There Was a Little Girl

There was a little girl

Who had a little curl

Right in the middle of her forehead

And when she was good, 

She was very, very good

And when she was bad - she was horrid

This nursery rhyme is the best explanation of my precious Sophie. (Actually, it is the rhyme my mom used to describe me, as well.) Sophia Paige Roden entered the world on July 7, 2004, and she revealed who she was from the very beginning. She was...

Intense - I remember how long she stared at me the night she was born. She wasn't at all the typical sleepy newborn. I remember reading in all the books about how much newborns slept and wondering at how little Sophie closed her big eyes. (In fact, after Sophie, I was so accustomed to newborns being awake that I called the doctor to see if Will was sleeping too 

much!) I remember the third day home from the hospital, looking up "High Need Baby" in my Dr. Sears Baby Book. It wasn't that she cried all the time - far from it. Most of the time she was amazing - alert, responsive, precious. But when she did cry, wow... 

And now... she is bright, asking questions, making connections, drawing conclusions. She becomes absorbed in her own play for hours on end. She colors like it is her job. She spends hours listening to and looking at books. (She goes to bed with her books and a flashlight and has been known to literally fall asleep sitting up and just topple over). Sometimes, her behavior is so good that spending time with her doesn't even feel like parenting, but rather spending time with an interesting, though much younger, friend. Some days, her iron will is set against my iron will, and sparks fly throughout the day. Emotions run high with us; the highs are high, and the lows are low, but the feelings are most often intense. 

Joyful -  Her smiles came early, as did her laugh, and her laugh was as passionate as her cry. We have some of her first chuckles burned to the computer from a message I left on Matt's cell phone. It is the most played track on her daddy's i-tunes. Her laugh was literally music to our ears. She developed an early love of music, (cds eventually became the answer to her passionate dislike of the carseat), and the joy in her heart came through particularly in her early attempts at dancing and singing. 

 

And now... She still absolutely loves to laugh, and if I could bottle her giggle and sell it, I would

be a millionaire. She loves to be tickled and chased, and she adores being silly. Not only does she love laughing, but she loves to make others laugh. (She is the absolute best in our   family at getting chuckles from Will.) She loves to express herself through dance, and her clumsy interpretive dance from her toddler days is developing into sweet, more coordinated pre

-ballet movement. Most recently, she expresses her joy through making up and singing songs. Worship songs, lullabies for Will, and other mini-operas make up the "joyful noise" to which we are 

treated regularly. Her joy is contagious, and thus, one of the Lord's sweetest gifts to our family.  

Passionate -  She was clear about her likes and dislikes from a very early age. She loved nursing. She was good at it, and she was serious about the fact that she would eat when and where she wanted. I nursed her in more restaurant bathrooms than I can count. She loved being carried in a sling. We called it her bat cave, and if someone peeped in while she did not feel like accepting visitors, she would squalled at the intrusion. She passionately disliked carseats. Her first trip to the beach was one of the longest days of my life. She didn't just cry, she screamed, bellowed, wailed and shrieked. I don't think she stopped for more than 15 consecutive minutes. We quit counting the number of stops around 12. Even as a very young infant, Sophie clearly communicated her feelings.

And now... she knows who she is. She is not easily manipulated or persuaded, as she is very in touch with her own likes and dislikes. She can express her feelings eloquently, and it is nothing for her to tell me, "Mama, I am angry with you!" or "I feel comfortable with them!" She passionately loves her family. Just last week, she told me, "I'm blessed of you, Mama!" When she sees someone she loves hurting, she looks for ways to help. Empathy has infused her passion - and compassion is growing as she grows. It is beautiful to watch.

There is so much more to say about Sophie. To understand her, you must know that she only reveals herself to others as she develops a relationship with them. As she develops trust in someone, she gives them more and more of a glimpse of her intensity, joy, and passion. She absolutely won't perform on cue. When pressured, she clams up and shuts down. In many ways, she is growing and changing everyday, but at her core, she is who she was the day she was born - a intense, joyful, passionate little girl.