Three Months

Your middle name is Joy.  We chose it in faith that your birth, almost exactly one year after your sister's due date, would be a joyful, redemptive occasion, that after the painful experience of losing one child, we might be able again to taste the joy of holding a healthy baby in our arms.

I expected that bringing you home would be joyful and healing and beautiful, and it has been all of these things.  I am very aware of just how precious your little life is, of the miracle of your steady breaths while you sleep, of your warm body in my arms.

What I didn't expect was how much your middle name would suit you, not only because you came after what was lost, but also because of you and who God made you to be.

You have been a delightful baby, Celia Joy.  In spite of some gastrointestional issues that I know often make you uncomfortable, your demeanor is characterized by peace, contentment, and yes, joy.  You do not demand attention, but respond to it with a smile that makes your still-blue eyes sparkle.  You are quiet by nature, but you coo eagerly when I have a moment to sit and talk to you.

I am still learning to know you, watching as your personality begins to unfold.  But I want you to know this my baby girl:  these first three months of your life have been a great joy.  They've been joyful in part because your life is a gift after a great loss, but mostly, they've been joyful simply because of you.