I've waited a very long time to share this story with you. The story of the day I became a mommy.

A few things you should know before watching Sidney's journey:

We didn't know the gender. I'm a control-freak. Letting go of this huge thing in my life was a challenge. Since Sidney would be the name for either gender, that made it a little easier - Seriously, the day I met Ryan, I knew we would get married, and the day he told me his middle name (Sidney), I knew that'd be our first child's name. My hubby went to every single doc appointment to make sure I didn't crack. The 9 months of torture was totally worth that one beautiful moment.
Sidney James is named after our two grandaddy's in heaven - Sidney (Ryan's grandfather - and also Ryan's middle name) and James (my grandfather). When you see me tell the gender and name to my father, it's an extremely emotional moment. We kept the middle name a surprise to everyone, so that's the first time my dad found out Sidney's middle name was named after his dad. You'll see he looks over at my grandmother, that was her husband. I wouldn't trade that moment for anything in the world.
The hairspray bottle at the beginning. Ummm yeah sorry. Ryan and I got preggo about a year before we were planning. When I found out, I was pregnant, I threw my phone down when I heard Ryan coming and pressed record. He can read me like a book, so I knew I couldn't hide it.

I'd like to say everything went as planned. Of course, it didn't. But God's Plan is perfect.

The story of Sidney's birthday, as sweet as it was, is nothing compared to the sweetness I've witnessed over the past month of my son's life. Watching my husband melt into an emotional dad and rolling my eyes at his newfound love of corny instagram posts have only made me fall more deeply in love with him.

Watching our son obsess over our ceiling fan, burp obnoxiously loud, and make messy diapers in the most embarrassingly obvious way are mine and Ryan's new favorite conversation topics.

When you become parents, everything changes. For the better.

Thank you so much to Elizabeth Hoard Photography for our beautiful maternity pictures and to CandiCane Photography for the beautiful newborn pics of our sweet boy! Love you both!!

And a huge THANK YOU to my mom (my emotional support and breath of life), Elizabeth Jolly (my doula and birth coach), Amber (my best friend and witness to every major life event)..

And last, but most certainly not least, my husband. You have supported me and cared for me so tenderly. You are the rest of me. Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for making me Sidney's mommy.

And now... Sidney's Journey.