On Having a Daughter....

Before I had kids, I really didn't care too much if I had boys or girls. A gaggle of boys would have been just fine with me. And then my little Anners came along. Oh my goodness do I love having a daughter. Want to know why?

Well, it's kinda hard to describe, but let me give it a try.

First, the girl is ever an optimist. It pervades every part of her behavior. She went crashing into the stove the other day. Floyd heard the crash but was downstairs and heard her tell herself, "I'm okay. I'm a little not okay, but a little okay." And there were no tears. Yesterday, she went accidentally somersaulting off the couch and crashed on the floor. She hopped right up and said to me, "that was a cool trick, wasn't it?" Whenever she (or her brother) breaks something, she immediately reassures us that "it's fine." Kinda hard to get mad at her after that. Her optimism is so refreshing. It brings life and joy to our family in so many ways.

Annie has a remarkable ability to laugh at herself. She's the first one to chuckle when she does something silly or embarrassing. I mentioned this to Floyd the other day and that I thought it came from his mom, Grandma Ali. She laughs at herself pretty easily too. Floyd agreed and then mentioned that his grandma, Vivian, was like this too. It's nice to see that trait passed down. It's a delightful one.
And then there's playing with her. When I was in grad school, one semester I had a seminar on play. One of the research studies looked at the amount of time parents spent playing with their kids. It was appalling. Single-digit-minutes-per-day appalling. I was shocked and vowed that I would spend lots of time playing with my kids when they someday came into my life. Then I had Cole. Oh how I adored that little dimpled boy, but oh how I didn't love playing with him. To be clear, I loved being with him. Playing dinosaurs and trains for hours on end? Nope, didn't love it. I did it anyway and learned the name of every one of Thomas' friends and perfected an impressive dinosaur roar, but my heart wasn't in it. Then Annie came along. It is really no effort at all to play with her. Tea parties, princesses, babies, ponies. I love them all. It's quite a joy to play with her.
As you might guess, she has her daddy wrapped right around her finger. It's charming and oh so very enjoyable to watch. He just can't resist her. It might not be so enjoyable when she's a teenager, but for now it makes me smile.

Annie is a little songbird. When she was a baby, her cry was even melodious. She is always singing some made up little song about what is going on. And she loves to dance. She got shiny new black Sunday shoes yesterday and has been tap-tapping her way through our house to Disney princess songs ever since she first put them on.
But perhaps the reason I love her the most is a bit selfish. When I was younger, I was a bit of a free spirit and prone to daydreaming. I liked it about myself. I didn't take things too seriously. But then came marriage and kidlets and someone has to remember to pay the bills on time and get the kids in bed at a reasonable hour and be sure everyone eats something other than sugar every day. I'm glad to do it, but sometimes I miss the more carefree version of myself. Having Annie around reminds me of a part of me I miss. If I am optimistic, she is Pollyanna. If I was a free spirit, she is soaring above me. While I miss parts of my old self that don't get too appear as frequently during this season of my life, it's okay because I see them in her.

Annie, my life would be so void of color without you. Thanks for being a part of our family.

That's hot cocoa she's sipping while wearing her swimsuit. You knew I couldn't do a post about Annie without a swimsuit picture, didn't you?