She is the spitting image of her Daddy. And her Aunt Carly.
Blonde hair, ice blue eyes, the cutest little nose.
She’s already got hips & a little bubble butt that in 15 years she’ll sigh over.
A light brown ink spill of a birthmark on her left thigh, almost identical to the one Chase has.
She’s stubborn & strong willed like her daddy, preferring to be the steam roller rather than the one run over.
Not a shy bone in her body, she makes friends with everyone she sees. The one running into a group of kids, asking them to play, to be her friend.
So many times I’ve looked at this adorable little mess & wondered if I really had anything to do with her, other than carrying her for 38 long weeks.
Little by little, though, small glimpses of myself are starting to show through. Her big, full, too large for her tiny body laugh. The way she arches her back & throws her hands over her mouth when she thinks something is just too funny for words.
The way she runs to anyone who needs comforting. Offering hugs & kisses, telling them it will all be OK. Her desire, no-her need, to mother those around her: baby dolls, teddy bears & little brother. Her well timed kisses & breath taking hugs that she seems to know you need before you do.
She has her daddy’s brains. Lord, does she ever. But she has my hesitations. The unfortunate trait of giving up after one try. The feeble cries of “I can’t do it. I don’t know how.”
She has my hands. Fingers long & slender, palms narrow & lined. Hands that love to hold, to caress, to mold & create. Hands that always want to be busy-patting, rubbing, picking, tapping.
She has my neuroses, ones that I’ve tried so hard to hide. The seams on her sleeves must be perfectly straight, lined up just so, the arms of her shirts bunched up just perfectly underneath her armpits, but not too much because they have to hit just perfectly at the ends of her wrists. Socks must be taken off & put on repeatedly until the seams lay across her toes perfectly flat. Shoes are always bought a half-size too big because her toes must wiggle. Tied not too loose but not too tight. Already she battles Chase when it’s his turn to dress her, insisting that the shoes don’t match the clothes.
Pony tails & braids as tight as they can be, hair tucked away from her eyes. A dry towel always on hand during bath time so that the smallest trickle of water can be wiped immediately from her face.
Her milk must be ice cold, the food on her plate can’t touch, my favorite foods are hers. Without ever having said a word, she knows which foods I don’t like & never waivers on her refusal to eat them.
For every time I’ve been mistaken for the baby sitter, I wish that person could spend 5 minutes with this beautiful little mess & see these tiny pieces of me shine through. The small things that prove she is my daughter.
Oh, oh, oh. I loved this. So good, Cara.
This was so wonderful. You two are beautiful!
That was very nice!! 🙂 You are such a good writer!
Oh, Cara…this was so beautiful! CBear is lucky to call you her Mama!
What a great way to describe your beautiful daughter!
You are wise to be journeying these special thoughts & moments, because they do fly by! Thank you for sharing, you have blessed my heart today!!!! God Bless
You’re gross. No making me feel mushy this early in the morning.
Beautiful Cara. She is too, like her mama. I see you in her too. And I so relate to what you said about seeing her daddy and yourself in her. Sometimes I think Micaela is like me because she looks like me. But she’s not. She has her own spirit and I struggle to remember that when she tests me again and again. These girls of ours will go far in life, that I know. They have Mommies who love them to bits. : )
Thank you for that post. It truely lifted my heart today. : )x
That’s a great shot of the two of you! And I can see a resemblance. I feel the same way about my kids because they look so much like Jamie but they sure do have my strong will and stubbornness.
Great post.
That was so beautifully written! You are so lucky to be a happy mommy of a beautiful gift. She is like her mommy, “the awesomeness” ;). Hope you all are doing great!
Fantastic picture!!!!
love love love this post!!!
Oh Cara. This made me cry. What a wonderful little girl you have. And what a wonderful mommy she has in you.
Love you bunches.
Very sweet, Cara. Lovely post!
How beautifully shared and so precious. I wish blogs were around when my kids were little, so I could look back on these kinds of things I noticed and remember them. But alas, I can’t remember as much as I would like to.
She’s all yours, honey, heart and soul.
Oh mama! That was so sweet. I so know what you mean when you pick apart their movements and preferences how amazing it is to see the melding of the 2 parents. Such a beautiful post. ❤ you.
This is beautiful, Cara!! You have to print this off to give to her when she’s older. She will love it 🙂
So I just figured out that you have a new blog… took me long enough! Looking forward to reading more of your stuff!!
BTW does the Wii Fit lady really yell at you?! I got one for Christmas, thinking it would be great to shed off the pregnancy weight, but obviously haven’t touched it yet since I”m so close to my due date. Having a computer scream at me will definitely not motivate me to get in shape!
This is lovely! And your daughter is just a beauty!!
I usually see my ex-husband shining through in my teenage son with all the negative traits–like the negative attitude, the way he raises his voice so quickly when it’s absolutely not necessary, the way he doesn’t always think of others when I would never consider doing otherwise…..
Though he does have some wonderful musical qualities that are most def not from my family.
But then sometimes he does things and I think-that could have been me doing that. Or says things exactly the way I would have said them. Or the way he gestures. And the way he smiles so easily. Or his beautiful laugh. And his determination. ANd his stubborness—those are mine mine mine.
I adore every bit of him!!! 🙂
What a beautiful post.
What a lovely post. She is beautiful!