This post is part 6 of 7 in the series Sugar and Spice & Everything Daughters.

I have two boys, ages 3 ½ and 20 months, and we are adding a girl to the mix this summer! I’ll admit, I was pretty excited (and a little relieved) when the ultrasound tech said, “It’s a girl!” I love being a boymom, and honestly, I was preparing myself to have three boys, but deep down, I was really hoping for a girl!

While I’m excited to buy all the cute clothes and accessories (Target is a dangerous place these days!), I’ve also been thinking and praying about what it looks like to raise a daughter. In lots of ways, having a girl will be similar to having boys. She will still need sleep training, potty training, discipline, and lots of love, but as a woman, I know there are also things I want to teach her and share with her that will be different than what I do with my sons.

I have been blessed with a wonderful mother, who I consider to be a friend and mentor, and I hope and pray my relationship with my daughter is similar! Even though she may only live under my roof for 18 years, I pray our relationship extends well beyond that.

I think about the dreams I have for her. About qualities I want to teach her to have as a woman. And experiences and places I want to share with her.

I hope and pray that my daughter is secure in her identity.

That she knows who she is, without a doubt. That she doesn’t get lost in who the world says she should be, or who her friends think she is, or what anyone else says about her, but she knows who she is at her core. She is a child of God. She is deeply loved, and she is worthy of being loved. I want her to always know that she is beautiful, capable, intelligent, and bold.

I want my daughter to be kind.

Anyone can be nice, but I pray she is kind. That she sees people for who they are. That she loves others, expecting nothing in return, and that she is considerate of their feelings.

I want my daughter to be strong.

Not necessarily in the physical sense, but strong in her convictions and beliefs. Strong in character. Strong in spirit. And strong in truth.

These may seem like big dreams for a tiny girl who is still growing in my womb and doesn’t even have a name yet, but I am confident she is up to the challenge!

Read more from our Sugar and Spice & Everything Daughters series!

• I Didn’t Want a Girl
• The Pressure of Raising Girls
• Ribbons and Bows
• The Reluctant Mother to a Daughter
• She’s a Girl, but That Alone Does Not Define Her
• Like Mother, Like Daughter: My Mom’s Effect on How I’m Raising My Daughter