A Girl Changes Everything

My first child is a boy. He is all boy, always has been. Legos, army men, light sabors, video games. He is not particularly sporty, which is fine with me, as that will hopefully result in fewer broken bones. He is artistic and LOVES to draw, writing and illustrating his own comic books. He is fun, imaginative, and easily distracted...I adore him. He'll be 11 this summer...sigh.

My second child is also a boy. He is a little sportier than his big bro, loves cars, helping his Daddy, and copying everything his older brother does. His birth story is pretty special, but that's a story for another time. He has the best laugh ever, and I couldn't imagine life without him.

I was perfectly comfortable with my boy-mom status. When we found out we were pregnant for the third time, I lived in a state of shock for about three months. S was in 2nd grade, and L had turned a year old a mere month or so prior to this discovery. Yikes! I had never wanted three of anything...THREE kids? How was I going to do that???

Of course, I got over all that mess....I started to think I could handle it..especially if it turned out to be another boy. I was never particularly girly growing up. I have an older brother, and I was perfectly content with running, jumping, climbing trees, playing with Hot Wheels, toy guns, legos, all of it. I had slid into the role of boy mom with ease.

UNTIL...

We went to our sonogram at 16 weeks with eagerness. I always enjoyed getting to see my babies, to know that they were healthy and safe. I fully expected to see a little somethin-somethin on the screen...but there was no somethin- somethin. A GIRL. What?? A girl? For me? What the heck was I going to do with a girl??? I already have all the boy stuff! I'm a BOY MOM, for crying out loud???

As you can see, I was quite unsure. My husband was ECSTATIC! We had already made the choice NOT to tell anyone what we were having..not even our parents. That was hilarious. Everyone kept trying to trick me into telling them. A few people were successful, I admit, but for the most part, nobody knew until the weekend before Z was born...10 days late.

She is amazing. She is all girl, always has been. She just turned 3 two weeks ago, and she gets more girly by the second. I did not cultivate that, it's just in her. I adore her, she fills my heart. She has also brought out the girly-ness in me that I didn't even know was there. I now like pink...I even wear it from time to time. Thanks to my little Z, I now have a small business making beautiful bows and clothing for children. She is my inspiration for so many of my projects. Thank you, Little Z, for helping me discover my inner girl.