Oh How Time Flies

A year ago today my beautiful, blue-eyed, pixie was born. She was a surprise in more ways then one. She arrived 5 weeks early, so instead of a November girl we got an October princess. We also didn't think we would have anymore babies after Luke was born....but you know what they say, 'People make their plans,,and God laughs!' Delaney was born to a mommy who loves the idea of mother-daughter shopping days, to a daddy whom she had wrapped around her tiny little finger since she came into this world, and 3 adoring older brothers who always want to hold her and introduce her to anyone they meet as "this is my baby sister, see how pretty she is!" People always tell me that they feel sorry for this little girl who has 3 older brothers. "She'll never get a chance to date!" they say. Well, I don't see it that way. The way I look at it is she has 3 excellent 'filters' for boys. Her brothers will 'weed out' the boys for her, she may not have to go through as much heartbreak as a young woman!
It's amazing to look back at how much a year has changed her. I pulled out one of her preemie outfits today and couldn't believe that just 365 days ago she was TOO SMALL for it! Even her preemie diapers were too small! Some part of me wishes she would stay a baby forever. I want her to be a tiny baby again so I can just hold her. I wished that about all my children though, and now I look at them and am so proud of how my boys are growing up. They are going to be great men someday, wonderful fathers and husbands. They have an excellent role model to thank for that though! I just hope that I can be as good a role model for Delaney as Derek is for the boys. Mommies, hold your babies as much as possible when they're tiny, they will grow up and would rather crawl and run and play then nestle their sweet heads on your neck. You may think me strange but I find that the smell of a newborn's head is intoxicating. I could sit for hours and hold them close breathing in their own unique scent. It almost makes me sad to think I will never have anymore.....almost!
Delaney is crawling now and pulling up. I don't look for her to walk for a few more months, seeing as how she didn't start to crawl until about a month ago. She has been behind on her gross motor development, but her pedi said that is to be expected because of her being early. She has until the age of 2 to catch up before they'll start to be concerned. OOOOh but she is smart! I know every mother is reduced to idiocy when describing her offspring but that girl is intelligent! She knows which of the boys she can "bully", she knows what decibel to scream at for different things! And she knows exactly what smile to put on to charm her daddy with! Actually if you feel sorry for anyone then feel sorry for the boys she wants to date! If I were a teenage boy and walked up to a girl's house where there was a father and 3 older brothers waiting to meet me, I'd be shakin' in my boots!
Before I close I must tell you what happened yesterday. As usual I wake up before the sun does, get 3 boys fed and dressed, wake up miss priss and feed and dress her. Usually by now I have approx 30 seconds to get myself dressed and out the door, that is if I packed 4 lunches and 4 backpacks the night before! I drop Daniel off at school at 7:50, of course we were running behind so it was more like 7:58. Next I drive to Haslet to pick up a friend's daughter who goes to the same preschool as Jake. I look at my gauge and realize I need gas.......now. I get the gas, and power steering fluid b/c my car is female and likes to be temperamental. Add on a traffic jam b/c someone decided to let their load of 2x4's drop in the middle of the road and I am picking up Emily at 845, I should have been there at 820. Get to preschool a bit late but not too bad and realize i forgot jake's folder, ahhh! Ok so I get to the church in good time, drop off Delaney and Luke at the appropriate classrooms. Get back in the car and drive 5 mins down the road to my ladies lifegroup. I'm there maybe 45 mins when i get a call from the church saying Luke has a green runny nose and I needed to pick him up. Go to pick up the 2 little ones and decide that while I just have 2 with me I should go vote. Great idea Amy, only the kids didnt think it was. When I got Delaney out of the car she decided to puke up her entire 8oz bottle on my navy blue shirt! Still I wasn't going to be deterred, I'm a mom, I roll with the punches right? Haul the 100lb double stroller out of the car, put the kids in, bribe them with cookies while I take no more then 5 mins to vote right? Wrong. Seems like everyone and their dog had the same idea I did, only they were smarter and got a sitter. Luke decided that no amount of cookies was going to keep him from being loud and Laney thought her brother had the right idea and she started screaming at an octive that would make glass break. By this time I was getting wonderful looks from some people, you know the ones, the ones who have never been in the same situation. I can hear their thoughts, "why didn't this lady who smells like a sour cow get a babysitter!?" So we get in to vote and the only booth open is one by the flag pole. I bet you can see what happened next. Luke decided to see what would happen if he tugged on the pretty red, white, and blue flag. Well I'll tell you what happened, I barely saved the child from being knocked unconscious by a gold plated 10 ft flagpole is what happened. But he didn't appreciate being saved for some reason b/c he started that 2 yr old, gimme what i want now or I'll embarrass you in front of all these people scream. Oh and the sudden movement scared Laney and she started crying too. Seems like fate didn't want me to vote this year. But nevertheless I persevered. I have no idea who I voted for (except president of course!), but I voted! I think next time I'll claim some sort of disability and vote through the mail.
Amy
'Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart' Psalm 37:4