Sugar: Happy Birthday, Ashley!

It seems like yesterday I was heading down to Oregon for the birth of my girlfriends daughter. If I remember correctly (which isn't very often and then it is sketchy at best), I got the call on a monday for a scheduled c-section on tuesday. I grabbed my then 17 year old sister (childbirth is an excused absence!?!), my Alanis Morissette CD (don't judge), rolled the windows down (manually) and headed for Aumsville, OR. Shai and I had the best road trip...laughing and singing at the top of our lungs the whole way.

It was surreal, my girlfriend and her husband were having a baby. She didn't seem old enough. She was, but she was the first of my friends to start a family so for me it was a little crazy. I had watched her belly grow, boy did it grow, for the last nine months . And the moment was finally here...

Ashley Darlene Balck

April 30, 1996

9 pounds, 11 ounces 21 1/2 inches long
(Did I mention her mom is only 5' 2"!?!)

She was perfect in every way. Fresh from the heavens.

A bit of dark hair, ten little fingers, ten tiny little toes and she looked just like her daddy. I was one of the first people to hold her. Even before her mom - she was still in recovery. I cried the second they laid her in my arms. One of my best friends became a mom and I couldn't have been happier.

Welcome to the World, Little One.