Nature or Nurture?

The cheap plastic baby doll had been sitting in the corner of her room with the rest of the crowd. A couple of teddy bears, the purple dinosaur, the karate chopping tiger, a mini skirt wearing and midriff showing doll (which is now on it's way to a thrift store thank you very much), and the top of the line organic fair trade environmentally friendly cute as a button bunny rabbit.

Baby doll sat there unnoticed for months. Then one day Esmé walked by, took a look, exclaimed "beebee!" and snatched it up. Now Esmé has become the mother, and she takes her job very seriously. The baby gets fed, gets her diaper changed, her teeth brushed, hugged, kissed, and then put to bed.

I've heard many parents tell of their boys being obsessed with cars and their girls with dolls, but is it really just because she is a girl? What if I had never bought her a doll, never pointed out and gushed over babies in strollers? What if I loved cars and tools myself and pointed those out instead? What if little boys were bought dolls and were encouraged to nurture them? Maybe it's a little of both, I don't know.

Oh yes, and the organic bunny? It's still in the corner, hoping that one day his turn will come.

My Second Job

It is with mixed feelings that I began my first shift back at work. I feel like I am now a mother first and a paramedic second (or third or fourth). But I do love my job and it was invigorating to be back, using my brain again, talking to grown ups again, and venturing out into the world again.

I am one of the few who is blessed with the option of working very part time until I am ready to take on more. So until then, I am mostly at home with the little girl who tires me out more than working the night shifts, who stresses me out more than the lights and sirens, and who has taught me more than any book or job or career or person ever has.

I am a mother. And then I am a paramedic.

Scary Monster

I've been a bit slow getting back into the blog world. But I have been ordered to post this photo of Esmé wearing her super cute Christmas present from Auntie Gillian...

While I'm here, I can also let you know that my grandmother is finally home and doing much better, although recovery will be slow. Thanks for all your prayers over these last few weeks.

I'm Still Here

I apologized for not posting anything for awhile, we just haven't been around much for the last few weeks. My grandmother has been in and out of the hospital in Bellingham several times and we've been very pre-occupied. We have been spending most of our time down there and have only spent a couple nights home since before Christmas. But after a couple different surgeries and several complications, Grama seems to now be improving, although we are still praying for a smooth recovery. Hopefully I'll be back in the next few days with a more uplifting post and even a photo or two!

Avoiding the Paparazzi

Esmé loves carrying around a purse on her shoulder and will put different items in it, sometimes her cell phone that she pulls out and babbles on and sometimes this...

Snow is fun! I think.

We had a good dump of snow today so Esmé got to experience the magic for the first time. She didn't want to walk without holding my hand. I'm guessing it was partly because the 3 cm of snow was up to her knees and partly because she couldn't move in her snowsuit and boot combo. She also didn't want to touch the snow. I think she thought it was dirt. The only time she touched it was when I made a snowball and told her it was a ball (her favourite thing). Then she took it and decided to give it a taste. Soon afterwards she started to panic a little so we went home. I think she needed some other kids to show her how it's done.

Hey Buddy! Watch Where Yer Goin!

(Update: I was just questioned as to why our child is riding half naked, in the front seat, without a seatbelt, in -4 degree weather. (Yes, it was -4 today!) Please don't call the authorities, there is a good explanation for this. This picture was taken before the temperature dropped, the car was parked, Kyle was on the sidewalk and happened to have a camera, I was in the car trying to change her dirty shirt before we went out, Esme poked out her head to look at Kyle who snapped the photo. And there you have it. )