Alex's Birth Story

Alex's story is probably the most spotty of my memories. Because of Aaron's leaving and teaching, well, the memories aren't all pleasant - and I have tendency to block difficult memories. So here's what I've got. Please feel free to comment, and correct me!
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We moved to Phoenix from Dallas in June of 2004. Aaron had just graduated from UT Dallas, and had gotten into Midwestern University for medical school. We had just signed up for the Army to pay for school. Ben was 2 1/2, and I was teaching at a charter school. We had bought our first house and life was seeming pretty settled.
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Alex was planned and came pretty quickly. I remember helping the drama club set up for the Halloween dance and I fell off the ladder. I called Aaron laughing - I was fine - just nervous. He happened to be at my mom's house at the time, and that's how mom figured it out. I found a great doctor, and things were good.
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Then, it came time for the ultrasound. First time, no dice. I remember walking out of that building SO MAD! Yeah, sure - I had a healthy kid - BUT WHAT KIND OF KID??? Luckily, I was able to get a second ultrasound and we did find out that she was a girl. And my doctor decided that a second c-section was the best option - so I got to pick her birthday. This was important because the Army insisted on Aaron spending 6 weeks in San Antonio that summer. (We didn't know this was a blessing at the time. The course now is much longer!) So I finally got my Alexandra - and she would be out for a whole 10 days before daddy had to leave.
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However, we were stuck on her middle name. Nothing seemed to be right. I liked Amidala - Aaron thought it was too trendy, and ridiculously Star Wars-y. He liked Elizabeth - but I just didn't feel it was right for her. We were lying in bed one Saturday morning and Ben crawled in with us. We flipped on the cartoons and were discussing the middle name issue. Ben said, "I like Aurora - like from Sleeping Beauty." Aaron and I looked at each other and said, "I like Aurora too." And it stuck.
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As the end of the school year grew closer, I directed "Steel Magnolias." The drama club threw me a baby shower - and the kids were really cute. My sisters threw me a shower, but there were just a few ladies from my ward who came - Aaron and I were in nursery and didn't know too many people. Some old friends showed up though, and we ended up with tons of really cute girl stuff.
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I was so careful with my day's off at the school, and saved them all to the end of the year. Aaron was done with school, and I took off the day before I had her. We spent the day together, and bought a new carseat and had lunch. That night, we dropped Ben off at Grandma's house for a sleepover and got everything ready for the hospital.
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We arrived at the hospital on June 2nd, and without much ado - Alex was born! She was 8 pounds, and had the roundest little face! We called our friends and loved ones. Randomly, Auntie Peanut was traveling to California and happened to be there to meet her first niece! Ben came up to the hospital with Grandma, bringing a Build a Bear dressed as Princess Aurora. He was so sweet with his new baby sister.
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We brought Alex home and before we knew it, Aaron had to leave. I cried as he left us for the airport that morning, and was miserable. (Now, I mostly blame that on my recovering hormones.) We spent lots of time at Grandma's house, but it was so hard to be away from Aaron. It was a big surprise when Grandma arranged for him to come home for a weekend.
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We did do some fun things while he was away! We painted Alex's room Tinkerbell green and Heffalump purple. We undressed all of Grandma's Build a Bears and played dress up with Alex - even with the Buzz Lightyear costume. And Alex took her first swim, naked, of course, on July 11th. The pictures are beautiful. Aaron came home at the end of July and we blessed Alex in August. She got to meet Nana and Pawpaw, Auntie Bobbie Jo and Jared. Not long after that, we took both her and Ben to Sea World in California. We were so happy to have our two kids, and to watch them grow!