sugar and spice

 I remember being a youngster and climbing into the corner of my closet. In that corner lived my favorite books, a few toys-- my hidden treasures. One of my books had the nursery rhyme: 

What are little boys made of?
What are little boys made of?
Frogs and snails,
And puppy-dogs' tails;
That's what little boys are made of.

What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice,
And all that's nice;
That's what little girls are made of.

At that age, I took things quite literally. My own brother liked snails and frogs. He desperately wanted a puppy dog. That made sense. While I spent many an afternoon out in our Texas forest of a back yard climbing trees, saying hello to the cows who lived behind us, hunting for roly poly bugs (potato bugs- for you Oregonians), or frogs for the big bonus, I was the sweet one. My gymnast self flipped and twirled for the elderly onlooker. My rosy cheeks and blond-curled-hair spent the mornings sitting on the bathroom counter while Mom got ready for the day. I tried and tried to brush my hair like she did, we talked, I listened to her sing. I like to think that I was sugar and spice, and all things nice.

I have fond memories of early childhood. I think about our future as a family and what our little girl's memories might be like of her early days. Due to Andrew's career, I foresee many moves. Many changes. Many adventures. I hope our daughter can look back on those early days and see consistency among the changes. Consistency in the way her parents love her. Consistency in her day to day. Consistency in how we support her and teach her. Consistency in how she sees us living out the love of Christ. 

One thing's for sure-- I hope our little girl is both sugar and spice, and all things nice. I look forward to discovering her interests and passions, to loving her just the way she is. 

After our growth ultrasound appointment, we had plans to meet up with Andrew's mom, brother, and our sister in law for dinner and gender reveal. With just 2 hours to go before our appointment time, I rushed to the store and found the only gluten free cake mix on the shelf and came home to bake away. I frosted half of the inside blue and the other half pink. Andrew came home just in time to strategically place the flags I had made so that he knew which way to cut the cake depending on the gender. This was definitely a rushed effort-hence the sloppy frosting job on the side. 

Before the appointment

About to find out!

Happy faces after our appointment...

Look at that darling profile!

We enjoyed calling my family (all out of town) on the way to the restaurant to share the good news but couldn't wait to share our exciting news with Andrew's family at dinner. My Mother in law showed up wearing a bright pink top- she must have had a feeling we were having a girl! Turns out, the cake tasted awful. I'll need to search for a better gluten free cake recipe/mix!