Mariah
Some months ago, I posted blogs about my boys… well, I’m a little behind where I wanted to be, but this is Mariah’s entry.
Brand-new Mariah
All those saying about little girls– sugar and spices, petticoats and lace, curls and big eyes– culminate in my little girl. Mariah is quiet, shy, sweet, thoughtful, helpful, girlie, and the list goes on! After having two boys, I was convinced Mariah was a boy during my entire pregnancy. When I had a sonogram at 20 weeks, we attempted to learn the gender of our third child, but it was no use– the baby was content to lounge about in Mommy’s tummy with its legs crossed! The baby cared not one bit that its Mommy desperately wanted to know whether to go shopping for a blue crib set or a pink one! In fact, I even questioned the doctor in the delivery room after she announced ‘It’s a girl!’ 
My goofy girl!
Well, it was a girl, and it didn’t take long for Mariah to have her Daddy, Mommy and pretty much anyone else who came near wrapped around her little finger! She was a petite baby with a tiny mouth (which I foresee costing many dollars in dental work in the future) and a quiet cry. She was an unassuming baby and happy as could be. We did have some scares and frustrations with Baby Mariah as she struggled with respiratory issues and ear infections her first year of life. I forgot to mention, Mariah was born less than a week before Christmas and, therefore, dubbed our ‘Christmas Angel’.
Frosting Face!!!
As Mariah grew, she became a real charmer and everyone, it seems, fell in love with her curly, curly hair. She was walking/running at a year to keep up with those big brothers and talking just as quickly– she had to tattle on them, too! 
Mariah developed her love of sparkles and lace at an early age– she is definitely a girlie-girl! Her love of babies was evident early on, too, and Mariah was delighted when she became a big sister at less than two years of age!
The proud big sister!
My curly girl!
At a big girl of two, Mariah rattled off her alphabet, colors and shapes, leaving Mommy wondering what she was supposed to teach her precious little girl! By the time Mariah arrived at three, she was ready to go to school, but, alas, she was forced to wait until the following September. She passed the many months between her third birthday and that first day of school by being Mommy’s helper. Mariah loves to help cook and clean house. She ‘reads’ to the younger kids and is, quite frankly, a second Mommy in our home!
Now, Mariah is a bubbly pre-schooler at Faith Academy in our church. She has– already– mastered the curriculum to go to Kindergarten, BUT she must wait another year. Now, she memorizes entire story books and is starting to sound out words, again leaving me to wonder if Kindergarten will hold any challenges by the time she gets there– it’s a little exasperating! 
This blog would be remiss if I didn’t mention Mariah’s complete and total love for animals– horses in particular. The other day she asked when we could move to the country so that we could have a horse… and a dog… and a cat…. and a– you get the point! I should also mention that Mariah is not perfect– I think I might have made her sound that way– not intentionally! She will be one of those children that drives her siblings crazy because she excels at everything she does… however, Mariah can be rather stubborn and does NOT like to be woken up! She is, perhaps, too timid at times and yet can scream like a banshee when she feels she’s been wronged! Mariah has a great love of music and can often be heard singing praise songs throughout the house– one Sunday morning, she came out of her room and said, “Did you her me, Mommy? I’m singing for Jesus!!”
I’m very thankful for the curly-headed, sugar-and-spice, little-mommy, sweet-and-thoughtful princess with which God has blessed me.