Smitten

Before Allegra was born, and in an effort to make this experience seem easier, I tried to convince myself I wouldn't be able to love Allegra as much as her siblings because of her imperfections.  Yet again, so foolish of me.  I love her small head covered in dark hair, her eyes that will do no more than crack open, her round pink lips that open in a perfect circle, her fingers that bend over each other, her long skinny arms, her twisted legs and rounded feet...it's all perfection.  All of us fall more in love with her everyday.

Mitch and I take turns spending time with her and meeting the needs of the other kids.  Mitch loves to lay down and cradle her in the crook of his arm.  He is the quintessential doting father--oohing and awing over every yawn and gurgle.

Cairo lays on our bed and stares at her as she chats away to us about her life.  Yesterday at school her teacher allowed her to pull up the blog on the smartboard (large classroom computer screen) and show pictures of Allegra to her class.  She is always willing to sit and hold Allegra if we need to do something.

At 4 a.m. this morning, Levi walked into our room to use the bathroom.  When he finished, he came over to where I was feeding Allegra, hopped up onto the arm of the chair and said, "I'm glad Allegra was born.  I know what will make her open her eyes...", then he bent over to kiss her head causing Allegra to raise her right brow and peek out for a look.  "I guess I have magic kisses," Levi said before kissing me then heading back to bed.

Cameron is content sitting on the couch holding Allegra and kissing her every time he sees her.  At the hospital, when Mitch told the kids we needed to give Allegra a special blessing, Cameron walked over to her, bowed his head and said a small prayer for her.  Last night he introduced his friend Ben to Allegra, telling him, "Ben, you can kiss her.  She likes kisses."

Klein wakes up in the morning and runs into our bedroom looking for "Baby Wegwa".  Then he climbs onto our bed to kiss her.  Whenever he sees Allegra we must lower her in response to his request to "Tiss her head!"  Sometimes he talks to her in a high-pitched voice, telling her to "Say goo-goo ga-ga!"  She hasn't responded yet but he keeps trying.

She is adored.