Happy Birthday Bella!

A very long time ago, I fell in love with the name Isabella. I said that if I ever had a girl, her name would be Isabella. When I met Tim, I said, if I have a daughter, her name HAS TO BE Isabella....15 months later, Isabella was born.
I used to rub on my belly and say "this is my Bella Belly". She was a little kicker, would drag her foot across my belly from one side to the other, freaking those people out who were observing my shirt rippling across my stomach. She would kick me right in the crotch too, her legs were so long. She would hit that nerve that would shoot a sharp pain down south. It would leave me breathless, hunched over and in momentary shock. She almost always had the hiccups right when I would lay down for bed at night.
When I went into labor in the middle of the night, I said to Tim, "wake up and call the doctor, I think I am in labor". He got dressed FIRST, and in a hurry, called the doctor and looked strangely puzzled at me. I was making the bed....Then, I asked him to scoop the litter box (well, you know, I wanted to come home to a clean, neat house). He ran almost every red light (5 AM) all the way from McKinney to Plano. I think we made a 20 minute drive in 7 minutes flat.
Yep, I was in labor. It went almost perfectly. I got the epidural on time, Bella make her debut at 1:49 PM, 8 pounds 4 ounces, 19.5 inches long. The doctor weighed her 5 times, he couldn't believe how big she was...ONLY, she swallowed amniotic fluid during delivery and had to stay in the NICU for 6 days. She came home on her original due date, September 11th.
Those 6 days were some of the most difficult in my life. I held her from 8 AM - 5 PM in the NICU every day...then, I had to go home without her every night. The thought of it still makes my heart ache. She was a perfect baby. Happy, healthy and beautiful. Fitting for her name.
Today, Bella is SO excited about being "5". To Bella, this means, and I quote, "that I no longer have to take naps, hold your hand in the parking lot, I can order my own food and, um, Mom, now that I am 5, can I get married?"
Isabella and I have a very special connection. She looks like me, acts like me, is BOSSY like me, sassy like me.....She is the daughter I prayed that I would have someday.
I am so blessed that God gave her to Tim and I. I am so proud of you, Bella.
Happy 5th Birthday...and Bella, in 25 years, you can get married.