From the Mouths of Babes

For the third summer in a row, I am nannying for two girls that I love very much. The oldest will be eleven in August. It's hard to believe I first knew her as a chubby three year old in my preschool class! The youngest just turned six and I've known her since she came home from the hospital.

The girls know that Jonathan and I are hoping to adopt a baby. I've often wondered what exactly that means to them. What do they think adoption is? Well, I recently had the opportunity to find out! Here's a snippet of our Thursday morning breakfast conversation:

**The topic of adoption came up when the six year old asked about our adoption cards. I ended my explanation with something about how a pregnant mom picks a family for her baby.**

6 year old: "The mom? So you're not the baby's mommy?"

Me: "Well, the baby will have two kinds of mommies. I'll be the mommy that feeds the baby, puts clothes on the baby, and helps the baby fall asleep. I'll do all the things that your mom does with you. The other mommy is the one whose tummy the baby grew in. She loves the baby too."

6 year old: "What makes the baby's mom pick you?"

Me: "You never know. It could be something funny, like she thinks Cody is cute. Or maybe she has an uncle named Jonathan and that makes her like us."

6 year old: "Or maybe she picks people who want the baby the most? You know, like they really need it?"

(... as she looks up at me with her big, earnest 6 year old eyes...)

6 year old: "What if the mom already has a kid and then she has another baby and can't take care of it?"

Me: "Sometimes that happens. A mom might realize that she doesn't have enough money to keep two kids healthy."

6 year old: "That makes me feel creepy. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

(I realized a few moments later that SHE is a second child! I think she was worried that her parents are going to find another family for HER! Don't worry, I talked with her about that later.)

6 year old: (She went immediately from her "I don't want to talk about it anymore" declaration to this) "So you won't know if it's a boy or girl? How will you have the right stuff? When the baby comes home, what happens then?"

Me: "A lot of things can work for both boys and girls. Things like bottles, diapers..."

6 year-old: "DIAPERS! I have old diapers! What kind do you want? You can have mine! Well anyway. I hope it's not a boy. Cody's a boy. Jonathan's a boy. If the baby's a boy you'll be way outnumbered! Okay. I'm done with breakfast. Can I leave now?"

I just wanted to scoop her up and give her a big squeeze. Those questions! So insightful, direct, and innocent all at the same time.