Never get me wrong, I love having all girls. I don't feel incomplete or as if my seed was somehow feminine. And I don't think I worry about daughters, in the stereo-typical male way...of what happens when she brings her first snot nosed punk home. And I don't think there will be a natural or inevitable break between me and them.But I do want them to be interested in sports. One of my proudest moments took place in August on vacation when I was fishing in a boat and Nyssa was riding in another boat, as she passed away from me she yelled, "Go Cubs." It
was like meatloaf for the soul. (Last night wecompleted the first 2 verses of Go Cubs Go together, at her behest. I can not wait for summer!)
So my gifts to her in the last year, (the ones I most care about?) have been sports related. I gave her the bat and a sack of whiffle balls for her birthday, and for Christmas a indoor/outdoor basketball set to grow into.
(Full disclosure, the two other gifts I most care about are a tea-set, and an over-sized pad of paper to draw on. So you worried girls out there can just shove it.)
I was out of town when these pictures were taken, so the Jim Edmonds foot placement and the Roberto Clemente hand placement are not my doing, but I am still proud. Oh, and yesterday as we were leaving she asked to be wrapped up in our Cubs flag, ala this picture... Which was taken right after the Cubs Clinched the NL Central, when I gave myself over to true belief that the Cubs would make some postseason hay. Of course they didn't. So we had to put away our Steve Goodman CD, and wrap the flag around the flagpole, not my beanpole. Until pitchers and catchers reported, and last years wounds could be put behind us. Behind us, but not healed.
By rights, this should be a different post. But how can you ever say what is right? Coming up this week are going to be picture after picture of sisters behaving sweetly. Or at least sister behaving sweetly, for although Leila suddenly has a personality and is constantly expressive, she is neither sweet nor sour. Merely hungry or fed/sleepy or alert. (That is not right. She is sweet, she loves to smile at you, and is about to start laughing. But she is not sour, merely hungry or sleepy)
Nyssa on the other hand is 99.3% of the time amazing. She really loves and cares for and takes care of her sister. Early on, when Leila was just a burrito in a blanket, Nyssa would insist on kissing her before bedtime, and that quickly became part of the bedtime ritual. Now that I think of it, the .7% of the time she has not been sweet and loving came the day beforeNyssa was diagnosed with an ear infection. So maybe her rambunctiousness was more a result of that than jealousy or anything.
Although Nyssa does stake out her turf. The little bowls we feed cereal in (stay tuned for photos/video's) are now Nyssa's bowls. The doll which she said was Leila's became hers after Leila began playing with it, and she does like to say, "No Leila. No." Or, "We DON'T spit up Leila."I am sitting here trying to think of what next to say, how best to describe the Nyssa and Leila's relationship. Maybe it is as simple as Leila never cries because of Nyssa and Nyssa never tries to make her cry. Because I think babies can be antagonistic/or antagonized, they can be touchy about having their personal space invaded, they can try to invade other spaces...and maybe Leila will get there, but right now she's not even close. Like I said at the start, my impulse is to stack photo on video on photo (as I've done before) and overwhelm you with treacle, but ultimately I want to impress on you how great the girls are (and I want photo's available for later in the week when I have more to say) So I will end with this video as proof...
Apparently this isn't going to upload. but if it had, is that not proof of sweetness? Consider how much spit is being left on Nyssa's cheek...Loads! And she doesn't care at all.
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