4 Years Ago Today

It is so hard to believe that 4 years ago today, the moment we waited for seemingly for a long time, finally happened! Last night when we tucked Jesstine into bed, I told her that 4 years ago exactly, we were trying to get some sleep for what would be one of the biggest and most anticipated moments in our life! We were so excited! We were ready for our empty arms to be filled. Yet, with the anticipation was the sadness of a year earlier. I remember feeling so many things leading up to her birth! Nonetheless, her birth was one of the most healing moments for me! I felt so blessed to have a little girl to take home with me this time! It was a great feeling! And here we are four years later!

How does something so small

Turn into this so quickly:

At four, Jesstine you are more than I could EVER have dreamed of! You are beautiful. You are smart. You are inquisitive.

I love that you can be so wrapped up in your world. 

I love your zest for life. 

I love your peaceful, innocent spirit.

I look in those big blue eyes and I know that you will do great things and be a great person.

I pray each day that you will always focus on God's plan for your life. That you will keep Him first in everything that you choose to do. Just as I did for your sister and I do for you brother, I see great things in your future! For now, I celebrate in the you that is now. The spunky, fun, beautiful, smart, wonderful, ornery, FOUR year-old that I am proud to call MY daughter!

At four years old, Jesstine is 39.5-40 inches tall (not sure on this because she is in the middle of a growth spurt! The last time I measured her she was 39.5 inches, but that was a few weeks ago and I have since had to move the straps up on her car seat). She weighs roughly 35 lbs. She typically wears size 4/5 (xs) girls tops and a 4T-5T pants/shorts/skirts etc., She is tall and thin so any bottoms are usually falling off of her waist at the same time they are too short! She is reading. She loves to run and jump. She has recently discovered the computer and loves to play the "Wiggly Waffle" on sproutonline.com. Her favorite meal is typically "mommy's style Lunchable" which consists of lunch meat, wheat thins, cheese stick, carrots, a fruit (usually apples or grapes), and hummus. She loves her brother albeit in small doses and only when he isn't noisy. She giggles and screams at the same time when he pulls her hair (he does it just to hear her squeal, no doubt). She still has her own make believe world and I still (although less frequently in the past few months) hear her talking to her dolls and making up games/stories/play worlds! I love every minute I get to hear such things! She sleeps with about 15 different "buddies" in her bed including (but not limited to) a couple of octopuses, a lady bug, two dinosaurs (sometimes three), a dragon, a pink cat, a baby doll, and of course her beloved Dumpty. She will be starting her second year of preschool this year and likely kindergarten next year. She is SUPER excited about that. She is beginning to have an opinion on what she wears and how she wears her hair (she prefers a bob with a pretty bow as opposed to a regular ponytail). 

I am so blessed to be her mom! She has been everything and more that I have ever dreamt of in a daughter! I praise God each and every day for allowing her to be a part of my life (and vise versa) even when she is defiant and tells me "NO" as I ask her to do something. I am so proud to share her with you!

(All photos except for the very first in this post are courtesy of our wonderful friend and photographer, Miss Danita Loney.)

In Him,

The Hutchins Family