Happy 11th Birthday!

I can't believe Michela turned 11 today. Those 11 years have gone by so quickly. Since I became pregnant with her we have moved six times and built four houses. She has gone to 3 different elementary schools and four different wards. That's a lot for 11 years!

I can still remember when Michela entered the world. It was a Sunday and we were so excited to meet our new little girl. It all started at about 1:00 Saturday morning when I went into labor. By 8:00 that morning we were on our way to the hospital, sure she would be born that day. Unfortunately I was not far enough along so they made me walk around the parking lot for an hour. After my next assessment I was told I still wasn't ready. I was throughly depressed and in a whole lot of pain. My labor pains were coming very fast and very hard. They gave me a shot of morphine and sent me home to sleep. By the time we got home Mike almost had to carry me to bed.

Later that afternoon the pains started up and by Midnight we were off to the hospital yet again. Luckily they let me stay this time. By 4:00 Sunday morning Mike was begging me to get the epidural. I really had wanted to try a do it natural but he couldn't stand to see me in any more pain. What was I thinking?! Did I think I would get a special badge of honor if I went through the whole process without any drugs? My poor body did so much better after the epidural. I could finally relax and stopped fighting my contractions. Things started to progress much better after that.

By 8:00 I was ready to push, too bad for me, Michela decided she didn't want to come out. After pushing off and on for almost 5 hours my body was too tired to push anymore. The doctor said if I couldn't get the baby down far enough to pull her out with forceps than I would have to have a C-section. That scared me enough to give one last effort and got her to where they could reach her. I had an appendectomy when I was 16 and I didn't want to go through all that again. Around 1:30 in the afternoon Michela joined our family.

She was the prettiest little baby. All the nurses wanted to hold her and get a look at her. She always came back from the nursery with a cute little hairdo and a little pink bow. She was such a sweet little thing and such a good little baby.

Where has the time gone? How did she grow up so fast? When I look at Aria lately I catch glimpses of that little girl Michela used to be. She has grown to be such a beauty, though she doesn't like you to tell her that, and she is as smart as can be. She loves sports and is so creative. She loves to draw, write stories, and read book after book.

For her birthday her favorite present was her new ripstik. She rode around the kitchen for a while this morning.

She had birthday blueberry muffins for breakfast before church.

For dinner we went to Grandma and Grandpa's for a little celebration. Michela had requested that Grandma Peggy make her an ice cream roll cake with double fudge brownie ice cream inside. Talk about some serious chocolate!

Some fun things to know about Michela:

1. She Loves to Play Football.

2. She is Quite the Little Artist. She especially loves to draw Cartoon People.

3. Her Favorite TV Show is Phineas and Ferb.

4. She Loves Asparagus, Broccoli and Green Beans.

5. She is Learning to Sew.

6. She could Spend All Day Reading.

7. She Likes to Make up Funny Songs.

8. Her Favorite Soup is White Bean Chicken Chili.

9. She Hates Math.

10. Her Favorite Color is Blue.

11. She Likes to Bake.

We sure love having Michela in our family. I couldn't have asked for a better first baby and oldest child. We are truly blessed to call her our own. Happy Birthday Sweetheart!