My Baby Girl is Growing Up

"Train a child in the way she should go, and when she is old she will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

Kiley is my first born and in what seems like a blink of my eye, she has grown from the precious little baby I held in my arms to a "preteen." I can hardly say her age without feeling the sadness of the rapidly passing time. Just a few months ago, she turned 12! Next year she will officially be a teenager and I will send her off to, dare I say it, Junior High.

I remember well when I found out I was pregnant with her. It was February 14, 1997....Valentines Day! After several days of being suspicious that I might be pregnant after trying just a short time, I took a pregnancy test. Positive! I was teaching elementary school at the time and it just so happened to be "Grandparents Day" at the school. I didn't want to tell John about the positive pregnancy test until after school, so I had to go to work and act like all was normal. Then it happened, one of the grandmothers of one of my students looked at me and walked over to me, grabbed my hand and told me I was glowing. "Are you pregnant?" I know my smile gave away my little secret. I made it through the work day and stopped at the Hallmark store on my way home. I purchased a Valentines card for a child to her father and I signed it "baby." We still have that card and I still remember the joy on John's face when he opened it and realized what it meant. We were overjoyed! God gave us the child that we had prayed for.

My pregnancy wasn't difficult, but it certainly wasn't easy. Kiley was insistent on arriving early. Thanks to modern medication and bed rest, she didn't make her arrival until God's perfect timing. It was a very difficult delivery, in fact the doctor predicted she, me or both of us would not have survived that delivery just 10 years earlier. She was our miracle. She wasn't an easy baby either. One word says it all: COLIC! Once she hit about 4 1/2 month, the colic began to disappear and the sweet, happy Kiley emerged. She was such a good baby once we got beyond the "C" word. Due to the difficult delivery, I was quite ill for a couple of months, which required extra help from Daddy. However, I don't think that would have made a difference, once she was stable after delivery, she gazed into her daddy's eyes and they were smitten with each other. Kiley warmed our hearts as we watched her grow from a baby to a toddler, then to a little girl and now into the young woman that she is. She is shy, fearful to take risks and loves to be close to her family. Her innocence and inner beauty are among the many reasons that we love her so much.

Along with her shyness comes difficulty in feeling comfortable in a group and please don't ever put all the attention on her. We know that this is just how she is and don't see it as a problem, but we still encourage her to take risks and step out of her comfort zone. She did that twice this month in just 1 week apart. First, she played the piano along side her friend playing the violin for the school's Talent Show. Then the following week, she stood in front of all the kids in her class and gave a 4 minute speech on Helen Keller. This may not sound like much to a parent of an extroverted child, but for Kiley, it's like conquering the Iron Man! We are so proud of her and love her willingness to try new things. On top of these 2 big milestones, she has also called and made visits to many of our friends and families to sell Girl Scout Cookies. Gone are the days of us making the calls and going to doors as she hides behind us. Our little baby is growing up and we couldn't be more proud of her. She is God's gift to us and we treasure every moment with her!