I CALL HER - MY BUCA BIRD

Layla is fire and ice. Oh how I love my girl and I love that she's my only girl. Layla came to this family to teach me that I am a mom. The term "baptism by fire" - That was my Buca's tactic to get me into the motherhood sorority. I didn't trust that I really deserved to be a mom and after taking stock in the comments of "do you think she knows you're not her real mom?"... my confidence was failing miserably. Layla came into this life like a lion and until we figured out the cause of her colic, I questioned every single moment of my capabilities as her mother. 

Then, one day we went to the temple together, and everything changed. We became one eternal family circle. We became blood, we came to an understanding, and we both relaxed into our roles and we let each other in. 

Layla is strong, determined and just as emotional as her mother. I love her for those things and I know that if I channel her determination and strong will the right way... she'll accomplish exactly what she puts her mind to. Lets hope I can teach her to put her mind to good things. Layla lives with zeal yet her timidness overpowers her zeal when it comes to swimming, speed, and food. She's content to sit at the side of the pool and be waited on hand and foot, she prefers to mosey along at a snails pace on her bike, and if it's not toast with honey for breakfast... don't even try. 

I love my little bull headed Buca Bird. She is just as sweet as she is stubborn and her instinctive desire to nurture is obvious as we lay in bed together at night and she tickles my face and strokes my hair. She loves to hear "her story" and she knows it by heart now. She delights in being helpful and her soul lights up when I tell her I'm proud of her good choices. Buca absolutely falls apart without structure and boundaries... as does yours truly.  We both learned to trust each other and we have a secret little understanding the is unexplainable.