G Power

GIRL Power?

maybe.

Nate recently accused me of liking girls more than boys.
Just because I goo and gah and coo and cuddle and sing and smile constantly at Eliza. At wide-eyed Eliza. At fussy Eliza. At happy Eliza. At sleeping Eliza.
Constantly.
And I admit - I'm head over heels for this little pink bundle.

Of course I loved all my baby boys too. . . but it's different.

When Clayton was born, he spent a month in the NICU. And for the first time, I felt real heartache and worry for a child. My mom, who had originally come to help with the baby, left before Clayton even came home from the hospital. And I barely had any time to figure out how to be a mother in those few brief weeks before I went back to teaching in South Chicago - the year I also started an after-school orchestra program. Life seemed to run faster than Nate and I could keep up with back then.

Isaac was born a month after we moved to Dallas - I had never even been to Texas. My mom was under strict missionary rules in Mexico and could not come help. Nate was working in Washington D.C. for the summer. He flew in for the weekend of Isaac's birth. And promptly flew out again leaving us lonely in a new city. Except for some dear friends who traveled from Houston and Chicago to help for a few days (Thanks Sheralie and Corinne - it would have been impossible without you) I was pretty much ON MY OWN to figure out how to be a stay-at-home-mother-of-two (which was hard on my ego and identity after working) as well as the ins and outs of an unfamiliar city.

When Brigham was born, I was worried mostly about my 3-year-old who wasn't potty-trained or talking. I also had an over-the-top 1-year-old who wasn't potty-trained AND who still insisted on being carried - everywhere. My mom was still in Mexico and Nate flew out of town the day I came home from the hospital. (Thanks to Drew and my Aunt Shelley for all your help that first week!! A million thanks!) Briggy also had some health complications which had me toting all my kids to doctor's appointments, orthopedic and neurological specialists, physical therapists, and the hospital for MRI's, blood testing, and other exams. Almost daily. Three young children proved to be the hardest by far.


And now there's Eliza.
Sweet Eliza. . . warm and breathing. . . asleep in my arms.
Beautiful Eliza.

And maybe it's because she's a girl. Maybe it's because my other kids are much older - confident, independent, and helpful. Maybe it's because life is easier. Maybe it's because I'm wiser. . .
Or just lazier. Maybe.

Or maybe it's because she's a girl. But I don't think so.

I think it's because, for the first time ever, my mom was here - running the show like MacGyver - for two straight weeks after the baby was born. Yeah, I think the real reason actually has nothing to do with GIRL Power.

But everything - everything to do with. . .

GRANDMA Power.

So thank you, Mom. For completely taking over the kids' morning, school, homework, practicing, and bedtime routines. For keeping the house, laundry, dishes, and cleaning in tip-top shape. For preparing better meals than my family has ever seen. For managing all the grocery shopping and to-do lists. For being captain of the entertainment committee. For rescuing us from a flood. For salvaging our laptop after the computer crashed. For nursing me back to health.

And for giving me the greatest of all gifts. . . time.

Time to love, enjoy, and marvel. . .

at every single. . .

tiny, little. . .

detail.

For the first time.

Babies are truly a blessing and a miracle. . .
And so are Grandmas.

Love you, Mom.

.