And Then She Was 4....

 

 I had an amazing pregnancy with Lula Mae. Other than some preterm contractions and delivering at 36 weeks, everything was perfect. Even being born 4 weeks early our little girl was healthy. 6 lbs 3 oz and as precious as could be, we were smitten.

 

 I loved every moment of her babyhood. She was an easy baby. Her biggest problem was needing to be on a rigid schedule. I liked the schedule, don't get me wrong, but this girl wanted everything to be the same... every.single.day. Don't even think about messing it up by half an hour! OCD from day one folks, I kid you not!

 Her first 6 months were good. She was cute as a button and such a happy girl. Although she still had peach fuzz for hair.... no bows for this girl yet!

At a year she was bubbly and talkative. She was always laughing and smiling. She was so content to just sit and play. So content! By this time she was already reading so many words and was so into learning new ones!

By 18 months she finally decided to walk.  Her hair was growing... and as it grew those curls started showing! She loved being outside and would talk your head off if you let her. She had started reading sentences at this point.

 

At two she became a big sister. He curls we getting longer and more precious! She was a sweet little girl and yet so sassy. Tiny and talkative still. 

 As she neared 3 we saw so much change in her. Lots of personality and independence came spilling out of her tiny body.

 At 3 we hit a wall. Don't let that sweet face fool you, she was quite a wild one. She started learning how to be a person and that my friends got ugly. She started throwing fits and tantrums like you would not believe. We figured it would not be long and we would be out off the woods and start seeing our sweet little girl again. 

We were wrong! The second half of her 3rd year was terrible. We struggled day in and day out with this little curly headed thing. I won't lie, there were times where I thought she must be the spawn of satan! She made everything from eating to going to the store difficult. She was harder at 3 and a half than any other stage and Charlie and I both were being worn down. Our little curly headed girl is one of the strongest willed children I have ever seen, and I know God will use her mightily someday! 

And now she is 4. No longer a baby, or even a toddler.... a little kid. A kid with spunk and personality that I cannot do justice writing about. She is a one of a kind and I am so blessed to call her my daughter! She is so smart that it is scary sometimes. She has all the books of the old Testament memorized and knows roughly 30 bible verses and 29 Catechisms. She adores church and everyone there. She loves worship music and has a new love for dancing. She would live outside if it were up to her. She loves Veggie Tales and would spend all day in front of a TV if we would allow it. She never meets a stranger. She is quite a big helper, but you have to ask for it... she is not one to just jump in there. We are still working on having a servants heart ;-) She can blow your mind with her deep thoughts and conversations. The more I look at her the more I fill with pride. I am so proud of her in so many ways. She started out so tiny and seems so big now. God is working hard on her and I adore seeing the process. This year was our toughest yet with Lula Mae but Charlie and I are both still standing and we won't give up on this precious little girl!

Happy birthday Lula Mae Bell. I love you so much!