That's my girl!

Nature vs. nurture is a funny thing. Sometimes I watch Lily and I feel like I have a little mini-me running around. I know she is simply modeling behaviors that she has seen or heard, but it is endearing nonetheless.

For example, I have this terrible habit of eating my hair. I have had it since childhood and can be found eating my hair in all kinds of situations, including social so many times I have to pull it back just to prevent an embarrassing situation (i.e. eating my hair in a job interview?) We'll Lily pad has picked up on my little habit and has begun to make it her own! I hope that is the worst of the bad habits she picks up from me.

Another habit she recently has picked up is my hair twirling while I am on the phone. It is adorable to watch her talk on the phone either for real or pretend, twirling her hair!

Now if we could just get her in the habit of going to bed early and sleeping at least til 8 a.m.!

A couple other random thoughts...

Favorite Movie: Peter Rabbit

I had a proud mommy moment today. I went to pick Lily up from Mrs. Helen's and all the kids were outside. Lily and all the boys were running back and forth and back and forth racing each other...while the other little girl T. was sitting in the swing watching. I was so proud of my little Lily pad...running her little heart out among the boys!!!! That's my girl!!!!

A poem I think is really special:

Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone
But miraculously my own.
Never forget, even for a minute
You weren't born under my heart,
But in it.

Lastly, I know it is random placement, but I have never included this in a blog before and I wanted to publish it so that it doesn't get lost. This was written by my dad Jay in Oct. of 2006. He went to Guatemala with me (my 2nd time, his first) and we spent a glorious week in Antigua, Guatemala with our beautiful 6-month-old Lily Pad.

I have just finished spending the most incredible week of my life and found that I am in love again. It is hard to describe exactly how I feel, for at the moment I am recovering from extreme sadness and pain after being on such a high. It does not help that around me are babies going home and the one that I love remains with a foster family in Guatemala.

I can only imagine the pain of giving birth to a child. However, I believe I have seen and will be seeing for the next few months (hopefully not too long) a pain that may be more devastating than anything experienced in childbirth. It is a pain to leave a child with intermediaries for the foster family/adoption agency after having spent such a few glorious days with the dearest baby in the world and knowing that one will have to go through those same feelings several times again – leaving with the ache for the sight of that beautiful child looking back at me in such a trusting, loving way until I can arrange another visit. It could be months until the baby can come home. How will I live with these feelings? This is not the excruciating pain involved in hours of delivery, but the pain of emotional and physical separation that lasts for weeks and months until the adoption is final and she can come home. Others have done it and so can I! International adoption is another equally rewarding but painful means of giving birth.

All these feelings and I am just the grandpa