Kasey

Kasey Delaney Lynd. The first name was my choice. I had that name in mind for 10 years. Strangely enough, it was based on the sound of the name. I have always loved names with a hard beginning sound the most. For example, Chrisy, Katherine, or Kate. In contrast, my least favorite names begin with vowels, no power behind the beginning sound. Delaney is a name that both Chrisy and I loved. Chrisy liked it for a girl's first name, but I was set on Kasey. Delaney comes from a Jimmy Buffett song, "Delaney Talks To Statues" which is about Buffett's daughter. It's a sweet song and actually describes our little Kasey quite well: "She speaks a language all her own that I cannot descover, but she knows I love her so when I tuck her 'neath the covers." Buffett may not seem too romantic, but giving her this name really is special as it represents a significant bond, romantic history, and a shared interest between her mother and I. One of our first dates was at a Buffett concert. I told Chrisy she was my brown-eyed girl and, if he played that Van Morrison song, it was a sign that I was madly in love with her (of course, I had checked his website for setlists and knew he had played it every night of the tour). He played it, Chrisy bought it, and she gave birth to Kasey Delaney, my third brown-eyed girl, some eleven years later. All that's wrapped-up in this daughter's name. Pretty distinctive, huh?

Kasey turns two years old this June. Knowing that she's my last child has made every moment I've shared with her seem like it's in slow-motion and quite marvelous. I've savored every little moment these 704 days that I've had her in my life. Taking her to CostCo, waking up in the middle of the night for a drink of water, changing every diaper, they've all been treated like the gifts that they are: moments with my beautiful fourth baby. Her demeanor has been extraordinarily pleasant from the moment we brought her home. She truly has a winning personality, very low-key, incredibly happy. Kasey is also extremely loving and affectionate. She loves to hug, kiss, and pat her little hand on your back as a kind of affirmation, just letting you know she values you. She's able to communicate all that despite the fact that she's our slowest child to actually talk. The reason for this is likely that she has three older siblings to talk for her and she doesn't ever fail to get her needs met. And, lately she is talking more, but "poo" means water, diaper's full, crayon, and a few other things. True to her personality though, her "I love you" is actually pretty clear.

My favorite thing about Kasey is how she greets me when I walk in the door from work. She'll run from any room she happens to be in, saying, "da da" over and over again and she leaps, totally ready to embrace me with a big bear hug! It's completely rewarding! I love it when I put her into bed and I cover her with her favorite blanket and put her favorite little bear in her arms and I say, "Good night," and she says, "Ni, ni," and closes her eyes really tight, exaggeratedly tight, and a big smile always come to her face. I dig how positive she is. Just today she walks into our room at 6:30 a.m. and Chrisy says, "Good morning Kasey. How are you?" Kasey responds, "Goooo." Which of course, means good. She's always good!

The most bizarre thing I can write about here is this sense I often have that I have always known Kasey. I alluded to this in yesterday's post, Prelude to Kasey, the notion that God gave me a heads-up about this daughter. It really does feel like we've been pals since the beginning of time. Kasey has an exceptional quality to her and I look forward to seeing her blossom. One thing is certain, her little laugh alone has brought ineffable joy to all members of our family.