On Monday, October 13th at 8:03 in the morning my wife Sandra and I welcomed our first daughter, and third child overall, into our family. I must say that ever since the doctor told us that our child would be a girl, I've been extremely scared and worried. You see, as I mentioned in the opening sentence, Mia is our first daughter. For some reason, I've got it in my mind that girls are harder to raise. I worry about what kind of father I'll be to a little girl. With my boys it's easy; just stick a ball in front of them and start playing and they're happy. I've told my wife on more than one occasion that "I just don't know if we'll have anything in common."
Now, after having seen my little Mia (whose name, not coincidentally, was chosen because my wife and I both speak Spanish and "Mia" means "Mine" in Spanish, so that any boyfriend of hers, when she's 30, will know that Mia is MINE, and he better treat her like a queen!!!!) I'm still worried, but there have also been several moments of strong assurance and confirmation that everything will be ok with my little girl and I'll know how to be a good father to her.
It's funny to see Max, 3 years old and my oldest son, interact with Mia. Even when she was in her mommy's pansita, Max would say to her things like "Mia Kate, that bed over there is going to be your bed", or "Mia, I love you so much!" Max was the same way when our second son Luke was born, so I know that he'll continue to be a good big brother and protect and look after her.
Luke (18 months), on the other hand, still seems to not know that Mia is his sister and seems to think that she is just visiting or is something for him to play with. I have no doubt that he'll be a good big brother someday, but it might take some time working with him. Luke is the more aggressive of our two boys. He's constantly hitting or biting Max, and then seems to get even more mad at Max because Max won't retaliate, but will give him a kiss and say that he loves him instead.
I'm glad that our Heavenly Father allowed us to have two boys before our precious little girl, as now she'll have two outstanding young men to look up to and admire (I won't count myself because some might find that objectionable or conceited on my part, even though I do hope that I can be the type of person that she'll look up to and admire). I must admit, though, that sometimes I worry that her two big brothers will treat her like my older brother Sean and I treated the third in our family, Adrienne. There were times when we were awfully cruel to our little "Aids".
Anyway, Sandra and I are really happy and excited about this new addition to our family. With each child we seem to realize even greater the responsibility that we've been given by God and the seriousness with which we must take that responsibility.
We hope that family members on my side will get to meet her soon (how many are going for T-giving???!).
4 comments:
Congratulations! She's beautiful!
I must say... girls are harder than boys. My boys couldn't care less what they wear, what their hair looks like, what shoes I buy them, etc. Olivia, though, is another story. She is all girl, through and through. She is expensive. And I know it will only get worse. That being said, we all adore her and she is the apple of her daddy's eye. Jared, in fact, stayed up last night burning Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus cd's to surprise his little girl with this morning.
I was very concerned about Olivia having 3 older brothers and how they would treat her (I kept having flashbacks). But they are awesome with her, play with her, include her, and treat her like a princess. I'm sure Max and Luke with be wonderful with Mia. Especially since Max is such a loving big brother.
Good luck adjusting to life with a daughter! I hope Sandra is doing well! Give everyone a hug and kiss from us.
Oh, and good luck with the no boyfriend till she's 30... Livi already has one. He actually reminds me of a little Ryan.
Jeremy was also kind of terrified of the thought of a girl. However the minute she was born, she had him wrapped around her finger. He plasters his cubicle wall with her pictures, listens to the message she left him on his phone about 20 times a day, and he can't wait to come home to her. As much as he says I spoil her, he does the same. When we got home from the airport tonight, Jeremy had a new toy waiting for her- because he saw it at the store and thought she would just love it so he HAD to surprise her. And, you can still play sports with her. Shelby has a glove and bat. They are pink, but they do the same job.
Congratulations! We can't wait to see you all at Thanksgiving!
Hey Ryan...Congratulations! There is nothing sweeter than a daddy's little girl, she is precious!!
Ryan, hello, it's Melissa Greenlee Mobley! Congrats on the little girl. Our girls are our bookends we call them. I was able to view your blog through Aidan's. It's great to see you guys doing so well. I enjoy so much keeping up with old friends!
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