Jocelyn is Four!

Today is Jocelyn’s Fourth Birthday.

My baby, my girl, the last baby I will ever have, is turning four today.

I say it a lot, I think it a lot, but I still don’t know…where does the time go? Four years ago I was very sick with a nasty cold, but my doctor decided he wanted to do my c-section before I got any worse. Jon was sick, too, and his Mom was out for a visit. When Joci was born she was covered head to toe in a newborn rash and had a cute little bow in her hair when she was brought to me. Jon had to go home he was so sick. Later he brought Joe in to meet his baby sister. He was so excited to see her that he squeezed her arm a little too tight and it made her cry, and her crying made him cry. I will never, ever, forget him tickling her pink little newborn toes.

Joci is my extremes girl. She is almost always one extreme or the other. Whether it’s a terrible tantrum, or an over-exuberant hug, she does it all with gusto.

She is my girly girl. My pink loving, tutu and fairy wing wearing, singing, dancing, spitfire of a girl. She likes being a girly-girl, while also being a tomboy and playing in the dirt and the mud.

When I was pregnant with her and we found out she was a girl (oops!) admittedly, I didn’t know what I’d do with a girl. I haven’t been a girly-girl since I was four, and I absolutely hated the color pink. In fact, a good friend of mine bought me some really cute outfits for Jocelyn right after she was born and complained about how hard it was to find things that weren’t pink. I didn’t even like that everyone was over-using the word princess. But, then I had my little Lulu, and I have finally relented. If she wants Barbies and Disney Princess, whatever, that’s what she likes, who am I to tell her any different?

Joci is a lot like her Daddy. She is very, very headstrong and stubborn, nothing at all, of course, like me (Ü). She knows what she wants and she will fight to the very bitter end to get it. So, this can be annoying, yes, but it’s also an admirable trait in some ways. Perhaps when she is older, she will not compromise easily on the things she needs to be happy. Perhaps she won’t be a pushover when boys or peers pressure her to do things she doesn’t want to do. At least that’s what I tell myself when she is being especially difficult.

She can be super empathetic, though, too. When someone has a boo-boo, she is right there, comforting them, hugging them, and telling them it will be ok. She is quite the little Mommy, too. She loves playing with her baby dolls, feeding them and changing their diapers and rocking them to sleep.

Jocelyn is my tiny little baby, still able to curl up and snuggle on my lap when she needs a hug or is tired or grumpy. I love that feeling, being able to fold my arms around her to comfort her and make the bad things go away with snuggles and hushes and kisses on top of a sweet smelling head.

Joci is four now, which brings with it a challenging goal that we’ve had of getting her to quit sucking her finger. It’s going to be a very difficult journey to get that done, but it has to happen if she ever wants straight teeth.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl, I Love you more than all the Twinkle Stars in the Sky!