We welcomed our newest love on November 29, 2011. Abel Bradley Brown was born at 11:58 AM weighing in at 7 lbs, 9 oz and measuring 21.25 inches long. Our hearts are so full.

Because I can barely remember if I ate breakfast, much less what happened last year, I need to record the birth story.  This is mostly for me, but since this is the world wide web, you’re welcome to read on.

I woke up at 6:02 AM.  I immediately told Doug that I was having contractions (plural), which makes me think that maybe I had been having them for a while, but had been sleeping through them and somehow subconsciously knew I was having them.  Right away, we started to time them.  They were about 7-8 minutes apart to start.  We laid in bed for about 1.5 hours timing pretty regular contractions.  I took a bath, thinking that if this wasn’t labor that maybe the hot water would help with the back pain.  The contractions continued.  I already had my weekly doctor’s appointment scheduled for 10 AM, so we just decided we’d wait till then to see if it was go-time.  Doug took Rhett to preschool (thank you God, for your perfect timing!) and we headed to the doctor.  Naturally, we stopped at Chick-fil-a on the way for breakfast.  I ate a chicken biscuit while trying to breath through contractions, and somehow enjoyed every bite of it.  We got to the doctor’s office around 9:45 AM.  I checked in and told them I thought I might be in labor. They very quickly got me in a room and my doctor came in and said “So, you’re having contractions?  What do you think?  Maybe 4 cm?”  I had had a false alarm two weeks prior, so I was a little gun-shy.  He checked and said, “The reason you’re feeling so crummy is because you’re at 8 cm.  We need to get you to the hospital.”  My doctor’s office is right across the street from the hospital, so they wheeled me across the street in a wheelchair (very dramatic).  Before I left, he told me that if I wanted the epidural that I would need to tell them right away because I didn’t have much time.  So, in the wheelchair on the way across the street, I decided that I wanted to go without the epidural (we’ve made a note to ourselves for next time – decide ahead of time, and take a class on how in the world to give birth).  We checked into the hospital at 10:30 AM.  For about an hour I had really intense contractions 2-5 minutes apart and then all the sudden my doctor’s crew arrived and it was time to start pushing.  I pushed 5 times and the newest Brown arrived at 11:58 AM.  Abel Bradley was here…and a BOY!  We were so surprised, but so thrilled.

Here are a few pictures from the big day.

Daddy and Rhett on Abel’s birthday

This picture was immediately after checking in at the hospital.  The last picture of my second pregnancy.

And here is what we came for…

Our first picture as a family of four (excuse Daddy’s sleepy eyes)

And finally, we were amazed at how much Rhett and Abel looked alike as newborns.  Brothers!  Rhett is on the left, Abel on the right.

Welcome, Baby Abel.  We are so glad you came.

Dear Rhett,

Today you are turning two years old.  I can’t believe it.  I’ve had no shortage of people tell me that having kids would make time speed up.  They weren’t kidding.  Having you in our lives and watching you grow and your personality develop has made time go too quickly.

This past week I have spent a lot of time thinking about you and the blessing that you have been in my and Daddy’s life over the past two years.  I can hardly think about it without tears coming to my eyes.  I am overwhelmed by how blessed we are to be your parents.

This year has been a year of many firsts for you –

• We saw you take your first steps in February. I had been working with you on walking while Daddy was at work, but you waited until Daddy got home to take those few steps. You wouldn’t believe how excited we were. You took three steps from Daddy to me and we acted like you had won a national championship.
• You said your first real word in June.  “Cook” – short for cookie. Your first sentence shortly followed – “cook please.” You, son, are a little man after your mom’s own heart.
• The highlight of the year for me was our first family vacation.  The three of us took a 14-hour drive to Colorado.  You slept nearly the whole way there.  For me and Daddy, it was a time for us to get out of the summer heat and out of our normal routine and just enjoy you and enjoy time together in a new place where there was nothing to required of us except to spend dedicated time as a family.  I will never forget that trip.
• And we welcomed your first sibling just a few weeks ago.  Abel was born just three weeks before your second birthday.  Right now, you’re not really sure why in the world we would mess with a good thing and bring home another baby.  Every now and then though, we’ll catch you giving a blanket, a toy, or a pacifier to your new baby brother.  It’s these moments that I get excited about the big brother that you are becoming.  Abel has so much to learn from you.  Daddy and I are praying that you would soon become best friends and that you learn to love Abel well.

This year has also challenged me to live out what I said last year – that I was a child of God and not bound by fear, and therefore I was able to steward you well as my son.  The older you have become, and the more “boy” you become, this has become increasingly more difficult.  You are all boy, that’s for sure.  You love to climb and have no fear and no concept of danger.  The trouble is that there is nothing worse for me than when you are hurt.  The times that you have fallen on the sidewalk, been hit in the head with a swinging wooden porch swing, climbed out of your highchair, climbed on your dresser and tipped it over, and all the other could-have-happened scenarios have broken my heart. I think that most of the time, I have been more upset when you get hurt than you are.  I have such great fear that something will happen to you that I can’t do anything about, or maybe worse, something will happen to you that I could have prevented.  It makes my heart ache, Rhett.  I am praying and asking people to hold me accountable to this fear.  I want so badly to be a mother that loves you really well, with an open hand and an outstretched arm – knowing that you are a gift to Daddy and me.  Being parents is by far the best gift we’ve ever been given.

Rhett, I cannot tell you how much I love you.  I can’t believe how full my heart is.  I am so proud of you.  I am anxious for your third year – I can’t wait to get to know you better.

I love you,
Momma