happy 1st birthday, Natalie

newborn nat nat!!

Natalie Muse,

Happy first birthday, baby girl!!

We were so excited to celebrate your first birthday!! We chose your name Natalie because it means "born of Christ" or "born on Christmas", and what a special and most important time of the year this is for us to celebrate the birth of Christ our Savior and the birth of our precious, precious little girl. We chose your middle name Muse after my great-grandmother, Audie Corrine Nixon Muse, who is about to turn 100 in January!! She is a woman of strength and faith, and you are the fifth generation Muse.

This past year has been so amazing, Natalie. You are the most special blessing in our lives. You bring us SO MUCH JOY!!!

It's hard to believe what we were doing this time last year. I wanted to write down your birth story, so I don't forget!! I haven't done this yet...Your due date was December 18th, 2007, and I thought that I would surely have you in my arms by Christmas last year. I had early labor signs for several weeks, but the weeks and days went by and by with no sure sign that you were coming. On December 26th, we went into Northside Hospital to begin the "induction" process. They placed the cervadil at about 7:00 p.m. Then, your dad went to Chipotle to get me my "last supper" because I couldn't eat after midnight. They started the IV pitocin at about 6:30 a.m. the next morning. Your dad was so sweet, because he thought he was going to have to share his birthday, 12/27, with you. The contractions were rough, but I still wasn't progressing. At about 1:00 in the afternoon, Dr. Marshall decided to break my water to see if things progressed. After that I continued to dilate about 1 cm per hour. I was eventually able to get the epidural, which was so helpful! Throughout the day, so many of those that loved you arrived to anxiously await your arrival. Gam and Pappy, Grandma Carolyn and Grandpa Bob, Katy and Lonnie, Steve and Tom, and Whitney all came to cheer you on. And troopers they were...as they had to wait a LONG TIME!! At about 10:30 p.m., Dr. Marshall said, "it's time to start pushing"!!! I was so glad that you were almost here. You remained the stubborn and independent little girl that you are, and kept me pushing until 12:14 a.m. the next morning! We were sure that you wanted YOUR OWN birthday and didn't want to share a birthday with your daddy. And there you were, the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. Absolutely precious. Eight pounds of you. 20.5 inches of perfection.

And the past year has been wonderful, amazing, perfect, and everything that I had ever dreamed of and more. You bring us sheer joy, miss priss, and we love you more than you will ever know. Looking forward to many fun times in your second year!!

Love,
us