When we first found out I was expecting Joshua, we were both surprised and excited. My husband and I were living in California at the time so we called our friends and family to tell them the exciting news. To get ready for his arrival we started reading a lot of baby books and preparing his moon and stars themed nursery. We had two baby showers, one with family and friends and another with my co-workers. Everyone had a lot of fun playing games like guess the size of my belly. All of our friends and family were very loving and supportive while we were getting ready for Joshua. It was wonderful to have their support since we were a bit nervous about being new parents. We were also excited when we saw all of Joshua's ultrasound pictures. It made the experience even more real and we couldn't wait to meet him.

Joshua was born at 2:34 pm on November 1, 2006. As soon as I saw him I started to cry. I couldn't speak, I was just too emotional. I had no idea that I could love someone so much. During the first few weeks after Joshua was born we spent a lot of time cuddling with him and watching the cute little faces he would make. Even when he was only a few days old he already had so much personality.

Over the past eight months it has been truly amazing watching Joshua grow. He is now 22 pounds and 28 inches. He has changed so much in such a short amount of time. He makes us smile when he laughs and makes funny sounds. He can stand by himself now and is almost starting to walk. It just amazes me how smart he is. I love it when he crawls to me and then opens his arms because he wants to be held. It warms my heart.