Yes, I am still up...at 1:56 in the morning. I am waiting for Ayda's birthday cakes to finish baking. They were supposed have been baked this afternoon. This tells you how my day went. But waiting has allowed me to think back to a year ago. My water broke at just before 10:00PM. I was totally not prepared (she was due mid-January), in fact, I had planned on packing, etc. that coming Friday/Saturday. So I showered, packed, and since contractions do not follow my water breaking for hours, decided to try to sleep in my own bed, figuring that if they got bad enough, I'd wake up. So at about 1:00AM, I said good-night to Ryan and his parents (they had come to sleep over so that when we did leave, they wouldn't have to wake-up and drive over to watch Jared) and crawled into bed. But of course, I couldn't sleep. I decided to try until 2:00 and then we'd go if I had no success. Well, it's now 2:05AM and we were just putting on jackets and mittens, about to head to the hospital exactly a year ago. 

Exactly a year ago, I did not know that Ayda was a girl. A year ago I did not realize how much she would bless everyone that knew my Mom, her Grandma, with her early birth. A year ago, I did not realize the comfort she would bring. 

Today and the following few days will be full of reflection for me. I reflect often, particularly around the time of big events. Come May, I will reflect on our first-born and just how precious our Jared is to us and what made his birth special. But tomorrow it's all about our Ayda Sharon Ruth. Our miracle. Our Christmas ornament.