So in love.

Never in a million years did I expect another human being to love me the way he loved me.

He was perfect.

They both were, actually.

Harry and his son. Our son. Harry couldn't tear his gaze away from our new baby boy.

I'm sure I sat there for hours and just marveled at the sweetness of their father-son bonding.

Daniel Harold was our honeymoon baby.

For the birth of my first two girls, I was the only active participant while my husband sat in the waiting room. And of course, with the birth of my third, he didn't even show up, although my mother was there for me with all three.

Harry, however, was so involved in Daniel's birth that it was almost comical. He breathed through all of the contractions with me, he massaged my back and my feet when I needed to relax, and when I pushed, he let me squeeze his hand so hard that it turned purple.

And now we had a son. When we first found out I was pregnant, I began thinking about Harry as a brand new daddy and the thought thrilled me. I realized that Harry would still be young and energetic when the kids were all teenagers, when we would definitely need all the stamina we could get.

After the doctor had placed Daniel on my chest and the nurses cleaned him up, I had let him suckle a little bit. But Harry became so impatient to hold his son that I happily handed him over.

I knew Harry loved the girls like his own, but I'm sure there was something profound about watching the birth of his own son. The look on his face told me that he loved our baby as dearly as I had loved all my babies.

Harry now watched in awe as Daniel took his tiny little breaths. He marveled over his perfect miniature fingers and toes and his little bitty nose. His intense admiration of our baby boy was interrupted by one of the nurses, telling us that there was a room ready for us.

Not long after we were transferred to a room, my mom and dad came in, herding all the girls with them. They were beside themselves with joy at the sight of their baby brother.

Three-year-old Rachael held back a little. I thought she might be jealous at first. She sat at the very foot of the bed and scowled a bit while Aurora and Grace pet Daniel's hands and cooed in his face. But as soon as they backed up, Rachael moved in and said, "my baby," putting her arms as best she could around Daniel. Again, she said, "my baby, Mommy."

I laughed and said, "Yes, he's your baby brother." Rachael had a mind of her own, for sure, and I wondered if possessiveness would be an issue for her rather than jealousy.

My parents didn't stay long since the girls soon became restless. But Charlie and Courtney came a while later. Charlie was almost as excited to meet Daniel as Harry was. Almost.

I handed the swaddled little bundle to Charlie, and he received Daniel in his arms as if he were a precious gem.

"Hi little guy," he cooed. "It's Uncle Charlie. I'm gonna be your best friend, buddy. I'll take you to ball games and to Chuck E. Cheese."

Courtney was leaning over Charlie's shoulder, staring in awe at our new baby.

"Oh," Charlie whispered. "I almost forgot to tell you, this is Courtney. She's going to be your auntie."

Harry and I shot each other a look and then said, "What?!" in unison.

"Yeah," Charlie kept talking to Daniel. "I asked Courtney to marry me and she said yes. How does that sound?"

Charlie gently handed the baby to Courtney while Harry pulled his big brother into a tight man-hug, saying, "Congratulations, Charlie! I'm so happy for you."

Then he turned to Courtney and hugged her as well and said, "Welcome to the family."

My heart swelled as I took in the scene playing out in our little hospital room. Our family was growing exponentially and my love for them was growing as well. Ryan and Jessica had just celebrated their first anniversary in August. Maggie's little girl, Ava, turned one in August as well, and shortly thereafter, she and her husband announced that Ava would be a big sister some time in the spring. My parents were thriving on grand-parenting. And now Courtney would be joining our family circle. Harry and Charlie had grown much closer since Harold's death, and Charlie became like another brother to me.

I felt so rich at that moment. If I had won the lottery, the feeling wouldn't even come close to the joy in my heart at seeing how much love surrounded myself and my growing family.

After we had gotten engaged, Harry had decided not to fly to LA to meet with Urbane Records. He kept in touch with Philip Weatherfield over the past year, and Philip had some inexplicable soft spot for Harry so he didn't immediately write Harry off as a waste of time. Harry really wanted to finish school and he told me, "I want to give you and our children the best part of my life."

Well, he certainly had his work cut out for him. We now had four children ages seven and under, with Aurora and Grace starting second and first grade, he was still finishing college, and I had stopped working early in my pregnancy with Daniel because I was so overwhelmingly sick in the first trimester. I was happy to put my career on hold and thrilled for the opportunity to be an at-home mom for my children's most formative years.

I had no doubt that Harry would rise to the occasion and cover it all. He had already proven to me that he loved me more than I ever thought possible.

~~~~~~

End of Part 1 - thank you all SO MUCH for taking the time to read!

Read on for Part 2 :D