Paternity Test

One of the best things about spreading your DNA is getting to pick out what feature(s) you think your child will have of yours or your spouse. My family joked for years about how Tiffany would have this prissy little girl, and we would have the bully of a boy, blah blah. Caroline, though girly, is very tough and wild (in the best way!) When it came to me though, I KNEW I was having a boy. If for some strange reason it was a girl, we knew she would look just like me, be wild, have dark curly hair, be a chunky monkey, and such. God has a sense of humor. In the delivery room Neil said, "Okay, Bird, one last guess." I immediately responded, "it's a boy, I've known it from day one...95% sure." Instead, when the doctor pulled her out, Neil said, "It's a girl...and she looks just like ME!!!" He was thrilled, and of course I was too because Neil was a rather pretty little boy. Ha ha ha!

Now that almost a year has passed, I have once again come to the realization that God laughs at me, or with me probably. Instead of the rough and tumble, laughing wild child I was, God has given me one of the most cautious, timid, reserved, makes-you-work-your-butt-off-for-a-smile (or give you the death stare) babies I've ever seen. Then to make matters even more hysterical, she is the spitting image of Neil. The blonde hair (he was blonde as a youngster himself), the wide smile, the long monkey toes, the skinny legs, even their sneezes are the same! I keep looking at Olivia and thinking I will see some of myself in her, and some people say they can see it. Then today, Meena sent me the picture below of Neil at about a year old...nevermind. :-)

*Just to clarify too, I don't think Neil's hair was curly in this picture. I think he was sweating in his sleep just like he does now, and yep, you guessed it...just like Olivia does!!!

I guess the moral of the story is that you never know what you're going to get, but whatever it is will be EXACTLY what you didn't know you needed. At the risk of soundy like a hokey mom, life has just begun now that she's in it. I hope all of God's surprises are this good.