4 years old! Happy Birthday Boo!

Today is Jenelle's 4th birthday. It's strange to think that our girl is 4 years old. Part of it feels like 40 years ago, some of it like yesterday. She is not the "baby" she used to be, and yet she is still delayed and not quite a little girl.

This is Jenelle's 1st photo after her early entrance into the world. So tiny, so white. I look at my self in this photo, and I think there was a part of me, perhaps a "mommy" instinct deep down inside that knew this child was different. I like to look back on these days as days of bliss when we still didn't know anything to be wrong, but I remember and think in my heart that I knew it was different even then.

Here we are about to leave the hospital. I remember wrapping her up just before this photo and thinking she is simply beautiful. When Jack was a baby, I thought he looked like a little old man. Nothing cute about him, but of course no Mom says that. But with Jenelle, she was just a beautiful (and a little jaundice) baby.

Jack was so young when Jenelle arrived - only 22 months old. I really don't think he had a concept of what it meant to have a new baby in the house. He was happy of course. But I don't think he ever really got it.

This was the photo we used for her birth announcement.
And of course, around 10 months of age Jenelle was diagnosed with Epilepsy. Our lives changed and she has overcome so much. Today we had a small party with family, and Jenelle seemed to enjoy it. We have a 4 year old in the house!

Happy Birthday Boo!