My First Baby Is Home

We are taking a break from homeschooling for a few days.  My oldest daughter is home and we are having her baby shower tomorrow!  She got in at 6am this morning, just as her dad and I were getting up so she went in my bed to take a little nap before her baby brother got up.  He knew she was coming today, but not that early.  When Dakota woke up I led him into my room and he could tell someone was in my bed, but I think he thought it was his dad.  When I put him up next to her and pulled back the covers the look of pure bliss on his face brings tears to my eyes even now.  He and I miss her so very much.  She is so close to us and her absence is felt deeply by my little son and I.  I watched them snuggle under the covers, my first baby and my last, twenty years apart, with my first granddaughter snuggled away inside and squished between the two of them.  She was a little performer too, kicking on cue when Dakota and I put our hands on Kris' tummy to feel her move.  I can't wait for this little girl to make her arrival.  I've been waiting for what seems an eternity for her and I hope with all my heart that I can make it to North Carolina in time to see her make her grand entrance into this world.  It's going to be hard for me to leave them there, but they won't be coming home for two months or so after her birth.  I know they will come here to visit in between, but not being able to snuggle with her and watch her change and grow for those long weeks apart is going to take everything I have.  Well, I keep telling myself it could be worse and they could be staying away indefinitely, but I know myself and it's going to be a huge emotional challenge.  For now, for these few days, I am going to enjoy my daughter.  It will probably be the last time I see her before the baby comes.  I am going to smile and laugh and try not to think about the next few months when they are so far away and there's no visit on the calendar.  Sigh.  Parenthood sure is tough on the heart.