"I love you too Mommy"

As a mother we all live waiting to hear these words out of our children's mouths. We grasp at the faint utterances that might have the hint of "mama" in them. A tiny gesture of our children showing their affection or need for us is what we live for. Now why else would we have gone thru pregnancy pains and childbirth tortures if it wasn't for those tiny hugs and sloppy kisses and "I love you too's".

Well my day finally came on Nov 11th,2008 just 3yrs and 14days after her birth. Yes I have heard it before from Joshua and Melody and even Madyson who is now 19mo, don't get me wrong I didn't take those for granted or mean any less, but Josslyn was one I wasn't sure I would hear it from. See, even as an infant she didn't like my touch while I nursed her, hard to fathom even harder to endure. She never liked hugs or kisses and her favorite word has always been NO!, even before she could speak, she would sign it. So every time we asked for hugs or kisses that's what we would get and big fat NO!

It wasn't until Madyson was born that she showed affection in her own way that is, but it was mostly towards her, we got some random hugs, never kisses,never "I love yous" but Mady must have made an impact on her because by her 9mo Josslyn was hugging her and kissing her gently.

I knew then my time would come, just not soon enough. By then she was mostly attached to dad, still is, he was and is the light of her life and her safety net, me I'm the one who takes her to Drs and therapies and gives her shots and meds, I'm the one she tells to "GO AWAY" when I walk in her room. But my day finally came...I remember it like it was a second ago and I'm sure I will remember it just like this for the rest of my life.

Like any other day, I woke up and got the kids ready for school and waiting for the bus as I am in the kitchen Josslyn comes around the corner and runs to hug me and I hug her back and she whispers in my ear "I love you too Mommy", right then and there I knew it was going to be a GREAT day. We hugged for what seemed like hours and I cried of joy.

Such simple phrase and it means soo much, I had not even told her I loved her yet..but she knew what I meant by that hug. Just 19mo ago she only had 4 words in her vocabulary and in such a short time she has made some major achievements we can not and will not ever take small steps for granted.

Christmas came early this year!