July 7th, 1998

Today is Mikaylas 11th Birthday. I can't believe my little sweet, timid, yet very loud and impatient Mikayla is 11 years old.

I just wanted to quickly tell the story of the day Mikayla was born. I was outside with Kyle and Sadie, they had just finished playing in the pool, so I was cleaning it out. I had let out most of the water and decided it was taking too long...those who know me understand. I lifted the pool to let out the rest of the water and realized that the pool was heavier than I thought it would be, so I twisted and pushed and finally was able to empty the rest of the water out. As soon as I finished I felt my first contraction. Bret had gone to Costco with his mom, and since we didn't have cell phones then, I waited for him to get home. He got home around 4 and I told him it was time to take me to the hospital because my contractions were coming every 5 minutes. When we got to the hospital they quickly gave me an epidural (that's another story), and a few hours later I felt like I needed to push. My doctor had just gotten to the hospital and the nurse had just checked me, so they thought it strange that I needed to push already and decided to check me again...turns out Mikayla was ready, so the nurse told the doctor he needed to hurry if he wanted to deliver this baby, and as soon as he came into the room and got "into position" Mikayla was born. She is still the same, when she is ready for something to happen, it's going to happen now.

Mikayla is the source of laughter in our family. She is quick to tell jokes, some of them actually funny, and when she tells a funny story she usually laughs all the way through making everyone listening to the story laugh at her sillyness. She is always so sweet with younger children and loves to entertain them. I have a special place in my heart for Mikayla, we are very different in some ways (she's very sensitive) but we are also very similar. I love you Mikayla, Happy Birthday.