Introducing Lilly Saber

There will forever be a special place in my heart for this girl. She is the one who made me mommy.

Ask a mother about her birth experience, and she will rattle on for hours about it. Don't we love to dish? I think that the biggest reason for this is that there is no better way to learn to love someone than to truly suffer for them. And I think that God was smart when he made birth painful. I don't look at it as a punishment. (You know, Eve, being the first to take the fruit and all.) It is likely that many of us have never had a more painful experience than child birth. And for certain, none more rewarding. We love our children no matter what, and the suffering, I believe, plays a large part in that initial love. We all know they will grow up, and probably need therapy because of the ways we inevitably will screw them up, and heaven knows it's really hard to love a sass-mouthed teenager who thinks you are wrong all the time- no, I don't have a teenager, but it scares me that Lilly will be one some day, because she already IS a sass-mouth who thinks I'm wrong all the time.

Spiritual moment of the day: Sometimes, I think it's a very simple thing to look at our Savior, Jesus Christ, and to see the reason he loves us so. You can not help but adore a person you ached for.

The problem with swapping birth stories is that it is usually a one-upmanship. You know, who had a longer labor, or who had an emergency c-section, and epesiotomy, or who was the tough cookie and muscled her way through the entire labor without drugs. The more dramatic, the better. I have honestly, and I mean TRULY heard a conversation that went like this (and it was the last straw of many straws that made me decide never to go back to another playgroup.):

Mom1. My labor was 12 hours long. And I had an episotomy.

Mom2: My labor was about 12 hours too, but I tore.

Mom1: Well, I actually went into labor at 2:43 in the morning, and Duke, here, wasn't born until 3:17 pm. So, it was actually over 12 hours. Man, he had a huge head. I had to have 30 stitches in my epesiotomy (And might I add here, that that is a ridiculous amount of stitches? Do you think I believe her? Um, NO.)

Mom2: Isn't that just a killer? I had just as many with my tear. And Jayden was over 9 pounds...

Okay. Eye. Roll. They then went on to talk about how smart their babies were. I mean, isn't it an EXPECTED milestone for your 15 month old to be able to stack blocks? Yes. I do think so.

No, my labor was 5 hours flat. I felt only 1 hour of actual pain before getting my blessed epidural, and I actually had a short nap before pushing for 15 minutes. So no extra points here. I aparently don't feel enough pain to be any entertainment. Whenever it comes to me, other women just stare at me for a moment, and then go on talking about their own labors.

Lilly, though, was wide eyed, calm, and alert since she was only crowning. She recognized my mom's voice and turned to stare at her as soon as she heard it. She was 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and 21 inches long. She was my fattest baby.

Lilly always had ancient, old eyes. They are big and round and dark brown. She has always been impatient, like me, and a natural performer. Lilly didn't walk until she was 15 months, and then, it was only because while i was in class at church, all the other ladies would egg her on....Show off.

Our best friends have a little boy who was named after my husband. We are his God-parents, and from the day Lilly met him, she has been in love with him. He lives in Texas now, but on our move from Alabama to Utah, we stopped by their house for a few days. It was like a dream come true for her. Yes- she looks like she's strangling him in this picture, but he really loves her just as much.

It will never be easy to just sum Lilly up. She's a caring little soul. She loves her family, and she's crazy about babies. She can smell a lie, and when she asks a question, she expects a real answer.

It's so crazy, because sometimes, I look at her and she is just so grown up. She's the one that I have to tell to stay little for a long time. She's the one who will be responsible, I think. She will grow up, and marry and be the one to have a lot of kids. She's so much like me.