Daddy's Little Girl

Ever since I started having children I have always wanted a daughter. I never pictured my life without a little girl. After having four boys I was contemplating if I really wanted to try again for my girl. John felt quit content with our four boys so he wasn't too excited when we found out I was pregnant last December. It was very scary at first since I had two miscarriages the previous year. But I was willing to try one more time.
Last April I had an ultrasound and we found out it is a girl! Of course I cried right away because of all my prayers that were finally answered. John reacted quit differently. He really wanted another boy and was a little shocked it was a girl. He didn't say it out loud but I could tell something was definitely bothering him. We talked about it later and he expressed his concerns. First, most of the girls in his classes that he teaches are high strung drama queens who don't do well with advice etc. Let's just say that the girls are his biggest challenge at work. Mainly because he gets his feelings hurt from their reactions. Second, he took a class at BYU some years ago and discovered that the most important relationship is the daddy-daughter relationship. This put a lot of responsibility on John's shoulders. So he was stressing out about having a teenage daughter before she was even born! And lastly, we have heard from everyone that girls are more high strung and need a lot more attention than boys. This made John feel protective of our boys. He didn't want all of our attention to be taken away from the boys he already loved so much. All of these were valid concerns, and when we told others about them, they would just say, "Oh wait until you see her. Everything will change."

And guess what? They were right. Last week when I had a

c-section we were both so nervous. I was nervous that it would

come out a boy. And John was nervous about having a girl. We sat in the room waiting for the doctor to come and were both waiting in silence for about a half hour. What would this little girl do to our lives? Then, when they finally pulled her out, I cried with relief that it was really a girl. And John just melted in the sweetness that this little girl brought with her. I watched as they weighed her and cleaned her up and was awed by the reaction that John was giving her. He watched her every move and made sure to tell me all the details about her- her weight, how much hair she has, etc. I could tell that he was deeply in love.

Over the next couple days when I was in the hospital, John just loved to come and hold her. He brought the boys in one morning and said, "I caught myself speeding to get here so that I could just hold her." It was fun to hear him talk to her and everytime he did, she would open her eyes and just stare at him. He would often say, "You are daddy's little girl." I was overcome with emotion as I watched my husband fall in love with our daughter. We know it may be tough at times but the love we have for her will outlive the difficulties. Geez, we never knew she could be so sweet!