My big boy is 3

So it has been nearly a month since Luca's 3rd birthday. He is quite the 3-year-old these days with his abundance of energy and hilarious ideas. I remember the day that Luca was born. I had a C-section scheduled for 1:00 PM on February 23, 2006. I got to the hospital a few hours earlier only for the nurses to send me downstairs to wait. The doctors were tied up with a few emergency C-sections so my birth was put on hold for the moment. We went downstairs where we soon met up with my family. We sat in the waiting area and I watched them eat Arizmendi pastries and drink hot coffee. I bought socks from the hospital gift shop. I was becoming increasingly anxious. After almost an hour we went back upstairs and I was checked into a room. My IV's were started and I waited for my doctor, Dr. Matthews who delivered Sofia to come in. As soon as she came in, she apologized for the wait and began to prep me for surgery. She told me it would be at least another hour before I would go in and then she quickly left. I was feeling incredibly anxious and had to take a walk. I was hungry, tired, and had a headache from missing my cup of coffee. Oh, yeah and I was very pregnant. Not a great combination of circumstances. Brian and I took a long walk around the halls yearning for that moment to meet our little boy. My mom, dad, and sister had left to grab a bite. As soon as we returned to our hospital room, a nurse came in and told us that we were to go into the OT immediately for the birth. We scarmbled around the room, found our phone to call my family, and tried to take a deep breath. Just as I was waddling out of the room, the same nurse told us to go back into our room because Dr. Matthews had another emergency C-section. She told us it would be another hour or so. I was about to burst! My family came rushing into the room only to find me laying in my bed, as sad as could be. I wanted to meet this baby! Another hour passed and the time finally came for us to meet Luca. We were nervous and excited to meet out little guy. I was so glad to have Dr. Matthews there since she had seen me through Sofia's birth and through a somewhat eventful pregnancy with Luca (I had a elevated AFP and consequently had to have an amniocentesis which was horrible). Within 10 minutes, Luca entered this world and screamed loudly. He was covered in vernix which was a bit shocking but he was alert and ready to go. I recognized his profile from the ultrasound and felt the light of our Luca. He is such a radiant child and lights up every room. He is resilient and strong. He is fiercely independent and full of joy. His smile is contagious and I have no doubt that he is gong to be one of the most amazing people I know. He tells me he loves me all of the time and loves to "talk" before bed every night. He tells me of the "long, big, black train" that he wants and how he loves his friends at school. Luca Swan makes me a better mother every day. He is a true gift to us and to this world. He fills my heart with light, joy, and so much love. Happy Birthday to my sweet, big boy.