Where'd She Get That From?!?

From the moment my family and friends first laid eyes on Kate, they said "She looks JUST like Dave..."

Certainly I think Dave is good looking, but as a mom I couldn't help but want my baby to look a little bit like me...Over time, I grew used to it. And then I was pregnant again and I thought "THIS will be the baby that looks like ME..."

And for a second time, my hopes were dashed...Drew is a carbon copy of his sister, his father...

Last week, Dave was traveling for work. It was a crazy week as I juggled the demands of work and home alone, but I did it. I even managed to handle 2 doctor's appointments - Kate came home with what she described as an "angry tummy" on Tuesday and by Wednesday morning, it was so "angry" that she was in tears. Wanting to leave no stone unturned, I took her to the pediatrician who after some poking and prodding diagnosed her with heartburn...as he was making his diagnosis he turned to me and said "Most often in kids her age heartburn is caused by anxiety...do either you or your husband have anxiety issues?!?" REALLY?!? This is how she's going to be like me...not brown hair, not big brown eyes, but my anxiety?!? Oh my poor baby...

Fast forward to Friday and I find myself sitting with Kate's teacher for our first Parent/Teacher Conference of the Year and I listen as she tells me how well Kate is progressing - she's right on track to be well prepared for Kindergarten next year, BUT she is concerned because Kate she has noticed that Kate does not like to make mistakes, mistakes make her upset, mistakes often reduce her to tears of frustration...she turned to look at me and I immediately 'fessed up..."It's me, she gets that from me...mistakes are not ok with me either...I want things to be PERFECT, the FIRST TIME. She's just like me"

Turns out, she may look like Dave, but she has a lot of my personality traits - some good, like her big heart, like her laugh that is often so hard that it takes her breath away, but some that need some work, like the ability to be "ok" with making mistakes.

It's my hope that by the next Parent/Teacher conference that BOTH Kate and I will have made progress in this area - that I will be able to show BOTH my girl and myself that it's through mistakes that we learn the most...