The cover photo of this blog site is not only an impressive nightscape of New York City taken by Cory, it's a photo from our 10th floor labor and delivery suite at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. It looks south at Midtown Manhattan on the night of April 11th, 2013. The Empire State Building was glowing orange in honor of the ASPCA and its 16th annual Bergh Ball. A storm was brewing, and we were waiting for a baby girl to arrive.

Feeling huge...and ready to meet the little one!

Our labor story started out casually enough—I had a weekly appointment at the doctor on a Thursday afternoon and wasn't due for about 11 more days. But lately I'd been feeling extremely uncomfortable. Tests showed that my usually even-keel blood pressure was elevated, plus I had other signs of preeclampsia, and the doctor didn't want to risk further danger to the baby. She told us we could make our way over to the hospital, and within a couple hours I was being induced, and erratic contractions were starting to cause an increasing amount of pain. The overnight hours were intense, and by 5:30 a.m., things were progressing quickly. Cory was my rock, watching the monitor for the oncoming contractions and helping me breathe through them. The room filled up with women -- doctors and nurses -- and at 6:51 a.m. on April 12th, Josephine Grace was here. And she was a beautiful sight.

About 20 minutes old

Our sweet pea at 2 weeks

I, personally, but I think this goes for Cory too, have been fascinated by Josie's development—more so than I ever thought I'd be. Watching her hit milestones such as smiling, "talking" (babbling/cooing), sitting up, eating, crawling, standing, "reading" books, pushing buttons, opening doors, taking her first few steps...it's all kind of amazing to me. I know we all go through this as humans but watching it unfold on a day-to-day basis puts you at this granular level of biology that makes our human existence something to marvel at. Okay, I'm getting a little deep here, but it's definitely something I didn't consider when I thought about having kids.

Now it's time to say Happy Birthday to our darling Josie. Twelve months have flown by, and every day we wonder how we got so lucky to have been blessed with this smart, funny, curious and beautiful girl who makes us laugh and smile every day.

Happy Birthday, Josephine Grace. We love you so much and are thankful every day that we have the privilege to call ourselves your parents. We are looking forward to watching you grow into a toddler and young lady, but will enjoy each moment of your adorable babyhood in the meantime.

-Posted by Jen