"Mommy! Daddy! Wake up, it's my birthday!" a sweet little voice says and jumps onto our bed. She causes the dogs to wake up and between the two of them and her they are successful in making us get up.
Mike rolls over and wraps our daughter into a giant hug. The kind that shows her how much he loves her.
"Happy birthday, sweet girl! How old are you today? Like thirty?" he says and kisses her on the forehead. She giggles at his teasing as I reach over and pull her into my arms.
"I'm five!" she tells him as she falls into my lap. Her long blonde hair is a mess and her clothes are turned inside out. A classic child look I love seeing every morning.
I run my hands through her hair. "Happy birthday, Nina Taylor. Are you ready to celebrate today?" I ask her and she just smiles. She has the biggest smile and she's always happy. I am overwhelmed by my love for her and I have been since I found out I was having her.
"Alright Taylor lets go get you ready for the day," Mike says as he picks her up out of the bed. "And good morning to you, Katrina. It's going to be a great day," he says and kisses me softly.
"Good morning," I tell him. And with that the baby monitor is filled with the sound of crying.
"Sounds like Bennett is awake," Taylor says and squirms out of Mike's arms.
"I got him, babe," Mike says but I grab his arm before he can away.
"No, you got Tay. I'll get him," I say. "He's hungry anyways and that's something I have to do, you know?" I say with a smile. His eyebrows raise in realization.
"Oh yeah," he says and laughs, "You take care of that."
An hour passes, I've got Bennett, our three-month-old son, ready and Mike and Taylor are ready too. We are having a party today for Taylor's birthday. A lot has changed since she was born five years ago. We've made a lot of new friends at the firm and gotten close to some of Taylor's friends' parents too. Mike and I are both senior partners at the firm and on track for name partner someday, hopefully soon.
There's a knock at the door. It must be my family coming in from Pennsylvania. Mom and dad have been here a lot since we had Taylor and Bennett. They just love them to pieces.
With Bennett in my arms, I get up to open it. To my surprise, it's Samantha Wheeler standing on the doorstep.
"Samantha hey," I say to her, no doubt with a surprised look on my face. She's quickly become one of my best friends since she joined the firm, but I wasn't expecting her so early.
"Hey Katrina. Sorry I'm so early. I just- I don't know. I just wanted to be with people. I'm sorry. I'll come back," she says struggling with every word. I can tell something is up with her.
"No, no, stay. Come in. We are just getting everything ready for later. Taylor will be excited to see you," I tell her and gesture inside. "But before we go in, are you okay?" I ask her sincerely. Bennett starts to stir in my arms, and I rock him back to a calm state.
"We can talk about it later," she says, and I feel someone run past me. It's Taylor. She's grabbing onto Samantha's legs before she can even react. Samantha just smiles and bends over to lift her up. Once she's settled on her hips, she looks into her eyes and tells her how happy she is to see her. It's a sweet moment. A contrast to Samantha's usual strong demeanor, but I always knew deep down she was a softie.
We go back inside and finish decorating for the party. My parents eventually show up and later my siblings arrive too.
"Everyone will be here in- um Mommy when will everyone be here?" Taylor grabs my hand and asks me.
"About an hour, sweetheart," I tell her, and she smiles so wide it must hurt.
"Yes! One hour!" she shouts and runs around the room hugging everyone. Mike comes up behind me and hugs me.
"Damn, I love her," he whispers in my ear. My love for Mike has grown even more since we had children. I didn't know I could love him any more but seeing him interact with them just makes me melt.
"I do too. So much," I say back. He kisses my head and moves to transfer Bennett from my mother's arms to Samantha's. Everyone wants to hold him today. It's the first time most of our friends and family have seen him for an extended amount of time. Things are just going so well for us right now. We can't wait to see what's next.
