The night before your birthday

One year ago, I was eating tortellini just back from my last OB appointment before my due date. No progress, the doctor said. Let's schedule an induction. I was taking a John Hopkins class about web 2.0 tools in the classroom. I sat at Panera before the OB appointment and only could drink tea. My stomach hurt all day. I told my doctor I felt weird. I thought you were going to come soon. No progress, she said.
I ate tortellini for dinner and then was still hungry and ate a bowl of cheerios at 10pm. I fell asleep on the couch in the family room of our Towson house. Five hours later, I woke in labor with you.

Tonight, we made cupcakes together for you to share with Ms. Patti's daycare. We will ice them tomorrow morning. I think you will like the sprinkle part. Tonight, you enjoyed 'dipping your hand in the batter and licking it' part.

I don't have a cupcake pan so we just put the cupcake paper with batter on a cookie sheet. I soon learned this was not a good idea as the batter weighted down the paper and they expanded all over the cookie sheet. Note: get a cupcake pan for next year's batch.

I thought I would be really sad tonight. Sad I had to say goodbye to your "babyhood" but giving you bath tonight, I couldn't help but beam with happiness and pride. You were "motoring" your sailboat around the bathtub making sounds to mimic the motor. It was adorable. Sometimes I miss you as a baby. I miss being able to cuddle you and rock you to sleep. But those feelings are always fleeting. I enjoy you even more often. You walk. You smile. You are Nora. It is funny how I think each stage you go through is the BEST! I think you simply can't get better, any cuter... but then you do. I love you, appreciate you more each day. Just when I think my heart can't hold any more love... you wake up and I love you 10x more than I did the night before. It is amazing how it works.

How did a year pass?

You still make my heart swell with love and pride.

One year. Wow.