Friday, January 11, 2013

Fitting In...Again

Hi Baby Girl,

As Layne grows into a little girl, Mommy finds so much joy in watching her absorb the world around her.  She is so bright and eager to learn.  She echos every word we speak and responds in just the right ways when we have conversations with her.  Who knows if she really gets what we are saying, but boy she is good at playing along.

One of Mommy's favorite things to do with Layne is share the pictures and names of the people in her life.  She loves your friends Jacob and Lucas so much.  She calls them "the boys" and gets so excited when we plan play dates.  Every Sunday when we say we are going to church, the first thing Layne says is "boys?". 

Even though the boys were too young to remember their time with you, Mommy remembers.  Seeing Layne play with them reminds me so much of all the fun we had together watching the three of you grow.  Mommy was so happy to have their mommy as a friend and even happier knowing that we had each other to help figure out how to be the best mommies we could be.

When you passed away, all that changed.  Not because of anything anyone did wrong.  It changed because the circumstances of Mommy's life were suddenly so different.  Sadly, Mommy no longer needed to figure out sleep schedules or toddler meals.  Suddenly life for Mommy was completely different from that of Mommy's closest friends. 

For the past three years Mommy and Daddy have been adjusting to life without you and life with Layne. In that time our friends have been so patient and considerate of our feelings...even when we were unsure of how to feel.

Now that Layne is a toddler, she is beginning to fit in with all your friends.   She loves to play with them and is finally old enough to interact with them in meaningful ways. They treat her so much like a little sister. It makes Mommy's heart happy to know Layne has a little piece of something that was once so special to you.

As Layne is beginning to fit in, Mommy feels like she is beginning to fit in again, too. 

Love you and miss you, Baby Girl.