Four. Seriously. She is four?

Though it feels like just yesterday that I met her, it is hard to think of my life without her in it.  Was there really a time when I was not a mother?  It seems like a whole new life began on this day four years ago.  The nurse lay my darling girl on my chest and she opened her eyes wide and looked right into mine.  From that instant, I was connected to her in a way I never knew was possible.  Now, I am watching her grow into a beautiful girl who amazes us every day with all that she can overcome.

It was about 24 hours after this picture was taken that we discovered that our baby girl was going to be a big sister. We had no idea, of course, that she would be a big sister times two! 

At her second birthday party, I felt like I had blinked and she wasn't a baby any more.  With tiny little brothers around, she seemed so big and too grown up already!

Three was a tough birthday for us because all of the wonderful services she had through EI ended.  With all the turmoil we faced this last year in terms of her education and support, I wondered how we would ever get to four!  She has been incredible, though, enduring the changes of starting school, changing schools three times, taking a bus, and learning so many new things.

Now, at four, I look at her in her beautiful flower girl outfit and feel like if I am not careful to savor every moment, I will wake up and she will be walking down the aisle herself.  We have so much hope that Mairead will be able to do or be anything she chooses, and that no dream will be out of reach.  We hope that we can do everything in our power to help her accomplish anything!

Happy birthday, Mairead.  We love you so much!