she follows the sun: Happy SECOND birthday, Emmett!

Exactly two years ago, on May 6th, 2012 at 10:52 pm, Emmett Sullivan was born. He came into this world the same way he does everything else- the way he wanted... which happened to be five weeks early. My OB and nurses kept telling me to expect a five pound baby, so imagine my surprise when I held my six pound nine ounce baby boy for the first time- and I realized that he was about the same size as his brother was at birth, even though he was born two weeks earlier (he was actually six ounces heavier than Elliot).

Despite the fact that he was huge (for a baby born at exactly 35 weeks), Emmett had some struggles in the beginning and ended up staying in the hospital for a week after he was born (which meant I was stuck in a tiny postpartum room devoid of any color or personality for 6 long nights and 7 long days, too) but it was worth every minute. To be honest, if I could, I'd go back to the times of sleepless nights, when I felt like I had a tiny human leech attached to my boobs 24/7. I miss that tiny newborn <3.

At the same time, I love the toddler Emmett has become. Emmett has grown into a wild, sweet, adorable little boy. He talks up a storm, loves to play in the dirt yet hates being dirty, needs to cuddle for no less than 10 minutes when he first wakes up, insists on kissing his baby goodnight every night before he goes to bed, accidentally pushes his metal dumptruck into your shins (over and over), trips over his own feet (or thin air), often himself onto the floor in a pathetic mess of tears if you tell him no, and will eat practically anything you give him. I can't imagine life without my littlest love <3.

We didn't do anything too crazy tonight- we had Emmett's favorite food (pizza) for dinner, and I baked him a cake. His big party is Saturday, but I felt like we had to do something to acknowledge his birthday today, too.

And now I leave you with the many BIRTHDAY faces of Emmett.