Em Turns Twenty Four - Happy Birthday!

Em and Davey at Brio!

New Tom's!!

Em opening presents.

Birthday dinner at Spaghetti Factory.

Em blowing out the candles, with Rachel.

On Thursday, October 11th, my first born and only daughter turned twenty four years old!  Happy Birthday, Em!  I remember the day she was born, like it was yesterday!  It was a beautiful day and still felt just like Summer.  I was told by my doctor to call a phone number on Monday morning to tell them I was supposed to come in to the hospital for an induction.  When I called the number, they told me they were completely full and didn't have one room open.  I was devastated and remember I went back to bed in tears.  Dave went off to work and about a half hour later, my doctor called wondering where I was.  I guess he had accidentally given me the phone number to Holy Cross instead of LDS Hospital and he wanted me to get up there right away.  So, the day started out pretty chaotically, to say the least!  I was in labor all day, after they hooked me up to the Pitosun and Em finally arrived around 8:30pm that night during a World Series game on the TV in my room.  I had been sure that I was having a boy, so when they told me it was a girl, I was in shock!  She was so incredibly cute and I remember Dave and I taking her home from the hospital and then looking at each other while she was sleeping and wondering "what do we do now?"  

There is just nothing like the experience of having your first child.  It's scary and incredible at the same time!  It's amazing that we apparently have instincts that help both the child and us survive.  It's funny how in some ways it seems like a lifetime ago that she came into my life and it other ways it seems like just the other day.  I can't imagine life without my daughter.  She has become my best friend and the person I would do anything for.  At twenty four, she has become all and more than I could have ever wished for her. I am so proud of her!

Em had to work on her birthday (part of being an adult, apparently), but when she got home, we all went to dinner at Brio at Fashion Place Mall.  It was really fun to have the four of us there, but we all were wishing Tom could be there, too.  After dinner, we went home and she opened her presents.  The next night, she went to dinner with friends and then on Sunday, we celebrated with my family at Spaghetti Factory.  It was a four day birthday, but I think she had fun.  She was complaining about feeling old and not wanting to get older than 24!  Oh, to be 24 again!  I know the feeling, though, that you get to a point where you just want to stop time, but you can't - you just have to accept it!