Madeleine is growing

I'm not entirely sure how or when it happened but recently Madeleine has become a little girl. Maybe I was blind to it because I still see her as my little baby but the changes in her even since Christmas are just incredible.

Today at the doctors office while her sister was being examined she stood next to the chair and held Juliette's hand the whole time. She kept telling her, "It's okay baby. You doing so well baby. I know baby, it's okay." After the doctor was finished she asked if it was her turn and the doctor asked her if she was feeling sick. Madeleine said, "No Bitty Baby's (her doll) not feeling well." She the doctor examined her doll and Madeleine looked on with a very concerned expression. Later, as the doctor was leaving she told us that she would come back in soon with the medicine and Madeleine stared at her, raised her eyebrows, and said in a very serious tone, "Okay. Be right back." While the doctor was gone she held her sister's hand and my hand and sang the Barney "I love you." song to us.

Later at home she remained focused on her sister and making sure she was feeling okay. Of course, she isn't always an angel. She was throwing a toy around the room and I told her to stop. She looked at me and said, "No it's funny. I know!" It was not funny.

Overall she's a very sensitive little girl who seeks to please almost all the time. She is in tune with the needs and emotions of the people around her as much as a two and a half year old can be. She doesn't talk all the time, she has a more quiet personality, but loves singing and dancing. She loves animals, airplanes, helicopters, and princesses. She also seems to have a little toddler-sized devotion to Baby Jesus and his Mommy and Daddy. She's hard headed and bossy, she knows what she wants and can be extremely stubborn, but if she hurts her sister or gets in trouble with mommy and daddy she tends to be extremely repentant. She loves her family, idolizes her daddy, adores her sister, and can't get enough of her grandparents and aunties. She's imaginative, she tells me about the animals she sees in the trees and the airplanes she sees in the sky (which are usually not actually there) and tends to have "favorite things" (shows, toys, games, songs) that she always chooses over others.

Not everybody cares about every detail about my daughter quite the way I do but you see, that's not the point of this blog post. Madeleine is a person. She is a beautiful little girl with her own unique personality and look and her own beautiful soul. When I was pregnant with her I dreamed of getting to know her, watching her grow, seeing the person she would become. All those days and nights I spent puking or in pain, I knew they would be worth it but I never imagined how worth it. It's one thing to know that two pink lines on a pregnancy test become a person, in fact already are a person. It's a whole new thing when you are there to witness it day in and day out. That little soul that was growing inside me, I knew that if it was a girl I would name her Madeleine. Now that is no longer just a name to me. It's my daughter. My amazing, incredible little person that I get to love. My little gift from God.

I am so thankful for every day I get to know her better, to watch her grow. I am so thankful that God chose me to be her mother. I am so thankful that God has chosen to teach me about His Love in this way, as a mother to one of His little creations. I hope that it brings God as much joy to watch me grow as it brings me to watch Madeleine. I hope I please Him.