i remember six months ago, about an hour before you arrived, the midwife looked out the hospital window and exclaimed out loud, "look! a rainbow!" i peered out the window and saw a curving column of colors stretching from one side of san francisco to another. all of us, even your mommy, stopped our labors for a moment to see the rainbow. and then the midwife exclaimed again, "now let's have this baby!"

do you remember, siena, your first three months? do you remember all the sights and sounds of your new home? do you remember your colic? your inconsolable crying? your all-night bouts of fussiness? we do. what bravery you showed those first few months.

did you know, siena, that you weren't the only brave one? do you remember that while you were bravely fighting colic, your mommy was bravely fighting postpartum depression? we do. and do you remember, siena, how family and friends rallied around us like a village? we do.

do you remember, siena, about two months ago when auntie jewlee, mommy's sister, moved from colorado to california to be your nanny? we do.

do you know, siena, how often your mommy and daddy talked about you before you even arrived? do you know how much we talk about your future? but most of all, do you know, siena, how happy and proud we are of you in the present, this day and all days? we do.

happy birthday siena, you're a half year young!