I loved you before I even met you

A year ago today, Bud and I found out we were going to be parents.

We had been trying for several months to get pregnant and were so elated to get the positive test(s)! We loved daydreaming about our little baby baum.  We talked about his or her future, read up on parenting, started financial planning, and pretty much smiled continually because our prayers had been answered!

I loved finding out from the ultrasound that we were going to have a little boy, and watching him do somersaults in my tummy that I couldn't even feel yet.  Pregnancy and birth are such an amazing miracle and I feel so privileged that I got to experience it.  I loved the process of deciding on a name and calling our baby by it throughout the rest of our pregnancy.  This helped us feel more connected to him, like we already knew him before he was even born.

I loved watching my tummy grow and being able to witness kicks and hiccups.  I loved the fact that perfect strangers could tell that I was a momma-to-be.  I even loved buying and wearing maternity clothes!  haha  (Going back to non-stretchy jeans is a rude awakening, let me tell you!)

I loved designing and preparing the nursery.  It was fun to pick out a theme and work on lots of do-it-yourself projects.   I enjoyed being thrifty and making bargain purchases.  I loved that my hubby wanted to be really involved in this whole process and helped me with the color selection and got just as excited about the choices as I did.  

I love the way that having a baby enriched the relationship that Bud and I have with each other in a way that I could never have dreamed of.  

I loved meeting you for the first time; seeing your precious face and touching your smooth little features.  You were so perfect and tiny, and I was so overwhelmed by my first glimpse of what a mother's love is all about.  It is so fierce and yet so gentle.  

I loved becoming a family of three!

I have loved watching you grow and thrive.  I have loved learning your cries; seeing you discover how to make faces, giggle, and laugh; watching you interact with your daddy; and seeing you become more and more curious about the world around you everyday. 

  

I love your sweet baby smell, your slobbery wet kisses, and your precious little snuggles.  I love thinking about you, playing with you, and praying for you.

I love being a mom.