Queen Josephine Turns 14!

Josie sedated after her first surgery.

The Queen has turned 14!  Okay, Queen Josephine turned 14 on Thursday.  As I'm baking her chocolate cake for her birthday party I've been looking at some photos of our little Queen.  Her existence into this world did not come easy, as you can see from the picture.  She was early and minutes after she was born her lung collapsed.  She was rushed to neonatal where she spent a few weeks due to her lung collapsing and fluid in her other lung.  While the NICU was trying desperately to save her life, the Queen would pull out her tubes whenever she was not sedated.  It was almost three weeks before we even knew what her eyes looked liked due to the sedation because she wasn't cooperative with the NICU staff or equipment, but they admired her fighting spirit!

Breathing on her own and chunky cheeks

The first year of the Queen's life she had pneumonia so many times that she had to be placed on specialized formula from England.  Despite being sick more than she was well, she hit all her milestones and was a happy baby!  I waited years to have a little girl to dress up and fix her hair, but like with everything concerning the Queen, she did things in her own time.  Poor girl didn't have a full head of hair until she was almost three!  Speech issues due to funny formations in the back of her throat didn't hinder her communicating with the world that she was here to stay and in charge!

I parent her different than the boys.  It probably has something to do with the fact that she is my only girl.  My husband will be very sweet and doting, I on the other hand can be very demanding and pushy.  My expectations for how she behaves, how she dresses and most importantly how she becomes a strong woman in the end drive many of our interactions.  Raising a Queen over a follower can be a grey hair experience.  Trust me I have the proof on my head. It's not always easy looking in a mirror and bumping two large personalities.  I'm sure that the boys are entertained by the fireworks at times.

 People assume that she takes after me.  If being bossy and stubborn are inherited traits, she got them honestly from yours truly.  Lots of people say she's a mini me, but that is not really true.  Queen Josephine is her own person! It is true that we share many of the same interests, but she participates in the world a lot easier than I do.  Like a true Queen, she really doesn't care about public opinion.  She does her own thing.  Her selection of friends in eclectic and not many people stay strangers for long.  Of all my kids, she works the hardest for everything that she gets!  School is not easy for her like it was for me.  It takes her a long time to read and she's a little bit of a perfectionist (I think it's a requirement for Queens). The Queen is confident that she has much to offer the world (and so is her mom)!  Time goes by very fast, but I'm excited to see the kingdom Queen Josephine creates for herself over the next 14 years!

Easter ten years ago!

The Queen at 14!

Flashback!