My Little Josie

Josie made her appearance into this world at 9:46 am on a Monday morning. When the nurses lifted her up for me to see in that moment after birth, before James had even cut her chord, the first thought that entered my head was, “Wow, she has beautiful red lips.” I think that some of the hormones she had received from my body during the birth process had made extra blood rush to her lips because their initial bright red color eventually faded. Then my second observation about my brand new baby girl was, “Wow! She cries a lot!” I'm pretty sure that I even asked the nearby nurse (the memory is a bit blurry thanks to the veil of labor exhaustion) whether it was normal for a newborn to cry so much and so loudly. I was worried that it was a sign that something might be wrong with her. I was reassured that it was perfectly normal, that my baby was perfectly healthy. That nurse was probably laughing at the question that obviously marked me as an overly sensitive inexperienced mother, but oh well. We all have to start somewhere.

Yes, within minutes of meeting my little Josie I was already getting to know her. I was learning that she had her Daddy’s nose and how to distinguish her cries. Hours later, after the commotion of birth had settled down and when James had gone home to get a little sleep (my water had broken at 1 am, so neither of us had gotten much rest), I was able to hold my darling 7 pound baby in my arms and stare serenely into her perfect little face. It was the kind of bonding moment that Hallmark movies are made from. As I gazed, I wondered. I asked, “Who will this little girl become?” Would she be artistic or musical or sporty or academic? Would she be shy or would she be outgoing? Would she be a tomboy, like I was, or a tutu loving girly-girl? Who was this brand new person?

I still don’t have a flat-out answer for that question. But every day I spend with Josie gives me more and more information towards finding it out.

Her birthday was no exception. All of Josie’s little definitive traits and quirks made their way into the day, starting from the moment she got out of bed.

When she first rolled out of bed on Sunday morning, before she had even wiped the sleep from her eyes, Josie reminded me that it was her birthday. She also reminded me that I had said she could wear her Tinker Bell dress on her birthday. Ah yes, that’s my little Josie- a memory like an elephant who never forgets. You see, I am quite particular (more accurately, very anal) about the clothes that my children wear. As a result, charactered apparel seldom makes its way into this household and, even more so, it rarely appears on my kids’ bodies. My sisters are well aware of this fact and they therefore insist on lavishing Josie with dresses that flaunt appliquéd Disney characters all over the front. I let her wear them for a week or two and then the outfits “mysteriously” end up hidden on the top shelf or in the bottom drawer, buried under underwear that are too small, and most often when inquired about they are conveniently “dirty.” (I know, how awful of me.) But I figured that on this special day I would let Josie wear whatever she chose and her purple sateen Tinker Bell dress was it. Thus, the pictures of Josie from her birthday are pricelss- she in her long flowing gown and short cropped hair. Perfectly befitting her personality, which is a fun mix of girlish tomboy. Josie loves to float around in “dresses that move” (i.e. fluffy, flowing gowns) but isn’t afraid to get down and dirty.

Josie helped me decorate the house for her My Little Pony party most of the morning. She instructed me on which color streamers to use and where and she arranged the dangling decorations in the order they should be hung. She also tied some of the balloons to a chair and was upset when I tried to move them. Once the work was done it was time for a fun activity. While we were party supply shopping last week Josie chose a box of ceramic ponies for painting. The figures were divided up: one for Daddy, one for Mommy, one for Jamie, three for Josie. We all sat around the table and went to work.

It was probably Josie’s favorite part of the day, which says so much about her. She is a skilled craft lover!

I like to think she gets that from me….whether it’s a product of nature or nurture, it doesn’t really matter. All I know is that my little girl has a gift and a passion for art and I intend on feeding that flame. Our collection of painted ponies were sealed with varnish at the day’s end and are currently on display atop Josie’s bedroom dresser.

Following our fun family activity, Josie went on a special outing with her Daddy to buy one large My Little Pony metallic balloon. There’s a long story behind it. The short version is that she had seen said balloon in the store the week prior, enthusiastically begged for it, and was told we would get it later. We did buy the balloon, which was rather expensive as far as balloons are concerned, however, within seconds of carrying it past our front door there was a tragic accident involving Jamie, the ceiling fan, and the giant heart shaped Pony balloon. Josie was heartbroken. She cried and cried and re-told the story over and over to everyone she came in contact with the rest of the day. So, therefore, Daddy took Josie to the party store on Sunday morning to purchase a replacement My Little Pony balloon. This saga signifies my little Josie’s unceasing insistence. When she gets an idea in her head, there is no shaking her.

The giant balloon can be seen here on the far right.

Once Josie and Daddy got home with the prized balloon we all ate lunch. Present time was up next and Josie ripped open each package and posed for a picture with each present. Her favorite was the fluffy white kitty. No surprise there, since everyone knows that Josie is a die-hard animal enthusiast.

  

We finished off the occassion with slices of florescent pink cake.

I think it’s safe to say that when all was said and done it was a special day for Josie, my little short-haired, dress-wearing, pony-painting, balloon-devoted, animal-loving girl. Happy 5^th Birthday, Josie! It is such a blessing to watch you grow. The more I get to know you, the more I love you….But there is a part of me that wishes you were still that precious newborn baby with the bright red lips.