Ponderings leading up to Tilly's birthday

I haven't written anything in a while. I have been trying out a new morning routine and I have also had a background cold which has left me really tired So I have only drivel to say! But…

I have been thinking forward a lot to Saturday which is Tilly's 2nd birthday. Martha keeps saying it's her birthday soon and I have tried (and failed) to explain that she has to wait till May!

I have been thinking back over the last two years with Tilly. She changed our lives 2 years ago. She has helped me to grow and change in ways that Martha alone could never do. She has changed Martha too. Martha is very maternal and protective towards Tilly and always wants to help her (even when Tilly wasn't aware of wanting to be helped!) Tilly is such a bundle of joy. Her profile picture is what she is like most of the time.
When I was pregnant I wondered what another girl would be like. Would she be like a small Martha or totally different. And she is so different. I thank God that I just can't compare them, or I might be tempted. For a baby that weighed 8lbs 3oz, Tilly is tiny. She has gained a whole 5lbs in the last year (for those of you who don't know - that is not a lot!) She is still in 9-12month Pj's. She is small and petite. Martha is tall and always has been. I think this makes Tilly seem even smaller! Tilly has a small appetite but lots of energy. She is a light sleeper. She is overwhelming in love with her teddy, Wilbur. She uses him as pillow at night. She is clingy and a little bit shy. She has a small face with big features. Big blue eyes. She loves her Daddy best of all. She is amazing vocally and is using short sentences a lot now. She is beginning to want to use a potty. She has such love and kindness. She wants to help so much and she wants to join in so much. Her tinyness doesn't faze her and she resolutely climbs over and onto everything. She is determined. She loves living and being apart of life. She is joyous.

I must confess that I love this age. Just before the "terrible twos". When children think you are the best person ever. When they trust you so much and don't question everything. I know that children have to grow up and it is my great privilege to guide and teach them so they can face the world with courage in their hearts and a smile on their lips. I am so grateful that Nick and I don't do this alone. We have a great God who fills in the gaps. He gave us this impossible task and he also gives us everything we need in order that we can indeed achieve the impossible.

I know that Tilly won't forever be this little girl (although I don't think she will ever be huge!). She has to grow up. And I look forward to seeing the woman she will become. But I am grateful for now. Right now. Where she is small and still almost a baby. Although, as every mother knows, she will be my baby forever, no matter how big she gets.