In honor of Ollie's three 21st chromosomes I thought I'd make a list of the 21 things that make her perfectly special to us:
1. Her smile
2. The way her eyes light up around her siblings
3. The way she makes even strangers come take a second look at her magical smile
4. The way she grabs my face & tries so hard to kiss me
5. How she sings when I stop singing to her
6. How she bosses her daddy every night when they cuddle
7. How her hands and feet are still so tiny
8. Her eyelashes - they are pretty fantastic framing her spectacular eyes
9. She nurses - exclusively - she gave the finger to the bottle - they said she wouldn't/couldn't nurse & guess what she can and does
10. How she finally has chub rolls & rubber band wrists
11. Her heartbeat - music to my ears
12. How hard she works during therapy & all week long learning new skills
13. Her chubby cheeks - perfect for kissing
14. She's tiny - when everyone meets her they are shocked at how small she is - she's 8 months old and still rocking the 0-3s & newborn socks - I get to hang onto my "baby" size longer than I expected
15. She pats me when she nurses
16. How she's always, always happy to see her mommy
17. The way she tinkers with her toys, we call her the tiny mechanic because she's always banging things around when she plays
18. How she tries to hug me
19. The way she gets visibly and audibly excited about anything - it's fantastic
20. If you blow in her face - she's instantly thrilled
21. How she sleeps in my arms
When I was pregnant, I always worried that I might be disappointed with this new life, that I may always grieve the dream I once had for a typical baby girl. It's so silly now because I am far from disappointed & if God gave me the option to switch out her 47 chromosomes for 46 - I'd run kicking and screaming in the opposite direction. Her extra chromosome makes her special in more ways than I can count. Ollie adds a new spice to our life that makes me, my husband, and especially our kids in to better, more loving, patient, understanding, and kind hearted people.
what a fabulous tribute to your daughter.
ReplyDeleteGod sure knew what he was doing when he sent her to you. Amazing to read your blog.
21 reasons I love her too and I could go on and on.
ReplyDeleteAnnie, she's a lucky girl to have such a loving mom and family. Ann
ReplyDeleteBut Annie 21x3=63 so keep listing I am sure you could add more with such a sweet daughter, maybe your other 2 kids can help.
ReplyDeleteErika