Our sweet Isla Jane is a little under the weather, so just to be safe the two of us stayed home today- its been nice to be with just her, and its brought some things to mind.

I think there are a lot of stereotypes out there about being a younger sibling-this is something I've been conscious of from the day we found out we were pregnant with Isla. Addy is growing up in the way that I did-as the first to do everything. While there are times that this can be a little hard, the perks are pretty numerous. For example, Addy will be the first in our family to do most things-she was the first baby I had to cuddle, to talk and walk, the first Grandchild to have bday parties and she has never had to wear very many hand-me downs. For Isla, her time has been shared from the beginning and she has been rocking the hand me downs from day one [quite well I might add]. She is an early 'talker' and I think will be an extremely early walker. Lester and I see these things daily, but for those who don't see her daily like we do, the milestones are not as big since her sister just had them herself recently. Let me be clear-this is no ones fault, and everyone has been wonderful to her. I thing that is just the way it is.

But still, as a Mom you always want each of your child to see how important they are individually. Recently I have been busy keeping up with all the things going on in our lives and while I know I have made sure she feels loved, I also have been just trying to keep our heads above water if you will. You know, making sure her and her sister are [relatively haha] clean, fed, having outside time and all the basic things. I haven't made time to be with just Isla, bc it seems that this time just doesn't exist. So today when I was feeling so happy with the fact that I was ahead of schedule getting everyone ready and out the door, I was surprised and little frustrated with life to see that she might be sick. But now that everyone else is gone, and its just the two of us, I am so grateful for this time I have to just be with her. She really is such and amazing little person. Seeing her little smiley face while knowing she might be sick is such a reminder of who she is, and why we needed her.

I think that even though she may not be the first to do lots of things in our family, she adds an element we most definitely needed and she will do things in her own way. She is sweet, and strong and gentle and happy and kind and compassionate and determined-and these are the things that I can tell even in the short 7 months of life. She has traits that each of us have given her, and several that are so clearly 100% her own. So, when things get back to the norm [I'm taking her in just to be cautious tomorrow] I will still be happy for the time I get to spend one on one with this sweet girl. I love you sweet Isla Jane-thank you for letting us be a part of your journey.

PS: Wrote this yesterday..took her in today and it looks like its an allergy-which is great bc that means its not contagious, but lame because we still have yet to figure out what caused it. Guess we will have to be keeping a close eye on that sweet girl!