It MUST be the age of 2

As Halloween fast approaches, I find myself thinking of what the perfect costume would be for my little girl. Some that would be VERY fitting for her are following.

1. Monkey...because she CLIMBS up & onto EVERYTHING she can.

2. Angel...because God was watching over BOTH of us when I delivered via emergency c-section 2+ years ago.

3. Devil..because she acts like a normal 2 year old. Sweet & innocent one moment & like a little imp the next. When she is quiet she is either sleeping OR, more than likely, thinking about what kind of trouble she can cause.

Two things about her are constant. The first is that she never wants to be still or quiet when it is needed. The second is that she seems to love & be curious about all creatures, both human & animal.

To her, the world is one big adventure, just waiting for her to be part of. She seems to know not what fear is. She knows not what judgement is. She is kind & captivates nearly all that lay eyes on her. She is 2.

Being her mother, I know more than others what a little impish monkey she tends to be. She is so curious that if she were a boy the perfect name for her would have been George. Alas, she is not a boy. We gave her the sweet, classic name of Charlotte Grace.

Our little Char had a rough entry into this world. It was completely different from that of her older sister. In fact, it wasn't until after 48 hours of labor, decelerating heartbeats & an unexpected c-section that she arrived. She was a short cord baby. Her cord was SO short that my Dr. said it wasn't long enough to put the needed pressure on my cervix to dilate it.

This is where I say God was watching over us. Short cord babies not only have a tendency to be born with organs on the outside of their bodies, they also have a tendency to die before birth. The mother has a tendency to pass on as well. What happens is that if the baby reaches a weight of about 7 pounds, the umbilical cord can rupture causing the little one to bleed to death. Often the uterus can rupture as well & the Mother passes on before they can deliver the child. Charlotte weighed 6.8 pounds if I remember correctly.

Mine was a high risk pregnancy due to my age, my weight & my family history of diabetes. I did not develop diabetes...thank goodness.

Now I am torn as Halloween approaches. Do I celebrate the impish 2 year old that she has become, that I LOVE with all of my heart, with a devil costume? Do I celebrate the blessing that she will always be & how God protected us from all of the horrible things that could have happened that fateful day with an angel costume. Do I just celebrate her silliness & her simple view on life with a Monkey costume. It may seem like I am over thinking this...she is only 2 after all. It is likely that this will be the last costume that I have much say in with her.

Personally, I am leaning toward escorting a little devil around the Halloween carnival this year. It just seems to be beyond fitting for the age of 2.