On Wednesday, sitting eating fast food after a doctor's appointment, Roxana and I randomly ended up in a brief discussion about stuffed animals and I asked if if she'd ever been to Build-a-Bear. When she said no, I knew we should make a trip there...so we did tonight.
It's the ultimate experience for Mac so he dove right in picking out his bright-green, shamrock-printed bear. Meanwhile Roxana quietly picked out a lavender colored bear since, as we also talked about on Wednesday, it is one of her favorite colors. They stuffed them, gave them an "air bath", picked out clothes, and typed up birth certificates.
After she finished her bear I tentatively asked her if she'd want to make one for the baby. The look on her face said it all and she went right over to pick out this bear. When it came time to dress her, Roxana looked around at the outfits for a minute and then asked me what I thought about her dressing it the same as she had dressed hers. My heart was a puddle on the floor as I told her I was thinking the exact same thing. She named the bear "DJ" and signed the birth certificate from "Roxy".
It was so fun to have more time together tonight. To see her personality and sense of humor shine through. To hear her discuss sports with Sean, and insist that he feel her stomach when she was having an intermittent contraction. To see Mac show her that she HAD to "clean" her new bear in the Build-a-Bear bathtub. To discuss the problems she's having with the teacher for the shelter who is frustrated with Roxana since she apparently gets her school work done, "too quickly".
Granted the whole goal in this is to be a family of four, but tonight we already were. We're not just getting a baby out of this whole deal, we have been given a gracious, amazing young woman who I can say unabashedly that I LOVE. There will not be another day in my life that I don't think of her, and hope for her, and pray that she will be happy. I will be so proud to introduce my daughter to her one day, and have her grow up understanding that she came from such an astounding person.
Silly as it may be, I love that we have this tangible teddy bear for Darby to enjoy one day.
