Happy 4th Birthday Sweet Girl

Today my Isabella is 4 years old!! Can you even believe it? I sure can't, actually she didn't believe it this morning either. She woke up and came in the kitchen as I was making her some princess waffles. I said "Happy Birthday! How old are you?" She smiled and put up 4 fingers, but then told me she really wasn't 4 yet. I told her she was but then she said "But I'm not REALLY tall?" So I had to get out the tape measure and measure her and convince her that indeed she had grown to be as tall as a 4 year old.

It seems like the last 4 years have gone by so quickly. I still remember, and with obvious choking back of tears, getting to the hospital at around 11pm (close to 2am our time) and Kenny and I giddily scrubbing up, and then looking in the NICU window and seeing a nurse in the back right corner holding this tiny baby with the most black hair I had seen on a baby and it was sticking up all over the place. I knew that was her. And holding her for the first time.... ahh what an amazing moment. In some ways it seems so far away, but then it also just feels like yesterday. Even in the absolute awe of the moment, I had no idea how sweet this precious girl was going to be. She is my cuddler, Ms. Independent, my social butterfly, she has an energy and spirit in her that amazes me. She can't keep a secret, she is not afraid to tell anyone Anything, she truly never meets a stranger and every person close to her size is an automatic friend, when this friendship is not reciprocated - she is persistent, when it is reciprocated they become her "best friend ever", even if she can't remember their name. She is stubborn, has her own will that I'm still hoping will be molded, not broken. She is quite dramatic -- sometimes this is good, lately this has not helped with her attitude or her new found skill of whining. Can I tell you just how much I hate whining...... She can be a tomboy or a princess, normally a tomboy dressed up as a princess. She is beautiful -- I hope her inner beauty blossoms even more than her outer beauty. She has a way of making people smile. She is sometimes selfish, but always compassionate. She is so many things that I wish I was. She has the most infectious laugh and she can make me laugh at the silliest things. She can frustrate me in a second, yet make my heart explode with joy even quicker. She loves life, loves us, loves her baby sister and I can not even begin to tell you just how much I love this precious girl!!! I pray that God continues to mold you to be the little girl, young girl, teenager, woman that He wants you to be. Happy Birthday Big Girl!!