My Baby Turns Four

Laura turned four this weekend. Four. My baby is four. Four years old. Wow. Where does the time go?

I find it hard to believe that she's four and really not a 'baby' any longer. Hasn't been for a long time but still... she's so young. And then again, she's not. It seems like just yesterday when she came in to this world a little thing that 'mewed' more than cried. A medically fragile infant that wasn't supposed to make it past the first week, let alone four years. An infant that was supposed to need intensive interventions for the rest of her life born to parents that needed to face reality.

This year, as I think about my daughter, none of those things were really important any more. She's survived. We celebrated that when she turned two. She's now thriving. A true four year old going on 14 with Daddy wrapped around her little finger and Mommy trying hard to hold the line while training Daddy, too.

So what did I think about this year when evaluating my precious little gift? I thought about joy and laughter. I thought about love and comfort. I thought about the end of the growth of our family being the one who would test us the most and yet balance that with a quiet, patient personality wrapped up in a package so cute you just want to hug it. I thought about what her life has meant to all of us and how it has changed the boys for the better. I thought about how she's taught us all to perservere and continue to matter what the cost because you know it is the right thing to do. I thought about how much she is like her Daddy and yet, she's so much like me sometimes it scares me. And I thought about her smile and how it warms my heart.

My baby. She's four. She's been such a blessing. And she's going to be just fine. Here are a few pictures from her life so far. Going down memory lane just reminded me of how far she's really come.





Her g-tube was such a part of her for two years. Now it is hard to remember it at all.




One of her many sets of casts kept her feet at odd angles as we worked to recorrect her clubfeet.








More of her casts are shown here as she wishes she were outside instead of in.


The first time she dressed herself - almost without help. :)


Check out the socks... it was her ingenious way of carrying her things from room to room.




She LOVES to read.


Her first "big girl" braids.


The first time Jonathan dressed her while letting her pick out what she wanted to wear.


Our Princess... she is wearing casts under that gown. But she had a blast anyway. :)


And finally, her birthday. Can you tell what kind of cake she had for her birthday???


Look closer... Yes, it was indeed chocolate!