All her life my mom heard how much she looked like her aunt.  At family gatherings when she was young people would say, “You must be Ruth’s girl!”   She would reply with a laugh, “No, I’m Tom’s daughter!”

It really shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise when in the recovery room at the hospital I held my fresh, squishy little newborn and thought, “I just gave birth to my sister’s baby.”  Lots of people look like their aunt, uncle, or grandparent more than a parent.   Charlotte certainly looks like her Aunt Julie.

Last night I had the privilege of hanging out with some fabulous bloggers here in Raleigh.  Gals like Suzanne, Erin, Fadra, Andrea, and Andrea.  I was so happy to see my old college buddy Beth Anne, too!

Fadra was complementing my adorable baby’s big blue eyes.  I thanked her and said I couldn’t take credit for those.  They’re my sister’s eyes.  My eyes are green.  Then Beth Anne stated the obvious in a way I had never thought of.

“Oh yeah!  Charlotte looks like your husband and your sister had a baby together,” she said laughing.

Oh my God!  She’s totally right.

::insert redneck/inbred/North Carolina joke here::

I’m gonna go with a 1997 joke.  “JERRY!  JERRY!”

I mean, eeww, despite the obvious ick-factor,  genetics ARE like that.  My mom texted me this picture the other day as she was flipping through old photo albums.  I put Charlotte’s next to it.

I think everyone wants their baby to look like them, but if my daughter looks like anyone else in the family, I’m glad it’s my sister.  She’s beautiful inside and out, and tomorrow is her birthday.  Happy 28th Baby Sister!  I’m proud of the woman and aunt you’ve become.

I was ready to turn my tassel and become an adult in 2003 when an Ivy League undergrad was busy writing Internet code that would unknowingly change all of our lives.  Oh, Mark Zuckerberg!  I don’t think you had any idea using your invention would become a daily habit, as regular as brushing our teeth.  Let’s be honest, we check our Facebook way more times in a day than we practice good oral hygeine.

I never realized how many people I knew until Facebook started keeping track for me.  Facebook made catching up at my 10 year high school reunion very easy.  “So, I saw on Facebook you just got married!  Congratulations!”  “Those pictures you posted were amazing!  You must love living in DC!”

Like everyone, I’m guilty of “stalking” one person or another from my past.  Not creepy felony stalking, mind you, but just keeping track.  You know, the people who you always look at their pictures and click on their posted links.  I may or may not have obnoxiously  re-requested an ex-boyfriend’s sister like five times after she defriended me.  (Oh no she didn’t!?!) If she was gonna snub me, I was gonna annoy her.

From allfacebook.com

Facebook is the passive-aggressive person’s dream come true.  Not many of us would ever say to someone’s face what we would post online.  I would be as sweet as sugar to her if I saw her on the street.  (Then I would call my mom, pronto.  We’d need to dish.  Don’t act like you wouldn’t do that too.)

I’ve come to learn, however, Facebook karma is a bitch.

There’s this one girl I’m “Facebook friends” with that has never been a real life friend.  I’ve known her a very long time and I’ve never respected her, nor cared to be around her.  Let me be clear that I would never wish real harm on anyone.  But, sometimes looking at Facebook makes me feel, well, mischevious.

This girl recently posted pictures of her adorable children.  I looked at her smiling, cute little 3-year-old son and thought, “I hope she steps on one of his Legos.”

Image from Rage Comics

Charlotte doesn’t have Legos yet, but she does have Duplos.  Later that night I stepped on the edge of one just perfectly.  I was cursing the Internet Gods.  “Damn you Mark Zuckerberg!”

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day from us!

“May the sun shine, all day long,
everything go right, and nothing wrong.
May those you love bring love back to you,
and may all the wishes you wish come true!”

-Irish blessing

“You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your father was.”

– Irish Proverb

“A son is a son till he takes him a wife. A daughter is a daughter all of her life.”

 – Irish Proverb

“If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God so as to teach these peoples; even though some of them still look down on me.”

-Saint Patrick

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures.”

– Irish Proverb

“Here’s to me, and here’s to you. And here’s to love and laughter. I’ll be true as long as you. And not one moment after.”

– Irish toast

“May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

-Irish blessing

March Madness is contagious.  Everyone in our house has come down with a serious case.  I have to credit my husband with this little video.  Charlotte made her picks with Daddy’s help.  She is officially in his office pool and is sending out this video to his coworkers.

She does not have the Tar Heels winning it all.  We’ll have to work on our brainwashing.

Happy Tournament!

(I can’t post the link to her actual bracket until after the games begin tomorrow.  Weird.  I know.)

Now that Charlotte is a busy toddler she only stops her constant movement for a story.  Even then she’s squirmy and trying to turn the pages.  Before bed she only likes to be rocked for a minute or two before she’s reaching for the crib.

Tonight was different.

Thanks to the time change, the last light of the day was just barely shining through on her face.  She laid her head on my chest and I felt her completely relax in my arms.  Our eyes remained on each other in unspoken peace.  I breathed in the freshly bathed baby scent that disappears all too quickly during the day as she becomes a little girl all too quickly.

We rocked.

I tasted my tears as I sang lullabys to my baby.  Her eyes stayed on mine as I cried and sang for a long time.  The light grew dimmer and she fell asleep.  I prayed.

Dear God,

Thank you for this gift.  I did nothing to deserve the joy that is this beautiful child.  Please help me be a better person than I want to be and stronger than I believe I can be.  Guide our marriage.  Keep us healthy.  

Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  

Amy

Standing up we rocked back and forth some more, my cheek against hers, her fingers tangled in my hair.  I wanted to remember the feeling forever.  I finally laid her in her crib and took one last peek at my babe with joy I know only comes from God’s blessing.

A "Vintage Charlotte" pic. Amazing how much her appearance has changed, but she always looks the same to me when she sleeps.