The One Where The Bug Turns SIX!!!

Six short/long years ago today, my sweet baby girl, my first child, was born at 8:53am.

We were so blessed throughout the whole pregnancy. I had had a miscarriage the spring before and was so paranoid the whole time. Luckily I never really go too sick and was able to continue working until my 8th month - I was put on semi-bedrest then to avoid developing toxemia &/or preeclampsia. We traveled, bought stuff for the baby, had a HUGE baby shower, and my mom got married. We found out that the baby was in the breech position and wasn't budging so my doctor (Dr. William Stanley RIP :( seriously the best obgyn EVER!) scheduled me to have a c-section. He even offered to deliver on the 4th of July if we wanted! But I wanted the the baby to have their own special day so we chose July 3rd. I remember being an emotional wreck at church the Sunday before. My mind was trying to wrap around the fact that I was for sure going to have a baby in my arms the next time I came to church. Oh and I forgot to mention that we we thought we were having a BOY! The doctor had been 85% sure after reading our ultrasound. Come to find out later that he was never really good at those things LOL I had ALWAYS wanted a boy first, but then when we found out it was a boy I was surprisingly disappointed. Over the ending months of my pregnancy that disappointment turned into doubt and then confidence. I KNEW I was having a GIRL despite what the doctor said. And I told everyone that asked "Well they say we're having a BOY but I'll believe it when I see it!". So I got TONS of boy stuff at the shower of course and my mom told me not to wash any of it! Just the bare minimum. I did get a sweet lil pink bootie and bonnet set from a lady at my work who eventually became the kids' preschool director. Ok so back to July 3rd. I was so nervous! The anesthesiologist had a really hard time administering my spinal, like over an hours worth of trouble! So my family was really nervous in the waiting room. But they got everything situated and brought David to me. Poor guy, he had the hardest job I think. He had me to comfort, himself to keep cool, the video camer, AND the photo camera! And then the time came where they were pulling the baby out and we here "IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!" I immediately burst into tears and on our video you can hear me saying "I TOLD YOU SO!!!!" My sister (just 14 at the time) had been checking on the nursery window waiting, and waiting, and she was the first one to see her & David and took off RUNNING down the hall to share the news. I had to recover in my room while David went with Lacie (we had the name on backup just in case, our boy name was Jeremiah) to get her all cleaned up. I remember that she was crying when they finally brought her in and as soon as she layed in my arms I started rubbing my finger on her cheek and talking to her and she immediately calmed. She had the biggest brown eyes, so alert, just taking everything in. Did I mention she was gorgeous? I came up with her first nickname sitting in my hospital bed - LACIE BUG. And we decided to change the nursery from baseballs to ladybugs :) 1)David & I just about 9 months pregnant @ my mom & father's wedding, 2) Waiting for them to take me in, 3) Our first family photo, one of my FAVES, 4) Isn't she gorgeous?

I NEVER wanted to put her down. She was our lil buddy. She was so good in church. We took her on trips. We were youth leaders at the time so trips & functions were a big part of our lives. She went to Magic Mountain at just 8 weeks. A youth convention in San Diego - loud concerts & everything! - at 4 months. Countless trips to the beach. Shopping - so many people would stop me and tell me how gorgeous she was. I alreayd knew :)

1) Lacie rolled to get to what she wanted before she started crawling. She had so much character! 2) What else would my LacieBug be for her 1st Halloween but a ladybug! 3)Our first family portrait 12/02 4) Isn't she gorgeous? She was about 2 months old there.

When Lacie was 5 months old, just weeks before her first Christmas, we found out we were pregnant. We were shocked, more than shocked, we were FREAKED out! We were hesitant to tell anyone. And to make things even more interesting, my mother had just announced that she was pregnant the month before! But that kind of thing can't be hidden forever and I was pleasantly surprised to find plenty of other people that had their kids close together too. I was still terrified but I LOVED being pregnant and had had fears about having fertility trouble so I tried to make the most of it. Luckily for me Lacie was pretty immobile during my 1st trimester and even up till the end of my pregnancy we napped together ALOT. We still went places together and had SO much fun. She was my sidekick. I LOVED being with her and watching her interact with her Daddy and the world around her. She said Dada in November, started rolling then too I believe. Teething was NEVER a problem with her. In fact she didn't even get a fever until she was 15 months old! Crawled at 7 or 8 months. Pulled herself up to stand at 7 months and took her first steps at 12 months although she didn't quite get the hang of walking that well until after Colby was born. She became the "Little BIG Sister" at the ripe age of 13 months & 3 days.

