Ashton was so excited to meet you. She wanted to do everything with you. She stayed by your side all the time. When you were eating and sleeping and awake. Ashton asked to hold you every few minutes. She was so careful with you. She is so happy to have a little sister. There was an instant bond between you two that will only get deeper and more meaningful with time. The months after your birth were also busy. We moved to Elkhart, Indiana for papa's work. We would go to the swimming pool, and to the park, and to the babysitter while I worked. I also suffered from post-partum depression for about seven months after you were born. Sometimes our lives were so stressful, but so blissful at the same time. You and Ashton are nation wide travelers. You have been all over the nation in your first year of life. You've been to Indiana, West Virgina, Virgina, Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, California, and Washington. You have been on at least four airplane rides. You now enjoy your forward facing carseat and love pointing to everything out the window. You make this really cute and very unique calling sound with your voice when you see something you like or want. It sounds like you are gasping for air! You just get so excited.

I love your little crawl. You started crawling at six months old. You have a way of making your hands sound so prominent on the floor, like every time you put your hand down it is very very important. You started out crawling slow, but now are very very fast. You like to walk around the furniture. You are standing and balancing by yourself and almost ready to walk. You are falling asleep in your crib, but end up in our bed by around three or four in the morning. You like falling asleep sitting up, playing with your toys or watching Barney. But your falling asleep place of choice is definetly in Papa's arms! I call Dan your fall asleep friend. I told him that he can't go out of town anymore or I won't be able to get you to sleep. You look just like him. We like to call you little Dan because I just can't believe how much you look alike. It has to be the blue eyes. Your hair is fire red and we love it! It goes along with your strong personality. You know what you want and you aren't afraid to ask for it. You do have a sensitive side. Especially when you get your feelings hurt. About a month ago you were using my finger as a teething ring for your fourth tooth, you bit me hard and I looked at you and told you not to bite my finger, then you started crying. As if I had bit you. It was so cute that I had to comfort you for biting me. You also laugh unabashedly at everything. You love to be tickled under your chin and for me to sing silly songs and you laugh especially hard when Ashton bounces you on the trampoline. You say dududud when you see a duck and dodododod when you see a doggy, you like to point and call to them but mommy don't you dare let that animal touch me! You shake your head from side to side very fast just for fun. You dance and bob your head when you hear music you like. You say more in sign language and do "bonkin noggins" where you head butt us on the head. Everything you do is so cute. You are beautiful.

You are so amazing and a great addition to our family. I am so grateful for you. We all are. We hope to make your first birthday very special.

Love,

Your mommy