Happy Birthday, Katie!

I am so behind on posting! So, poor Katie, if you ever read this in the future, please don't take it personally! Every time I did manage to get online this week, I was house hunting. And we know how badly you want me to find us a house right now, right?!!


So, here's your story, baby girl:

Katie was my first born, aka, first pregnancy. It was perfect...I stayed small for the most part, gaining mostly in my belly (and nose, according to Charity). I was happy and in love, a newlywed, so it was all good. In fact, we lived in a one room apartment and I didn't even care. ONE ROOM. As in, there was a kitchen, attached to a living room/dining room/bedroom, then a bath room. We could fit a bed, dresser, and tv in the one room and barely have room to get to the bathroom & kitchen. Aw, young love!

So, Katie's crib was in the kitchen. Next to the ball python snake.

Anyway, I was impatient, which ended up being true of every pregnancy of mine, and wanted my baby out NOW. I wanted meet the little person responsible for pulvarizing my insides day and night. I would seriously stand in the shower and sob because she wouldn't stop kicking and kicking and kicking. It's one of the ways my midwife knew she was a girl - go figure. But, it was also my only complait while pregnant.

The day I found my first stretch mark, I begged the midwife to break my water. Vain? Have you met me?! She made me wait another week, then broke it at my last appointment with one of those lovely hooks, and I started contracting about 20 minutes later. She sent me home to pack (I had packed most of my baby stuff but nothing for me...it just seemed like it was never going to happen. Lesson learned, I packed early the next 3 times), and told me to get straight to the hospital. Then, she gave me the best advice - EAT. She said most doctors tell you not to eat, because they don't like to clean up the "mess" that comes with delivery, but she said EAT. Um, ever been in hard labor? Yeah, food is the last thing on your mind.

But not so for Chad. He decided to go through Taco Bell while I was in labor. He actually got to order but before we could get to the window, I was yelling, "GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!"

The nurses told me not to worry, my first baby was probably going to take 12+ hours at least, so I might as well chill out and try to rest. Fortunately for me, they were dead wrong and 4 hours after she broke my water, Katie MacKenzie was born :)

She is the only one that I had an epidural with, so I felt nothing whatsoever. This messed with my head later and I swore I'd never do that again...and I didn't. They ran everyone out of the room to check me and Katie's head was RIGHT THERE. They started running around like crazy, called the midwife, who was half a block away. She ran in the door, told me to push and after 3 good pushes, Katie was out.

She weighed 7lbs 5oz, which ended up being my biggest baby, and was 20 or 21 inches long. Good lord, that was 10 years ago and I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast today! In fact, I had to think about how to spell her middle name!

I do remember that I finally let the nurse take her to the nursery later that night so I could sleep a few hours and they brought her back to me within a couple of hours. Apparently she was screaming her head off and they couldn't get her calmed down, which woke up all the other babies in the nursery. It made me feel so good to know my little girl wanted me so badly. I felt so loved and needed in that moment.

After two days, they packed us up and told us to take our little girl home. Chad & I got her put in the carseat, then in the car, then just sat there. In shock. Chad said, "Um, are we supposed to just leave with her?" It just all felt so surreal. In a matter of seconds, minutes, we were suddenly responsible for another human being. A TINY human being.

As for the snake, mom prayed hard and that thing got some kind of neurological disease and died about 6 months later.

Now my little girl is a dog-lovin', talkative, independent big girl. She was beautiful from the day she was born and still is...inside and out. She's also reading this over my shoulder so I have to say that ;)

Here are some of my favorite pictures. Unfortunately, digital cameras were completely out of my price range 10 years ago and my scanner is in storage. The earliest pictures I have available right now are from around age 3 or 4:

One of my first digital pictures ever - September 2002




LOVE this one! Caught her in my bathroom with my toothbrush.

3 years old

She LOVED this bathing suit, and all things dalmatian. She finally branched out about 3 years ago and loves ALL dogs equally but passionately.

Kimono Katie
4 years old

My all time favorite picture :)
Katie & Mommy ~ 2003

This is when she started getting stopped all the time for looking like Dakota Fanning. Check out Dakota in "I Am Sam" and tell me that's not a less pretty version of Katie!
2003 - 4 years old


Her Paris Hilton phase...lasted a nanosecond, thank God!

Her pirate face :) Seirously, she used to make that face everytime she saw a camera. Drove me NUTS.

Hula girl

First day of Kindergarten at Yokota Air Base, Japan
2004
(I was about 5 months pregnant with Micah)

One of my all time favorites of Katie, taken in October, 2007.

8 years old

Her favorite picture, probably LOL...Katie and her dogs.
May 2009

Her 10th birthday cake - can you tell she picked it out? I insisted on the pink & purple ;)

Very happy dog lover with her new LPS VIP.

You moms of girls know what that all means ;)

Happy (belated) 10th birthday, Katie. Now stop making me old!!!