Seventeen

Coralyn is 17 months old today! How did that happen? :)

Last Thursday I was talking with two good friends (Jeanne Hewitt and Amy Sellars) about our kiddos. Amy has a little girl who is 18 months old and a son who is 3 months. Her daughter looked very, very much like her daddy when she was born, but is starting to look a little more like Amy now. Her son also resembles his daddy, but I personally think he looks more like his mom at this stage than his sister did. It's funny how kiddos seem to take after their "opposite" parent. Coralyn certainly has her daddy's face. Several times when I have been in the store with Coralyn (Lawrence not with us), people who I don't know (but who know Lawrence) come up to us and say, "Oh yeah, that's Lawrence's little girl." Yes, she has my hair, but everything else is Lawrence.

Jeanne's son and daughter are all grown up, so I don't know who they resembled as babies, but that wasn't really the point of our conversation anyway...

Amy was saying how even though we had no idea what our children would look like, now that they are here, we take for granted how they look. Of course they look like that, that's how they're supposed to look. That's who they are! How else would they look? If they were different, they wouldn't be them. I got to thinking about how God carefully designed each and every one of us, intricately weaving us together so that we are just the people He wants us to be. We look exactly as He planned. He sees us and thinks, of course that is how they look. That's who we are, because of Him!

I added that I feel like I have also known Coralyn my whole life. Life before her kind of seems to float back in my memory. I know that I had a life before her, and remember those times, but now that she is in our lives, I don't know what we would do without her. Now that she is such a huge part of our lives, our lives would be incomplete without her.

Jeanne brought another dimension to the conversation when she mentioned the first time she cuddled with her daughter. At that moment, when she snuggled with her baby girl, she realized that she was holding the person who would be her best friend for life. How awesome is that? I know that Jeanne and her daughter are extremely close. I pray that as Coralyn grows up, we will be friends. I know that I will have to discipline her and that she won't always like me. I probably won't be the very first person she comes to with every single thing, but I sure hope she does come to me and shares her secrets with me and asks me for advice. Ever since I found out we were having a girl, I have prayed for a close relationship with my daughter. I look forward to spending time with her no matter what we are doing: playing with her in the backyard, taking her to sports games, having coffee with her (when she's older), helping her study, traveling and taking lots of pictures with her, and much more. I pray that as we spend time together, we will share a deep love. I pray we are friends, best friends even. And if I can be as cool of a mom as Jeanne that would be pretty cool too! :)

With all that said, my baby girl is growing up, FAST! I like that she is growing up and able to do more things for herself. Though some of her accomplishments, like turning over an empty laundry basket, scooting it over to our bed, and using it as a stair to climb up on the bed all by herself, do scare me. I have to be more alert than ever! Part of me wants to keep Coralyn little forever, but then I wouldn't get to take her to kindergarten, or watch her perform in a school play, or cheer her on in Biddy Ball, or help her fill out college applications, or celebrate with her when she gets an engagement ring, or go wedding dress shopping with her. I look forward to every single moment I have with my "little" girl. Every day moments like watching her use a spoon to eat her breakfast or having her sit in my lap to read a book or hearing her laugh on the swing. It's these "regular, normal" things that build a strong relationship with my daughter. I am so thankful that we have already shared so many memories, and I pray that we get to make many, many, many more together.

I know it's only been 17 months since Coralyn entered my world (well really 26 months if you count the time she was inside me), but she has turned my life upside down in that short time. I love her so very much and am blessed beyond measure to be her mama.