That tattoo on his chest was done after their first miscarriage, and now his daughter lies her sweet head against it. Both of them a reminder of triumph.

He works 60-70 weeks, travels, and still manages to take great care of our sons. He didn't have a dad growing up so he has no experiences to draw from. He isn't perfect, but he's the perfect Daddy Bear to our Cubs.

I changed my life, left everything I loved and knew and moved across the country to find this man, I'm so thankful now I can see that all the bumpy paths in our lives all played a part in helping us be ready for each other when we found one another. I wouldn't have imagined that 2 years ago I would be here, sharing the most incredible profound love with the man of my heart, welcoming our child, and carefully creating our own family that I had only dreamed of. _ We survived 73 hours of excruciating intense labor that resulted in complications that we had hoped would never happen, he learned my contractions before they came and experienced every painful one with me, he never left my side. We endured the hardest and most challenging thing I've ever experienced in my life, together. And it made us closer and more in love. I'll never forget looking into his eyes when we first heard Wolfe cry and I saw something I can't even put into words happen. His previous sense of self was shed and a father was born, and our hearts were finally fully open to experience what I see now as true love. _ I love this man, I love where we've been together and where we are going. He is the only person who belongs next to me, infinitely. These two are in my veins, heart and soul.

Trusting my body and my baby, I recognized when a fearful thought would arise and chose to change it. Absolutely it was incredibly hard, but I was strong - stronger than maybe some skeptics had believed when they found out I was doing a home birth. And sincerely, people's doubts never offended me. I just felt sad that they didn't realize the full feminine strength that all women posses. I got to experience it in all its fullness yesterday, and my reward was birthing, not only a baby, but also a mom. _ Bonnie started letting me know she wanted to come meet the world at 5:00am on Monday, January 2, and my astounding husband and mother helped me labor until about 12:45pm when I got in our bathtub to push. My little sweet sister joined us then to squeeze my hand and help document the journey. Our midwife, Emily, from Lovers Lane Birth Center, was calming and made me feel strong and safe. The last push was something I'll never forget - a defining moment in my life. She came out into the water at 1:59pm and she was perfect. _ Ben and I got a moment alone with this new little angel and I fell even more in love with my sweet husband. I'm reliving yesterday in my head over and over again. It was amazing, and if you are at all interested in a home or natural birth, I'm thrilled to help provide any insight or resources. _ Our little Birdie is 7.5lbs and 20in long with hair already long enough for pigtails. She pooped on me three times in the first two hours of her life, so we know she's for sure Ben's daughter...

The way she looks at him just tugs at my heart strings! I always wanted a girl first. I needed to see that daddy's girls could be a real thing and not just something I saw on tv. One day I'll tell her the story of how Jacob suffered a stroke two weeks before she was born, and she will know of his fight to get back to 100% just for her!

For the beautiful flowers, for throwing it down in the kitchen, for the yummy bday cake, and for giving me the sweetest little cupcake in the world, our daughter. The best gifts l could ever ask for. I love you.

Dads who protect their hearts. Dads who teach them what they deserve. Dads who make them strong. We need more dads who grab their little girls hands and dance with them.

Today I got to watch my not so little girl see her baby brother or sister squirming around at our ultrasound, she calmly watched the entire thing, so proud, pointing and saying "mummy's baby." Number two is looking great, we have a good flow of blood to the cord, everything crossed things will stay this way for our next scan in 3 weeks. I could burst with pride.