We didn't have any pics of Lacie at 1 on our computer so I had to take pictures of my scrapbook pages and I forgot to lighten them before I put them on here. 1) Lacie @ 9 months she has always loved the camera! 2) Her first time carving a pumpkin at 15 months, 3)Right after Colby was born, 4) Her first bday party

From the get go Lacie has been SUCH a good big sister. She didn't have any jealousy issues, she was SO helpful, even at 13 months! She and Colby are just the best of friends and for the most part rarely get tired of eachother. I hope they always have such a great relationship!

1) Trapped in a ball display at Walmart, 3) 2 kids in diapers, 2 kids in bottles, 2 kids in a baby bed (well that was just for pretend but the other parts are true!), 3) Lacie 21 months Colby 9months, 4) Summer 2007, 5) I love to dress them matchy hehehe We get asked if they are twins ALLLL the time!

At 2 Lacie talked about being a bride ALL the time. She was constantly asking us to play married. She loved the movie Yours, Mine, & Ours with Lucille Ball. She also loved to dance. She had a rough start with dance lessons but eventually picked it up and performed her first recital just before she turned 3. She was such a lil character. I guess maybe it's all a blur now but I don't really remember her throwing that many fits. She was just always playing and dancing and being her goofy lil self. 1)Playing married, 2)OOps forgot to rotate that one :( She loved to wear sunglasses, 3) Posing for the camera, 4) My little ballerina

Preschool was a really fun place for Lacie. She was the tiniest one in her class but had lots of friends. She loved to tell me about her day. Another fave pastime at this age was dress up. She was always dressing up, picking out her own clothes, pretending to do her makeup. Such a girly girl! 1)Dance recital 6/05, 2) on top of a very tall toy at the park, 3) a big girl baby doll from Mammie, 4)Safari carnival 10/05, 5)Dressed up as Snow White 10/05

I think 4 was the hardest age for she and I. She woke up on her birthday with a whole new attitude - and it wasn't a good one! She was still goofy and adorable though. It was so amazing to watch this lil personal emerge. On the verge of being a big kid. And getting more and more gorgeous by the day! She did great in her pre-K class and again had alot of friends. Oh let's not forget to mention, girl was VERY emotional! Have no idea where she gets that from though :)

1)On her first day of pre-k 8/06, 2) at her kindergarten physical 4/07, 3) thinking in the grass spring of 06, 4)growing so beautful! 4/07, 5)playing on a soccer team for the first time 9/06, 6)In her PINK scuba gear 7/06

Turning 5 was a big deal! She just grew up so much FAST! She has always loved to write but now was able to write REAL words and even read some. She was discovering her emotions more and the emotions of others around her too. She loves to cook/bake things. And LOVES to spend the night at other people's houses.

1)This photo takes my breath away. taken just days after she turned 5, 7/07, 2)My lil angel baby 10/07, 3) A dip in the pool 6/07, 4) She got an MP3 player for her 5th birthday and is wearing a High School Musical shirt. Is she 5 or 15? :( 7/07

And now, she is 6. SIX! She'll be going to first grade in the fall. No more half days of school! Making new friends & memories. It hits me several times a day that the things we do now are the things she will remember as an adult. She probably won't remember when she was 3 or 4. But this past year and on are the memories that will stay with her, mold her, and make her into the person she will become. So far, she's a tad on the bossy side ;) but she comes by that naturally and we are working on it.

Baby girl I love you so much more than you could ever know. You are so precious to me. I'm so proud to be your mommy and so honored to be part of your life's journey!