Having a rowdy child plopped on your stomach at 6 in the morning on the friday of a vacation is one of the worst wake up calls. But when I hear a little voice say “Taya, wake up, good morning sleeping beauty”, I can’t help but get up with a smile on my face. Charlotte’s sass and charm makes her irresistible to anyone she meets, with dimpled pink chubby cheeks and azure doe eyes. She has brought so much laughter and happiness into my life in the past two years and it has been fascinating watching her grow from an infant to a lovely young lady.

When I held that tiny bean of a person in the hospital room for the first time, I felt a  wave of adoration for her wash over me. I could already see that she would continue stealing the hearts of everyone she met like she had stole mine. I said to myself “Watch out world, here comes Charlotte Hope.” I was excited for her and Shawna to come live with us until their new house was finished. This sleepover became less fun when i was woken up every two hours to the piercing wail of a hungry infant, making me less eager to hold her in the mornings.

Now that she can talk, she’s developing an attitude that no one can deny is credited to me. My sister will call me and say “Can you explain why my daughter just put her hands on her hips and said ‘Whatever Mama’ to me?”, to which I can only laugh because I know she learned that from me. Despite apparently being a bad influence, I can’t wait to teach her things as she grows up and have memories with her like I have with Shawna since we have around the same age difference. Charlotte Hope can brighten even my darkest of days and I can only try to put into words how much I love her.