Many Maxy Memories

My firstborn does not turn 5 until December 17th but since we celebrated his birthday with, not one but TWO, birthday parties this weekend, it feels as if he's already 5.  I reminisced today about how this day, five years ago, I asked my boss if I could take vacation until I had my baby.  I was crushed that my child had not arrived, as expected, on their December 12th due date.  I didn't know if I was pregnant with a boy or a girl but I now knew it was a child destined to do things on their own time.  In hindsight, I should have just kept going to work.  It was much worse moping about the house waiting and waiting for some labor signs to begin.  In the end, the beginning of Max's labor was uneventful.  I was remembering, in the shower this morning, how Stu was with me at my 40+ week appointment when I was four days overdue.  I'm sure he was there because we knew we might set an induction date in case I was still pregnant the next week and I'm so thankful he was there.  While I waited to see my obstetrician, undressed from the waist down, I thought I felt some wetness underneath me.  I stood up a bit and found that there was about a quarter sized wet spot on the paper beneath me.  When my OB arrived, I asked if I might be leaking amniotic fluid.  At last, my water had broken.  Not in a popping gush as I've heard has happened for so many of my friends but in a barely leaky faucet sized drip.  So Stu and I were marched off to the hospital and an induction began that day, December 16th at about 1:00 p.m...........Max was FINALLY born on December 17th at 2:32 p.m.  Luckily(?) I was only in hard labor from about 11:00 p.m. on December 16th until 2:32 p.m.  And I'd broken down and begged for an epidural at about 9:00 a.m. or so on December 17th.  Here's how quickly five years has flown by:

Stu and I before any babies were even a twinkle in our eye:

A freshborn Max:

Max's First Birthday:

Max's Second Birthday:

Max's Third Birthday:

Max's Fourth Birthday:

And now, this weekend: