Looking back...

I have been so emotional these past few days since Daniel has gone back to night shift. It really makes me appreciate the time we get to spend together and makes me feel lucky that I'm not raising Hunter on my own. I have been reminiscing of the past couple of years...what a difference 24 months has made. I remember going into ultra wedding planning mode after Daniel and I got engaged and feeling like our special day would never come, but when it arrived, it flew by. What a happy day that was! Our honeymoon was pure bliss. It was our first vacation that we took together and it was so awesome to be a new twosome and be exploring a new place together. When Daniel and I came home from our honeymoon we moved in together and what an adventure that was! We learned a ton of stuff about each other and it was the most fun I had ever had. That October, Daniel became a sheriff's deputy and what a handsome man he is in his uniform. :)Before our 1st wedding anniversary I found out I was pregnant and I soon came to realize that it would no longer be about just me and Daniel but that we would have another person to think about and be responsible for. I could have never imagined how Hunter could have changed my world. We bought a heart doppler and constantly circled my belly trying to find a heartbeat from about 8 weeks on. At about 13 weeks pregnant, we heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time. I cried and cried, not believing that I had a living being growing inside me. At 20 weeks, we found out we were having a boy and I could not have been more excited. We bought our first house and went to town decorating Hunter's nursery. I knew the bedding/theme I wanted for his room the minute we found out he was a boy. The good news is that the room turned out gorgeous the bad news, atleast for Daniel, is that I wanted him to paint stripes on the wall in several different colors. Daniel had helped his mom paint some rooms at their house, but this was our first painting project that was for our house. I had never painted anything before and because I was pregnant, I didn't want to be exposed to the paint fumes too much so Daniel did a ton of the work. We had to tape the stripe outline for each individual color, paint the stripe, let it dry, remove the tape and then repeat all of those steps for each color...I think there were 4 or 5 colors total. It took forever, but when he was finished, it took my breath away and I couldn't believe our baby was going to be able to enjoy something we worked so hard on. We welcomed our son 2 days before Christmas during a scheduled induction because my doctor predicted him to be a big boy. My original due date was December 31st. As Daniel and I drove to the hospital early on December 23rd, I remember thinking this was the last time we would be a twosome. Forever from that moment on, we would be a mom and dad and nothing could ever change that. I think about that drive often, not because I miss our life before Hunter, but because before that day I only knew Daniel as my best friend and my husband, now he is the father of my child and because of our love we brought such a perfect little boy into this world. After 14 hours of labor we welcomed our son by c-section. I remember asking Daniel if he had heard Hunter cry and he said yes and then a moment later I saw this dark haired baby boy come around the sheet and he cried this unbelievable cry like he knew I was listening for him. Tears streamed down my face and it was like time stopped...I couldn't believe this beautiful baby was mine!

And now my baby boy is almost 6 and a half months old. I can't believe it! What a journey the last few years have been and I can't imagine what the future has in store for my family. We are blessed beyond belief! If you made it this far, thank you for reading my sappy story. I'm really not normally this emotional, but having a baby really puts life into perspective and makes me appreciate all the small things in life! I have the best family, friends, and life I could ever imagine!! <3