Courtney has always been a rough-and-tumble girl. From the minute she was born weighing in at 8 lbs 15 oz. the nurses described her as "sturdy". She has lived up to that name in every way. She towers over her peers, she is sticky sweet if it suits her, and down right ornery if it doesn't. It was immediately apparent that she was a strong-willed, spitfire that wouldn't let anything get in the way of whatever she wanted whenever she wanted it. Even at 20 months, she tests the limits of my patience and intellect as I try creative, non-violent ways to reign in her semi-devious, stubborn, and precocious personality. Many a night have I sat up wondering what I can do better to teach her to use her super powers for good rather than evil. I worried even more when Jacob was in my tummy waiting to be born. Knowing what I know about Courtney I often wondered how she would react to going from "Princess" to "Middle Child". I worried about how she would handle having so much of our time diverted from her to Jacob and if she would become even more of a handful just to get more of our attention.
Luckily, we were blessed with one of life's small miracles. About 1 month before Jacob was born our rough-and-tumble 'base-jumper' began to take an interest in babies. All of the sudden she decided that rather than jumping spread eagle off our kitchen table, she wanted to carry around her dolls and sing them songs. As predicted, when Jacob was born she spent very little time with KC and I. We spent weeks in the hospital and they prohibited visits from children under 3. Courtney didn't even get to see her brother until he was 10 days old, and then only for a day before he returned to the hospital. Then she waited another 3 weeks to see him until he came home again. That 1 day was all she needed to make a miraculous change. She began asking for her brother on a daily basis, and ramped up her maternal nature with her dollies.
By the time he came home the second time, she was checking her 'babies' toes for oxygen levels, changing their diapers and being sure to use up all of our wipies to ensure that the dollies' bottoms were nice and clean, feeding with bottles, rocking them to music, and rarely letting her 'babies' out of her sight. When her little brother showed up, Courtney was a very experienced big sister. She's more than happy to hug and hold her brother, bring diapers, help with changings and choosing out clothes, and making sure that he never ever cries. Because if he does (even in the middle of the night when she's in a dead sleep) she begins to cry and panic, worried that her little brother might be in pain.
Yes, our rough-and-tumble little Hellion has had a change of heart. She has metamorphesized into a vivacious, strong-willed big sister/protector that has learned to use her powers for good. She willingly and lovingly spends her days watching over and protecting her little brother to make sure that he is never in pain and has everything he needs to be happy.
KC and I have often wondered for what purpose Courtney was brought into our home at such a time in our lives - 10 years after the birth of Nathan, especially when we were so sure that we could have no more kids. Then, to have not one miracle babies but TWO? Just spend a few minutes in the presence of Courtney and Jacob and it won't take you long to realize that she is here to pave the way for her brother, to protect him, and care for him during his journey through life. And for a job as important and demanding as that one, she has just the PERFECT personality and mindset for the task.
I guess KC and I will just have to give her a little slack and try not to temper her personality quite so much then, won't we?
