There is nothing sweeter than watching your baby grow.
I used to babysit a lot and there was one family in particular (whom I still love dearly) that I babysat for 7 years, long after I needed the money and well into my pregnancy. I started when the youngest little girl, Caroline, was 6 months. I fell in love with that little sweet girl and as I sit here thinking of her I get teary with affection. Throughout my pregnancy I made little silent prayers that Emmy would be sweet and happy like Caroline.
One time, I watched Caroline and a friend spend hours outside in the driveway selling lemonade. They live on a great street, with lots of walkers and the two were making off pretty well, running in and out to make more lemonade (it was at this time I realized it is good to buy lemonade from kids but not to actually drink it).
After a little while, a boy came up and asked if he could play too. Caroline and her friend clearly explained to him that he could play but he wouldn't be getting any money from them, they had already agreed to split 50/50 and they didn't need him (gotta love a girl who knows her mind). He agreed to their terms and when I called them in for dinner she came in and her friend split her share and left. The little boy walked home.
After dinner, Caroline got really quiet and sad. I asked her what was wrong and she started crying. She said she had done something mean, that the boy had helped them and she should have shared her money with him. She was so filled with guilt that she asked if she could go to his house and offer him some money. I was so proud of her at that moment. I knew she had been raised well and that she had such a good heart so I let her go. She went to his house and came running back, grinning ear-to-ear. I asked her how it went and she smiled so big that I could see all her missing teeth and said "He didn't want it! He just wanted to sit with us!" and she ran off to count her money again.
I tell her this story often, so that she knows that she has a good heart and like her parents, I'm proud of her too. When I look at Emmy I know my little prayers were answered. I am so proud of my own little sweet girl and I am so excited to find out who she becomes.
