25 things about Mabes

I was finally getting around to doing that "25 random things about me" note on Facebook, and I decided it would be more fun to do a list of random things about Mabes. I apologize for some of the overlap of lists, but they apply to both of us. So here we go:

1. When I was pregnant, I was afraid my daughter would be boring and not very cute.

2. Emaline is far from boring. Her crazy personality is a nice, and sometimes frustrating, contrast to mine and Dave's.

3. We picked out her name 4 years before she was born.

4. When I was pregnant with her, we started calling her Maybe, since we weren't 100% sure on her name. We were watching a lot of Arrested Development and thought Maeby was just a funny name, so we joked that we were going to call her that. It stuck, and eventually got shortened. Mabes just seems to fit her.

5. In the last 3-4 months, she's turned into a total girly girl. Because she seemed like such a tomboy, it caught both me and Dave off guard. She still likes trains, cars, and building things, but she insists on wearing her ballet slippers, leotard, fluffy skirt, and/or crown at the same time.

6. My mom said that each of her kids' births were different and indicative of our personalities. This definitely holds true for Em--she cannot be rushed, and won't do anything until she's ready. But when she is, watch out. There's no stopping her.

7. She calls me "Princess Mommy" and Dave "Horsey Daddy." She gets mad if I refer to him as just "Daddy."

8. She loves her Horsey Daddy more than anything, and tells me this several times a day.

9. She likes to eat, and this has been apparent since day 1.

10. Also apparent since day 1: she doesn't like to sleep. I blame Dave for this--she inherited his fear of missing out on fun.

11. She had the chubbiest cheeks as a baby. I realize it would look a little odd on a 3-year-old, but I'm kind of sad they've shrunk.

12. I still check on her at least once a night to make sure she's still breathing.

13. She loves broccoli. I hate it but force myself to eat it because it's healthy. I love that she loves it and begs for it at the grocery store.

14. She had a bladder infection when she was 10 months old and had to go to Children's Hospital to make sure she didn't have kidney reflux. It was painfully hard to hold her down for the kidney ultrasound, catheter and VCUG. I wish I had taken a picture of her in her hospital gown, though.

15. Not counting spit up, she has only thrown up 3 times in her life. One of them was from laughing too hard at Becca.

16. She loves to give and receive kisses, but she always wipes them off. I don't think she realizes she does it.

17. She loves maps and globes. This makes me happy.

18. She's incredibly tough, and when she falls, she usually just jumps up and brushes it off. If she cries for more than 5 seconds, it must have been a bad fall.

19. Stray hairs freak her out.

20. I was too stunned to cry when she was born. I did, however, cry when they announced her weight.

21. Someone at church once commented that she had the personality of a redhead. This woman didn't know I had three redhead sisters and that my parents had already made that comparison.

22. When I check on her at night, I often just stare at her. She looks so sweet and angelic when she sleeps, any frustration from the day is completely erased and I think my heart may burst.

23. She's incredibly smart and perceptive. I may be biased, though.

24. I'm convinced she has the personality, intelligence, and capacity to do something great, but I'm afraid we'll screw up as parents and she won't realize her potential.

25. At least once a day, she wraps her arms around my neck and says "I'm glad you're my mommy." I'm glad she's my Mabes.