Daniel Brian

When I was pregnant and found out that I was having a boy, we used to sit around and imagine what he would be like. We would say that he was probably going to be the exact opposite of his sister, Aimee. Aimee looks just like me. She has dark hair and dark eyes. She has an explosive temper. Her disposition swings like a pendulum from one extreme to another. She is either deliriously happy or utterly devastated. The elements of her composition are tears, and laughter, and squeals of happiness. She always smells like strawberries and cotton candy. She is aggressive and determined. We would say that Daniel was going to be a chubby little polish boy that would smell like butter and mustard. That he would be steady, and reasonable, and frugal like his father.

Daniel is now six months. Let me tell you a little bit about him. I think he looks exactly like his father. Believe it or not, he smelled like butter for the first 4 months and his crib sheet needs to be changed very frequently because he sweats in his sleep. While his sheet does not smell like mustard, it does smell like vinegar, which is an ingredient in mustard. Daniel is the most cheerful baby I've ever seen. He smiles freely and frequently. Crying is reserved for extreme circumstances and he prefers to communicate his needs with mild fussiness. His eyes are so bright that you can see the whole room reflected in them. His smile is like seeing a birthday cake with blazing candles.

Every morning, Aimee happily bounces into his room and immediately climbs onto the side rail of the crib so that she can yell, "Hi Morning Daniel!" She grits her teeth because she is so excited and full of emotion to see him and aggressively grabs his hand and then lets it go when I tell her to be gentle. Daniel receives this greeting with a great squeal of joy and enthusiastic kicking, not minding the aggressive hand holding/pulling or that the morning greeting was delivered through gritted teeth.

Beyond the joking that Brian and I did, we never really imagined what our kids would be like. I was ecstatic with joy and surprise when I met them both. The first time I saw them, the air was knocked out of my lungs. I feel unworthy that God would create such beautiful perfect little things and place them under my stewardship. Here's to hoping I don't screw them up too much.