I've been thinking about this lately because my daughter is about to turn ONE YEAR Old on Friday. I never found out from the ultrasound that she was a girl. But, I had a feeling around the 7 month mark that she was a girl. She didn't kick me nearly as much as my son did. I remember joking to my husband that this baby has to be a soccer player. And what do you know, Anthony loves soccer. I didn't have any dreams about having a daughter. That was different than when I was expecting Anthony. I envisioned myself holding hands with a little boy in overalls. I think I've been thinking or dreaming about that since I was 16. I grew up with all girls, and most of my parents friends had girls. I really wanted a son someday.
After I gave birth to my daughter, the nurses held her up with her bum facing me. I thought they'd shout out "It's a Girl!" or maybe just on tv they do that. So all I remember seeing were four big rolls on her legs. I looked at Ed, and said is it a boy or girl? He said he couldn't tell either. We asked the nurses and they didn't say anything. But they turned her around. I usually wear contacts, but for labour I had my glasses on, and by then they were getting marked up. When they turned her around, I still wasn't 100% sure. I remember saying "I don't see a penis, it must be a girl". We were so happy to meet our 9lb 1 oz baby girl. Ed told me after that he secretly was wishing for a daughter.
One thing I thought about when she was a newborn, was someday hopefully she will want to be a mother. I want to raise her with a strong sense of herself and pride for being a girl. In so many ways, even today I believe boys are still given more attention in our society.
I look forward to relating to girl things with Ava. Some day I hope she asks me if she can get her ears pierced. We could go shopping and out for lunch, call it a "Girl's Day". I hope down the road I learn how to do little girls hair. I want to help guide her to make her own decisions in life. If she would rather not wear a skirt, and have her hair short, then that is fine too. For now, we are looking forward to celebrating her first birthday. Family is coming over on Saturday for her party. I wonder if she'll love her first taste of cake as much as her brother did.
Ava getting ready for her first birthday party! 
On Friday we gave her a basketball net for her gift. She loves playing "ball". 
Anthony thought it'd be a good idea to set her net up in front of his bigger net. 
Anthony is giving his sister a hug here. He's come a long way since last year and now they are playing nicely most of the time. 
