Integration

How long does it take to integrate into a family? I love my darling third daughter. She truly is a peach, a joy to have around. She is a smile girl, always giving off big smiles, laughing, blowing bubbles. She is extremely curious and is always trying to get around. She loves her sister and brother. In the morning she doesn't cry to be feed, instead she wakes us up with "talking". She will giggle and coo until someone comes to pick her up (this person is usually her dad, and she rewards him with a big smile. When he hands her off to me she gives me a big smile as well). Since about a month old she has slept through the night, and because of her easy disposition we have come to call her peacemaker peach. Sometimes though I'm still surprised that she is here. It's like she's some jolly little visitor, and I'm having difficulty wrapping my mind around the fact that she is staying forever...well at least eighteen years, and then she will probably leave for college putting me and father in a state of tears that could last a few months. Maybe it is part of being the third child but I feel like I never really had the opportunity to dwell on being pregnant, to come to grips with the fact that I was having a third child. We weren't trying to get pregnant, in fact I was fairly certain I wasn't pregnant and only found out that I was the day after her father left for a 35 day trip to Amman, Jordan. For the sake of good video I then tried to keep it a secret from everyone. I thought it would be awesome to surprise him at the airport with a T-shirt that said, "Welcome home father of three." So for a month I had no one to talk to. This of course was blown when he asked to stay another week with four days left to go. I broke down and said, "But I'm prenant." Still the damages was done. Being home alone with the two kids it was just go, go, go. Even after he came back it has been run, run, run. I bought a pool pass for the summer and we went up until Peach was born. In fact the night before I went into labor my friend Erika and I had a swim race across the pool. Within two days of her birth I had family in town and that visit was quickly followed by more visits. We were back at the pool within just a few weeks, running errands at the library, and going to the small children's museum in town, trying to enjoy the last bits of summer. Within six weeks of her birth her older brother went off to full day kindergarten and that threw mom for another loop. Even now between helping at school, church callings, G bear's speech, keeping up the house, car pool for school, trying to keep up with a husband doing his third year of medical school, well the child has to catch most of her naps on the run. I love this little girl, I just wonder when it is really going to sink in that she is really mine :)