Pwetty

There is a joke that heath and i have had with our girls.  it started when reese was just a baby.  a bald, toothless baby.  we would slick back her few twigs of hair and say, "pwetty".  we also say it to the boys to drive them crazy.  none of the children really liked it for a long time but we did it anyway.  and we still do it, we still say it and still laugh about it.  especially now that we have a new baby girl in the mix.  a baby girl that some still often wonder if she is a boy or a girl.  her hair is right at that stage...unless there is a bow in it, it's really hard to tell.

echo loves all things that are "girl".  she loves baby dolls, stuffed animals, purses, bracelets, shoes...the list goes on.  she likes to watch me put on make-up and then tries to play in it.  she likes girlie things so much that it's even prompted reese to like more girlie things.  now that reese can play with a little sister, she doesn't always have to settle for star wars games or all those boy things.

i've started to put echo's hair up in bows more often.  just little ones.  so that her identity becomes a little more clear to outsiders.  she loves the brush and welcomes a good hair brushing.  i need to get another one for her to hold, actually, because she loves the brush so much that she gets frustrated on whether she wants to hold the brush or have her hair done.  it usually becomes a battle for me on what to do to make her happiest.  the end result is always "pwetty" though.  and after her hair is done, we all say, "oh, echo!  pweeeeeetty!"  and she pats her head and smiles with pride!  rarely will she mess it up or pull it out and if she does, she will bring it to me to put back in again.  yes, she is  a girlie girl.  a rough and tough girlie girl.

so now that we've been living here for around 2 months, i have been making tweaks to things here and there.  our furniture is in, we have everything decorated for the most part, we've added color here and there to these white, white, did i say white?  walls.  every one has their special touch to make it feel more relaxing, more homey.  every room, except echo's.  poor baby is the only one who was left with a stale, white, boring, cold, deserted, untouched room.  she's the baby after-all.  she is the one who would care or notice the least, right?  what does she care if her room is pink, or blue, or white.  what does she care?

about 3 weeks ago, i decided that echo needed some color splash.  we can't very-well hang pictures unless we hire some one (our walls are made out of cement) so i thought the best thing to do was to order some really colorful bedding.  every girl loves a nice snuggly bed, so i thought echo might enjoy it as well.  once i found the set that i like and ordered it, i waited and waited for it to come in.  suddenly her white, boring room was driving me nuts!  i couldn't bare to think about her being in such a cold and unhappy environment when all the rest of us were sleeping in star wars, cars, and princess bedding.  (heath has the princess bedding).  the days turned into weeks and finally the bedding came in.  i ripped the box open, washed the sheets in the softest, best smelling fabric softner i could find and put them on her bed.  echo was right with me, watch me do all this "magic" to her bed.  i'd also ordered some wall stickers that i could stick on her wall, butterflies, flowers and a big rainbow.  we put them all up, sat back and said, "pweeeety!"

echo played in her room quite a bit that night.  she was so proud of the new colors and beautiful fabrics.  when i went in to get her ready for bed, she touched the green and pink bedding, looked up at me and patted her head.  patted her head.....like she does when she wants her pretty bows in her hair.  her way of saying, "pweety".  i have no doubt she was trying to tell me that she liked it and thought it was pretty.  maybe even her little way of saying thank you.

and when heath came home later that week from his business trip, all the children greeted him at the door.  later echo took his hand and led him into her room.  she walked over to her bed and pointed to her walls.  she wanted to show off her room....

echo loves beautiful things.  she's a wild and crazy toddler but there is a little girl inside of there that loves frills and lace.  it's becoming more clear the more i get to know her.

my daddy use to tell people that his girls were pretty on the inside and outside.  i loved hearing him say that about us.  when i was a teenager, it got on my nerves but as i get older, i appreciate the meaning behind his words.  pretty on the inside and outside.  it's what i want for my girls as well.  it's how i feel about them already.  we may joke and laugh about "pweeety"  but it's truly what girls want to hear about themselves.  that we are pretty and that we are loved.  i want my girls to hear those words from me so that they don't have to seek it elsewhere.  i want them to know that they are not just pretty, but they are beautiful.  they are beautiful and they are loved.  unconditionally.  forever.

You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.  Song of Solomon 4:7