My Bells. Ella Bella. Ellsy. Bellsy. Ellie. Ellie Belly. Ella answers to them all.
Seven years ago today, at this moment, I was laying in a hospital room about to get an epidural. I had been there for almost 24 hours and I was OVER labor. We checked in at 4 o’clock on Sunday afternoon and were scheduled for an induction the following morning. I wasn’t thrilled about being induced on the fifth anniversary of a national tragedy, but I was already five days overdue and couldn’t wait one more minute to see her face. We were restless in the hospital that night, not knowing how the day would play out or how our lives were about to change forever. The on-call doctor convinced me she would be born before morning, so I panicked and my parents and sister came to see us late that evening. I remember watching television in the middle of the night, alone in labor and delivery while Josh attempted to get some sleep. Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes had just released photos of Suri and the Vanity Fair magazine was going to hit bookshelves on September 11th. We made an early morning call to secure that very important piece of literary history and the magazine is in Ella’s baby book (in other pop culture news, John Mayer’s Continuum came out on 9/12/06 and my sister hand-delivered my CD to the hospital!).
Morning dawned and we were still there, no baby in sight. I spent the morning showing the nurses pictures of our nursery and complaining about my hair. My doctor had assured me I could take a shower before they induced me on Monday morning, but the on-call doctor the night before insisted that they start an IV in the middle of the night, so I was destined to meet my first child with greasy hair and a chip on my shoulder. We laugh now about how frequently I lamented my lack of a shower. And the chapstick. Oh, the chapstick. I must have reapplied it a hundred times that day.
After ten hours of labor, we decided a C-section was in order. My doctor was concerned I would continue to labor overnight, so she decided to deliver Ella before her shift ended that evening. It was quite the whirlwind of activity as they secured an operating room and I cried with my momma. I was so ready to meet Ella and not at all concerned with how they got her out, but overwhelmed at how anxious I was about the whole situation. Josh & I greeted our 7 pound 3 ounce, sweet baby girl at 6:03 in the evening on Patriot’s Day. The first words out of the doctor’s mouth were about how beautiful her lips were.
Watching her grow for the last seven years has been nothing short of extraordinary. She was such an easy baby and taught me so many things about being a mom. She was speaking conversationally by her first birthday and still astounds us with her vocabulary on a regular basis. She’s smart and quick-witted and hilarious, thanks to her daddy’s sense of humor. She has such a servant’s heart and loves church and mission friends. She loves to sing and dance and is known for having an impromptu dance party at the drop of a hat. She loves our 90 pound dog and is terrified of our kittens. She is inquisitive and asks tons of questions about why things exist and how things work. She loves to “teach” her imaginary students and play shop owner and waitress. Her imagination knows no bounds.
I’m not one of those mommies that lament the growing up… well, not too much. Each year and each phase has been wonderful and hard in their own way. Growing up is bittersweet, but with each passing moment Ella becomes an even more wonderful person and getting to know her as something other than a baby has been so much fun. I don’t miss bottles and diapers and I don’t have baby fever. I’m not sure I would even go back in time. I love this little person she is. We have things in common and she can carry on a conversation with the best of them. The last seven years have been so full of love and laughter and I know I’ll look back on the next seven years and the seven after that and have nothing but wonderful memories of this spunky little girl.
Happy Birthday, Bells! YOU are my favorite.
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
Just as I do every year, I struggle with how to fit a celebration of life and a post about the tragedy that occurred twelve years ago in the same space on the same day. We are celebrating our sweet girl with abandon, but it is a bittersweet day. Today we are remembering those who lost their own lives and for those family and friends who were left behind. You can read about where I was on 9/11 here and see our visit to the memorial here. You can also watch this wonderful video a friend shared this morning, if you dare. Arm yourselves with Kleenex, friends.
