Mom-a-versary

It was 4 years ago today that I found out I was going to be a mom. 4 years since my life completely and totally changed in the most incredible way! Jason and I had been married just under 4 months, and I had a belated Valentine's surprise planned for him. I had a room booked at a Northern Minnesota resort and a wine tasting scheduled. Our plan was to start trying for a baby after my brother's wedding which was coming up that October. For some reason, on my way home from work on that Friday, March 2nd, I got the urge to take a pregnancy test. I had no symptoms and truly no reason to suspect I was pregnant but I just felt like I needed to know for sure before I left for a wine tasting. And sure enough....it was positive!

Every moment of my pregnancy felt so surreal. I just couldn't believe I was actually pregnant, that there was a real baby growing in my belly, that this baby was a little girl, and that I was really truly going to be a mom.

My little love was stubborn and just did not want to come out. My due date came and went and the anticipation of giving birth and finally getting to meet my baby was enough to drive me pretty close to insane. Finally, the day before I was supposed to be induced, labor started. It was a long 16 hours of contractions and an hour of pushing but then at 1:07am on Thursday, November 15th 2012 my Kenley Kouris was born.

The first few weeks of her life were tough, exhausting and such an adjustment but even through the tougher parts of becoming a mom, I felt so happy and so in love with this little human.

These past 4 years feel like a total blur. They have gone so fast and Kenley has grown so much but I can truly say that every day is better and each age is more and more fun! We have already made so many incredible memories as a little family of three and the joy that our daughter brings us is unmatched.

Watching my husband become a dad has been one of the most incredible things of my life. I never had any doubt that he would be a great dad but I could have never expected the bond that he would have with our daughter. These two are best buds and two peas in a pod. It warms my heart in the best possible way to see them together and I hope their bond is always this strong.
  
Throughout my life I've dreamt of doing so many different things and seeing so many different places, but through my passions and aspirations there has always been one thing I knew for certain and that was that I wanted to be a mom. So much of motherhood is challenging and it's definitely not always glamorous, but boy do I love it. I love it more than anything else in the world. I look at my daughter now at 3 years old and cannot believe she is the same little nugget that looked like a jelly bean the first time I had an ultrasound or who loved to kick me in the ribs any chance she got. I am so in awe of her and so in love with her, I just truly don't know what I would do without her.

So today, as I prepare to welcome a second baby and attempt to wrap my head around that, I celebrate the one who first made me a mom and remember back on that day 4 years ago when I was in complete and total shock, panicked and scared and I thank God for my life's greatest blessing....getting to be a mama.