Finding Joy in the Journey: My sweet baby girl

Ok, so my sweet baby girl is not so much a baby anymore. But I still call her my baby, which I think is something most mothers do for quite some time.

(Which means I'm normal. At least on this count.)

Two weeks ago she turned two, and I am finally getting around to posting my official "I can't believe my baby turned two" post.

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Kaitlyn, when I was pregnant with you, I, like any mother-to-be, had visions of what my labor and delivery would be like. (And, by the way, those visions are usually NOT the way things go.)

One of the things I envisioned was the moment they would put my sweet baby girl in my arms, and I would kiss your head full of dark brown hair. Imagine my surprise when they showed me my towheaded baby!

I was shocked. If I hadn't been the only pregnant woman laying on the operating table in the room (you arrived via C-section), I seriously would have doubted that you were mine.

Where, in heaven's name, did that bleach blond hair come from??

I have since learned that both of your grandpas had blond hair when they were little, which explains where the recessive gene came from. The one thing I know is that it sure showed up on your little head with a vengeance!

While we were in the hospital you were the talk of the maternity ward. All the nurses would come in and say, "Oh, is this the blond baby we've heard so much about?" There were nurses who would stop in, even though we weren't assigned to them, just to see you and your hair.

The thing that made your hair remarkable is that you had so much of it. It was actually long.

When Daddy first called your Grandma in California to tell her about you, he said, "She has long blond hair." And Grandma said, "Oh, she does not! Babies don't have long hair."

When she finally saw a picture of you, she said, "Oh my goodness! She does have long hair!"

Your Dad and I were clueless and freaked out when we brought you home. We knew that we would be good parents - it's just that we weren't quite used to our new job description yet.

On our first night at home you would not stop crying. We didn't know what to do. Did your tummy hurt? Were you uncomfortable? Were you hungry? Were we doing something wrong? Did we need to call the doctor?

We made a frantic call to Aunt Monica.

"What do we do??????"

(Poor Aunt Monica.)

We eventually learned that you liked to cry. You didn't cry all the time, but you made your fair share of noise.

You also liked to be held in one particular way - you wanted to be on your stomach, but propped up so you could see what was going on. This was highly inconvenient. (But, just so you know, most of parenting is.)

You were always a social little person, and you still are. You enjoy people and want to be a part of whatever is going on. You are very aware of your surroundings.

The other week when I picked you up from Meagan's house, and as we got to the car I could faintly hear Meagan's phone start to ring. You looked at me and said, "Meagan's phone - ring." How did you notice that? How do you pick up on these things?

You also quickly pick up on songs and things on TV. When you started to sing along with the "Friends" theme song, I knew it was time to officially enforce a ban on any show that had questionable themes or language. (At least while you are awake.)

Your favorite TV show has always been Curious George. You love the episode where George has to take care of the animals on a farm, and you giggle like crazy at the end when he is driving around on the tractor, causing chaos.

It reminds me SO MUCH of how I used to laugh while watching "The Little Rascals". Someday I'll have to introduce you to Spanky, Alfalfa, and the rest of the gang and we can laugh our heads off together.

You take after me in a lot of other ways, too, and I underestimated how freaky that would be. For example, you are highly independent, but are easily frustrated when it can't be done the way you want it done, when you want it done.

I wonder if you will also be competitive.

(This, you would get from your Dad.)

(And maybe just a *teensy* bit from me.)

(Ok, maybe a little more than that.)

I'm a little biased, but I do think you are a smart little girl. You like to figure things out. I can already see that you are a good problem solver.

And you love books. Just last weekend I read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" several times in a row, and then you turned around and "read" it to me. Of course you didn't read the words, but you retold the story and I was surprised at how many of the concepts and phrases you got right.

You have quite a sense of humor, little girl. You enjoy laughing - you laugh at TV shows, like I mentioned above, but you also love to be silly and to laugh at or with other people.

I'll never forget the first time you had a true belly laugh - it was when you were four months old, and we were at your great-grandpa's house for Christmas. You thought your cousin, Ethan, was hilarious. You had us all in stitches with your contagious laughter.

I don't quite know how to end this because I could go on and on about you. Since you were born you have been a constant source of joy for your Daddy and me, even in the midst of the frustrations. We are so happy that God has entrusted you to us, and we can't wait to see the plans He has for your life.

One thing I suspect is that God has created a passion in your little heart for prayer. You've always been very tuned in to prayer, and you love to pray. You once prayed for Daddy's hip when it was out of place, and the next morning he was 100% better.

One morning, while we were driving to Meagan's, you insisted that we pray for Aunt Monica and your two cousins. I later remembered that it was their first day of school, and found out from Aunt Monica that one of them had had a rough morning and had certainly needed some prayer.

Yes, I think God has given you a gift of prayer.

My prayer for you is that you will never lose your faith in the power of prayer, and that you will always have a tender heart that knows you can talk to your Heavenly Father about anything, at any time. I pray that your Daddy and I will have wisdom in raising you, and that we will be godly examples for you.