When one of your kids hits yet another milestone it's always bitter/sweet.  Our oldest daughter, Kate, turned 6 this month.  How can it be six years since her birth already?  It was a difficult pregnancy and a birth I wasn't sure I'd survive.  The nurse gave me a medication I was allergic to and I believed I might die.  I forced my eyes open and focused on the beating of her heart over the monitors.  My blood pressure went way too low for their comfort and I was surprised I stayed as alert as I did.  Even with the epidural I felt bad, the slight relief of pain was overshadowed by the nausea and vomiting lol.  Then suddenly only a couple of hours into the induction I turn to my husband and say, "I am in horrible pain, get the nurse."  I didn't shout it, I said it.  Apparently I was too calm for him to take me seriously.  He looked at the contraction monitor and said, "but honey, they're actually smaller than before.  I'm sure it's not time."  Erik knew by now how to read the monitors, we'd already done this twice before and he'd never heard me tell him I was in pain.  Just a simple, "I think it's time to push," he'd fetch the nurse and we'd be in business.

This time was different though, I felt terrible, I hurt like nothing I can even begin to describe and he was telling me the contractions were barely registering.  When the next one hit I looked at him and through gritted teeth I said, "I am in pain, get the nurse."  "But-" he pointed at the monitor.  "I don't care what that stupid machine says, I want a nurse in here right now!"  He was gone in a flash.  Seconds later a nurse enters and is chatty like she doesn't think there's any way we can be ready yet (it had only been a couple of hours).  She quickly found out that it was time and busied about getting all the appropriate people in there.  Originally we were to have interns observing but we nixed that when I started having issues.  They couldn't explain why I was feeling everything with an epidural that was working.  But my gosh, I felt EVERYTHING!!  Erik was so sorry when they discovered that the contraction monitor wasn't even hooked up right, thus the erroneous readings.  When Kate came out at 10lbs 12.5 ounces he and the doctor felt even worse.  I wasn't doing so good but her cry was enough to keep me coherent.  I think I was in mild shock from the pain.  The doctor apologized over and over saying we'd have gone c-section had he known (ultrasound had her at 9lbs).  She was a big baby but oh sooooo cute.

Six years, seems like both an eternity and a blink.  We had some family over and one of her little friends from her days at preschool.  It's hilarious that we bought her a Cabbage Patch Kid when I have five of them in the attic from my childhood.  Her cake was six layers of big chocolate chip cookies with alternating layers of chocolate and cream cheese icing.  On top, I sprinkled chocolate morsels and drizzled dark chocolate for an added effect.  She love it but probably not as much had the candles not been pink and purple Barbie glitter candles lol.  One of her favorite gifts was a lamp one of my sister's gave her.  She's been wanting a lamp for probably three years now.  This one matches her new bed linens perfectly and looks adorable next to her bed.

Beyond being so cute, she's a sweet girl who wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone.  She pops forward as a leader in most social situations once she's "warmed up" to the new group.  Kids seem to follow her like they are in a trance or something.  She has a knack for understanding things at ages most kids couldn't possibly "get".  She's silly and sensitive.  I couldn't imagine our family without her.  Happy Birthday Kate!