baby girl.

I was going through my pictures a couple of weeks ago. Remembering.
When I saw these pictures of E, taken 3 days after her first birthday, I paused.
My baby girl.

I can remember a day, goodness, it was so long ago. I was doodling, I doodled a picture of a woman sitting in a chair, holding her swollen belly. It was a dream, it was supposed to be me. When I finished I wrote next to it: "C needs a little sister". My boy was only a few months old, still so small, why was I thinking about another baby? But I could feel it, I could feel her, she was telling me it was time.

C was only 6 months old when I became pregnant again. From the first moment, I knew. I just knew that I was going to have a girl. I couldn't really be sure, because we didn't find out, but I knew. I'd known I was going to have a girl since the day I'd drawn that little picture. The image is forever pressed into my mind. The ink had flown onto the paper effortlessly. The words were not mine, only written by the pen held in my hand. I knew. And I was right.

This little girl has always looked up to her big brother. She has always been enamored with him. It was him that got her to laugh for the first time, and no one could get her to laugh better than he could. Once she was old enough to keep up with him, she became his shadow. She wanted to do everything that he did. They became best friends. Even now, they are two peas in a pod.

My tiny girl, well, only tiny when she was brand new (7 lbs), just keeps growing. She writes her own name and she's learning to read, sounding out words along with her brother, they race to see who can read it first. She loves to draw, she calls herself an artist. She has to most contagious laughter.

When I look back at all of the pictures of her I am overwhelmed. I love this girl. I miss her tiny self, her squeaky voice, the way she would run, or jump -- her little body waggling and trying so hard. She's still enthusiastic about everything. Life is such a joyous adventure to her, her face lights up for every little thing. Her heart is so full of love. She is our treasure, the sweetest gem.

She is growing so quickly, and I go back and forth between happy and heartbroken. I love watching old videos of her, getting a brief reminder of the way she used to be. And I love watching her now, always learning, doing, trying, helping, loving, laughing, playing. I miss what used to be, but I love seeing what she is becoming. It is such a bittersweet adventure.

photo challenge day 27: