Friday, February 29, 2008

Things I would like to put on Claire's to-do list

1) Grow hair past awkward length
2) Develop a healthy fear of/respect for cat
3) Learn to ignore the temptation that is the dog
4) Figure out how to hold still for 20 seconds so I can have diaper changed
5) Understand gravity and how it relates to me, the stairs, and falling off of the bed.

Claire is going to be ONE in two weeks. Can you believe it? Gosh, when I think about how terrified we were last year at this time... I still have the scars on my feet from scratching them raw. I kept chanting to myself, "We were terrified when I was pregnant with Mary Grace, and on bed rest, and everything turned out fine, and this will too..." over and over. But wow, was I relieved when she proved me right.

It's funny, sometimes, how you don't realize how badly you want a baby until the pregnancy is threatened. I was really scared about being the mother of two kids under two. I wasn't sure I could handle it. But when it came down to it, when we thought we might lose her, I realized that she was already a part of our family from the beginning, and suddenly I couldn't imagine life without her. And now that she's talking, saying, "kitty kitty cat," and chasing Kona all over the house, climbing up the stairs in 5 seconds flat, signing and eating big girl food and getting to the point where she's more a little kid than a baby, I can't remember what I was ever so afraid of. Having two kids is infinitely more fun than having one. I love watching the two girls together. I love knowing that they'll have each other, to be best friends with as they grow.

2 comments:

Brandon Stenger said...

Best friends? Possibly. Allied against you? Definitely.

Anonymous said...

My daughter Christine has a link to your page from her Mama Musings, and how sweet of you to take me back to those days of little ones. Just last week my middle daughter called and said of her older sister, "Thanks for having Suzanne." Somehow I never thought I would hear that due to some sibling rivalry way back when...Suzanne is going to be 45, Celina is 42.