Thursday, July 3

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

This morning when Mary-Kate woke up, I nursed her in my bed and then after she fell back asleep, I laid her beside me. I couldn't help but stare at her and admire her. All of her tiny features are beautiful and the sound of her breathing deeply is so sweet. I'm still in awe that I have a little girl. The word daughter is still hard to grasp even 2 months later. As I just looked at her sleeping I thought about all the fun mother/daughter things I will get to do with her. Getting her ears pierced, dancing, dress up, shopping, and more. Now I thoroughly plan to enjoy some non-girly things too, but it was the sugary-sweet, pink polka dot, frills and lace moments that were captivating my imagination. I was also thinking about the responsibility I have to her to teach her the God honoring things in life. It's my prayer that she will come to know the Lord as her savior, and that she will seek to follow his will for her life. As a parent, I need to be ever mindful of my words and actions and make sure that my life points to Christ. Yikes, that is an overwhelming thought as I see myself mess up constantly. However, I know that it will not be in my strength but by the Holy Spirit's leading that I do this.

I was also thinking about my little girl growing up in this world today and wondering what all she will deal with. Body image and self esteem is something that I think all women/girls deal with, and as I have been thinking a lot about my body lately, it also makes me think of the responsibility to teach her a healthy sense of self. Just coming off of having a baby, and being overweight is hard to deal with. I was thinking about how much I say, "I'm fat" or "I don't like (fill in the blank) about me." If I continue on like this, my daughter will grow up learning to be consumed with her body image, and always worried about one thing or another. I have heard how girls as young as 3 and 4 are already talking about diets and being fat. Wow! Now, I know that our media and world are screaming these ideas at our girls, but I feel I also have a responsibility to not only be healthy, exercise, and teach MK to love herself, but to also not be so consumed with my flaws. She will learn to hate her body if I teach her that I hate mine. As I was thinking these things this morning, it challenged me to be healthy instead of being consumed with dieting and such. I want it to be about healthy foods we eat, exercise we get, and other ways we take care of ourselves. I want to feel good about myself and teach my children to feel good about themselves. "Coincidentally," I saw this commercial on TV this morning that totally fit this theme.





This is another clip I saw one time which was really amazing. I think it makes a great point!!



These were just some of my thoughts this morning as I have enjoyed time with my little girl while Kade has been at school. On a brighter note, Mary-Kate is 2 months old today. Wow, where does the time go? She has been such a joy to all of us, and I look forward to enjoying time as a family of four as both of my children grow. Just a quick update on MK's milestones. She holds her head up really well now when on her tummy. She can push up to 90 degrees and look around. She has also rolled over three times now. Twice on the floor, and once on the bed. The first time I thought it might be one of those fluke things that just happens, but then I saw her do it again and realized she is stronger than I thought. She is now interested in, and grabs at, toys. She has even grasped some rings in her hands. She smiles bigger than life at you when you get her attention, and she loves to socialize with babbles and laughs. She is sleeping through the night now with about a 7 hour stretch from 12:30 to 7:30. My children are such a blessing from the Lord and I am so excited about the relationship I will develop with them both. Here are some pics of MK trying to roll over.

Big Smiles!


Playing with toys!


Rolling Over


Diaper time!


Trying to roll!


Beautiful girl


Love these kids!! Kade is so fascinated with MK rolling and moving around now. He gets down on the floor to help show her how to roll!


Almost!!!!

4 comments:

Alyson Sandlin said...

The girly things are such fun! You're a GREAT mom and will enjoy all the experiences you have with her.

Christine said...

Awesome post Janet. I think about all of those things also. It's been over 2 years since Emily has joined our family and I'm still in awe that I have a daughter. Girls are so delicate. MK sounds like she's really doing so much. You're a great Mom Janet.

As For Me and My House said...

Great points! It is amazing how quickly others opinions begin to affect them. One thing we have always done is to have their dad be the "final say" in what goes or stays. He is so good at asking them why they want to look the way they have chosen to dress and give them godly guidelines to follow when picking out clothes or dressing themselves. By this they are learning to trust his judgement and receive endearing comments from a man in a right way.

Kaycee said...

Aw Janet, that is the sweetest post ever. I, too, think about those things all the time. What will my poor little innocent girls go through one day? EEK it really scares me.

The pics are great. I cannot believe she is already trying to roll over *gasp*!!