firstborn

the day joelle finally decided to be born (12 looonnnnggggg days late) is still etched in my mind.  lots of little details still there as crisp as if it were only a year ago.  instead of the FIFTEEN years it really has been......in.sane.i.say (think~ whirlwind...)  i was 24 and strangely enough felt completely ready for the massive transition into parenthood.  i was deliriously thrilled with our beautiful baby girl.  not to mention the near perfect behaviour she brought home from the hospital.  for some weird reason this baby went super easy on us (on night four she slept through the night.  i just about passed out in fear when i woke the next morning, sure i'd find her non-responsive in her cradle...).  we pretty much resumed life as normal once we brought her home, and joelle was carted around to hockey arenas, restaurants, parties, etc...we'd sometimes take an after-dinner nap together, all three of us on the bed.  joelle on Daddy's chest, scrunched up and cozy...

it was bliss.  really truly, it was.  especially now when i consider the times i often crave an after-dinner nap....she lived the toddler years much like she seems to be living her teenage years.  she captured each day to the fullest.  she played hard.  she was independent and confident and could often be found in her room with stuffed animals surrounding her while she read them a story.  this was pre-siblings, so you work with what you have, i guess...

if she hadn't been "an easy kid", or if, say, one or two others in our family had been born first, we may not have been as quick to jump on the "let's have a large family" bandwagon...."this is a piece of cake", we thought..."we'll have a house full!!".....hahaha....well, they haven't all been easy-breezy, but the house full is worth the exhaustion and the variety in personalities offers gray hair spice and flavour to the mix, for sure...they are all works in progress, as am i. 
happy birthday to my "carpe diem" kid.  keep seizing each moment.  we love, love, love that about you!!  wishing you a super fun year of growing and developing into just who God made you to be.  thanks for breaking us in to parenting in a way that made having a Basset Hound named Josee seem crazy hard compared to a newborn baby....(so sorry Josee, but the ingested tomatoes from the prized garden followed by the "digested" blowout all through our kitchen/hallway floor and seeping under our baseboard was the last straw....we found you a new family who had strength to take on your issues....R.I.P....)
love ya Joelle!