I joked with her that we would never make it, that we'd be waiting with a baby when she returned from vacation.

And, I was right. We didn't make it to the 25th. I went into labor on the 22nd. I'm not sure why I wasn't panicked; my OB had told me that she didn't want me going into labor under any conditions. We knew that I had retained a huge amount of amnio fluid, that the baby was positioned with her feet up around her ears, and that, because of my past history with Dakotah, there was no way that she would arrive naturally.

I had contractions all day long on Saturday. Pretty regular, but certainly manageable. I guess I thought if I ignored them, we could just wait for my doctor to come back. But, by around 1 a.m., I knew that was impossible.

So, we dropped Dakotah off at her grandparents, and away we went. The contractions started coming one on top of another. We had to find a gas station that was open. The hospital was 60 miles away. We still hadn't chosen a name for our baby daughter.

When we got to the hospital, the nurse told us that the doctor on duty had just gone to bed, and he may want to wait til morning to do the c-section. Once they put the monitor on my belly, it was clear that it was not going to happen.

The doctor and anesthesiologist were called. The OB was a man we still refer to as "The Turtle." If you have ever seen the episode of Night Court where the man talks, really, really slow, and holds his head like a turtle, then you know what this doctor was like.

He was the most unreactionary, slow-moving, slow-talking person I had ever met.

He said, "Well, I guess we're going to have a baby tonight, how would you like to do this?"

It was pretty evident if someone didn't decide, Paige was going to. We were whisked into the Operating Room while Wayne put on scrubs.

When they made the incision for Paige to be born, I literally spouted. There was amniotic fluid everywhere, all over the doctors, the floor, everywhere. And they had a terrible time getting her out.

When she decided to pop her tiny head out, she wailed so loudly. It was such a beautiful noise. She was alive, and doing well. There was a huge full moon outside. It was like the Heavens were singing to us.

Paige weighed 6 lbs, 7 oz. the same exact weight has her big sister did when she was born.

Wayne went to the table where they were cleaning her off, to see her. They were showing him something, but I could tell they were trying not to tell me. When he came back to talk to me, I asked him, and I found out Paige was born with an extra thumb on her right hand.

They seemed to want me not to see it, tucked her tiny hand inside a blanket before they brought her to me.

It seemed so very trivial, and certainly, an extra digit was much better than a missing one. It was removed by simple day surgery.

Wayne and Paige stayed in the room while I was being stitched, then he brought her to me so I could get to know her. She looked so much like Dakotah. The only thing that showed us she had Down Syndrome at all was her beautiful almond shaped eyes.

Dakotah was so thrilled that she had a little sister. She told everyone it was a girl, long before we could ever tell.

Now, Paige is a toddler my tiny baby is growing up so very fast. She has the greatest personality, and does the funniest things. We can count on certain things from her every day. We call her the "One Sock Kid" because as soon as she is dressed, she promptly removes her right sock. Every day, without fail. Never touches the left one. And if we don't put socks on her at all, she is lost, will try to tell us she needs her socks.

She is very animated, and brings everyone into her world. When she eats, she holds a wash cloth in her hands and very daintily dabs at her face. She loves the running water in the bathtub, will splash in the stream forever.

She puts her arms around us, and rests her head on our shoulder, she says, "awww," and pats our back for us.

She has a terrible habit of grinding her teeth. I don't even notice it anymore. Her father tells her she is going to grow up to be a female wrestler who's name is 'The Grinder'and her gimic will be tying up her opponent with her spare sock.

She has a ton of sounds, her latest one sounding something like, "Damn it, damn it, damn it."

Paige loves music, and comes to life when its playing. She loves Cookie Monster, and does a fantastic impression of him.

And she is Teletubbies crazy. She can recognize the show on the first note of music when it comes on. She sits transfixed, laughing, clapping her hands, totally glued to the television. And if you walk in front of her, she will move her head around your body without blinking.

Paige has such a bright wonderful future ahead of her. I can't wait to see what she grows into as she becomes a woman. She may become a manicurist, she loves looking at her hands.

I know no matter what it is, she will do great things in her life. She will make the world view people with Down Syndrome differently. She brings so many important lessons to us every day. I think the most important lesson we have learned is that she is 'just Paige'more importantly than anything---her own personality, her own likes and dislikes. She's an individual, and Down Syndrome is a very tiny part of her.

July, 1999--Paige is standing!! Suddenly from one day to the next, she conquered weight bearing on her legs. It was a dramatic overnight difference. She looks totally adorable being 'vertical.'She also stopped grinding her teeth, thankfully. Her newest love is getting totally, completely naked. She's graduated from just one sock! She loves to take everything off, shirt, shorts, socks, shoes, and yes, even her diaper. I find unidentified puddles all over the place, and then find a little naked girl at the end of the trail. Hopefully, she'll outgrow this phase too, lol.