Megan Hatchway-San Francisco, California

When I first lay eyes upon Bella, I fell in love immediately. We actually. I remember holding Jessica's hand during the car ride home.

"Honey, she's perfect in everyway!! Look at her little hands, her button nose."

"Yeah, our baby is fine in every way. Our baby. You know, I still can't believe I said that. Our baby."

Bella was five when she asked us, well, about us.

"Megan, Jessica, everyone is asking me why I have to mommies." I looked at Jess and smiled.

"Well, let's see sweetie. You know how mommies and daddies love each other?" Bella nodded, and Jess continued.

"Well, Bella, Megan and I love each other like that. But, we love you even more." I was expecting more questions, but Bella just threw her arms around Jess's legs, which means she wanted to be picked up.

"Thanks Jessica thanks Megan. Can I go play outside?"

"Yeah baby. Go ahead." I touched her reddish hair. She leapt from Jess's arms and ran out to the backyard.

Oh, yeah, this is a piece of her hair. Her first haircut. Oh, do you want to see her first dolly? Yeah, she loves Daffy Duck. We even painted a huge Daffy Duck mural in her room. Want to see it? I did this part, Jess did this, and Bella painted this little area. She did a nice job. She has the hands of an artist and the talent to go with it.

Wait until you see this. This won the district art show when she was fifteen. It's of two angels. Me and Jess. I cried when I saw it. It moved me so much.

"Hey Megan, don't you like it? Remember the time when you and Jessica were dancing under the mistletoe at Gram's party? That's where I got my inspiration. See how their hands are intertwined? I just thought that would be the perfect touch."

"It is so amazing. Can I hang this in the front room?" I kissed her cheek, and hugged her tightly. Jess came over and hugged the both of us. It was the greatest day of our lives.

When Bella turned 16, her mutant powers emerged. It scared me, and amazed me. We have a rubber tree plant in the kitchen. Here, let me show you. Isn't it cute? We bought it the day we brought Bella home. It's now…hmm…five feet tall or so. Well. Back to Bella.

One of Bella's chores was to tend to it. And boy, did she tend to it. I heard Bella scream when it's branches broke through the ceiling. I ran in and saw Bella. She was just standing there, screaming. The rubber tree plant had grown through the ceiling and the entire room. Needless to say, we all ran from the house; Jess still had shampoo in her hair.

After a few days, we got a visitor. A woman. A very unusual woman. She was brisk and, dare I say it, just plain rude.

"Your…daughter…has the ability to control the growth of plants." She looked at Jess and I like we had the plague.

"So, what?"

"Without training, she may hurt others. I will provide the training." Jess placed her hand over mine, while that Darkholm bitch looked in disgust.

"I would never hurt a soul! And I don't like the way you are talking to my parents!! Get out now!!" Bella stood up and was in that woman's face. "You come into OUR house and you think you can just treat them like that. Get OUT!!"

Darkholm left. Thank god.

Bella is pretty confident with her ability. We have a little garden in the backyard for her. It's so pretty. She even decorated the front of the house with climbing roses. I think the sweetest thing she did was decorate Jess's and my room with flowers on our anniversary. We woke up and…wow. So beautiful.

I knew that Bella would be the most perfect child in the world. And she is. Jess and I love her so much. We are always here for her, and she is here for us. People said we wouldn't make good parents. You know, same- sex parents get a lot of slack from others. But, I think we did a damn fine job.