Emerson

Thirty Days of Thankfulness, Day 7

On April 25th, 2005, I gave birth to a nine pound two ounce baby girl with a head full of black hair.  My mom said that if she hadn't seen me actually give birth to my Emerson, she'd never believe that she was mine.

At first, I didn't know what to think of this tiny baby.  She ate all the time and never slept, she was kind of funny looking and instead of crawling, she scooted around on her back to get where she wanted to go.  My first child had hit every milestone right on the head, like he had read it straight from a book.  Maybe because she was the second baby, or maybe because she was a girl, this child was different.

By her first Christmas, Emerson's character started to show.

And by her second birthday, she knew that she enjoyed the spotlight.

By age four, she learned that she loved to play dress-up.

And when a road trip went a little too long and she put on "makeup" with markers in the back seat of the car, she discovered that she loved that, too.

These days, the many faces of Emerson are somewhat expected.

She can go from this...

to this...

to this...

in a very short period of time.

At the lake, she always has time for a photo shoot,

or two.

Oh, and there's one more thing.  She is obsessed with cats.  Imagine her delight when we were out running and she just happened to find a stray kitten meowing in the bushes.  I don't think that kitten knew what she was getting herself into!

Recently we passed a tarot card reader shop and Emerson said she wanted to go in.  When I asked what she wanted to know about, like love, money, life, or the usual things, she replied, "I want to know how many cats I'll have when I'm grown up!"  And this year, of course, she was a cat.

She has come a long way from that chubby little baby girl.  The girl who didn't sleep through the night until she was a year old would now sleep until noon if I'd let her.  And her black fuzzy hair is now thick and amazing and all the way down her back.  I love that she loves makeup and dressing up and having girl time.  I love that she has so many friends and is always planning play dates and meet ups at football games and sleepovers.  I love that when she has questions about life that she asks me.  The years when you transition from a child to a teenager are hard ones.  She's learning that the things she says and do have an impact on others.  She's learning that there's a time to work and a time to play, and that with certain privileges come certain responsibilities.  I love her goofiness and her honesty and her outlook on life and I am thankful that this girl I am raising is turning into quite a little lady.