Let's hear it for FOUR!!!

Four years ago June 13th fell on a Friday. This fact is the first thought that came to my mind after my water broke and it occurred to me that my second child would be born on this supposedly unlucky day.

Lola, like her sister Amelia before her, decided to arrive early. In fact, with both of my pregnancies my water broke at exactly 37 weeks, 3 days gestation. I guess my body has an internal timer that pops when it reaches this point in pregnancy.

Anyway, it had been my plan to have Lola on June 24th. I picked this date because it was an even number and I have a "thing" for even numbers. Plus, all the other members of our family have birthdays that fall on an even date so I wanted her to follow suit. My doctor was positive I wouldn't make it to her due date, which was July 1, and was skeptical I would continue to cook until June 24th; but he went ahead and penciled me in to have a C-section on that date.

However, just two days later Lola Celeste let us know she was in charge of this thing. She didn't care that I wanted her to have an even-dated birthday or that Friday the 13th isn't considered an optimal day to be born. She arrived in spectacular fashion after mommy had suffered six hours of increasingly bad contractions while enduring a catheter that felt as big around as a stove pipe all because the OB/GYN on call felt that as a "scheduled (C-section) patient" I should just wait for my doctor - who, by the way, was royally pissed at the treatment she gave me and let her know as much.

Anyway, Lola came into this world at 8:30 in the morning, but it was quite some time before I got to hold her in my arms. First of all, I stayed in recovery for what seemed like a sweet forever with a nurse who could easily win the world chatterbox competition ( I just wanted to close my eyes and rest, but she preferred to share with me how desperate she was to have another baby in the hopes it would be a girl. (It wasn't. She now has three boys and a husband who is DONE having kids.)).

Secondly, Lola's blood sugar dropped after she was born - a side-effect of my terrible gestational diabetes - so daddy had to feed her some sugar water and formula and let the nurses monitor her for a while before she could leave the nursery. When Jeff finally wheeled her into my room, I was beyond ready to get ahold of my sweet 7-pound, 14-ounce bundle of preciousness.

During my pregnancy, I had worried a lot as to whether I would be able to love another child as much as I loved Amelia, who had been my whole world up until this point. I also worried Amelia would suffer if I had to divide the attention I'd been giving her with another child. All of my fears and worries were erased, though, when I wrapped my arms around my sweet second daughter.

It's really true that you don't have to divide your love or your attention because, instead, you manage to multiply it. Plus, Amelia is crazy about her sister - even during those times when it seems she's ready to give her away - so I cannot imagine a life where she didn't receive this precious gift.

Today, Lola is the child who has helped me be a better parent, helped Amelia understand the concept of thinking about someone other than herself, and helped Jeff to understand the pains his mother went through with him when he was a child since Lola is him made-over personality-wise. She loves music, has an amazing imagination, makes friends easily, finds joy in the simplest things and keenly understands how to get what she wants. Despite her birth date, there's not one thing I would classify as unlucky about this little lady.

It's so hard for me to grasp the notion that "my baby" is four years old, but I am immensely grateful she is marking this milestone since she had to endure a major surgery at 10-months old to correct a birth defect in her skull. Because of this we all recognize much more acutely the importance of cherishing every day.

I am blessed to be the mother of this smart, strong, independent, confident, smart, kind, and beautiful girl, and I look forward to navigating the future with her and learning even more about her - and myself - as we travel this course together.

She still makes this face when she's sleeping. 

Cake with butter cream icing continues to rank as one of her favorite foods.

This sand and water table, which was her "big present"on her second birthday, still gets lots of use.

Lola's third birthday found her becoming the princess we've always known her to be. 

Here's the face of FOUR! Love my Lola Bean!!