Little Man turns 5 today! Happy Birthday!!

Little Man, you are five years old today!  I can't believe my little bitty baby has grown into a big boy, who will be starting school in the fall.  Mommy cried a little bit last night when she thought about how fast the time is flying by.

Not a bearskin rug, but still pretty darn cute...

Little Man, you came popping into this world a full three weeks before I was expecting you... you were in a rush to come out and meet us!  You gave Mommy a rough time during your birth, but she forgave you pretty quick because you were the cutest baby she'd ever seen.

Meeting Mommy

After just a day with Mommy you left us in a fancy ambulance pod to go to the NICU.  Turns out some of the cute poses you were doing were actually seizures, and you needed to get your brain fixed right away.  Mommy hated that you had to leave without her, she had already fallen so in love with your little chubby cheeks and gorgeous lips.

A photo of you before you left on your trip to the NICU

You spent six weeks in the NICU, and you had two brain surgeries, a blood transfusion, and several other "smaller" procedures.  Mommy counted the minutes til she could take you home and everything would be "normal".  Little did she know that we would make our own normal, and that you would be the biggest challenge and adventure of her life.

First Birthday at the park near Grandma's house!

You surprised everyone with every milestone, pushing past the limits your NICU doctors had said you might achieve.  You refused to be a vegetable, you were a fighter!  You learned to adapt to your right-side weakness and you kept Mommy on her toes.  You also discovered you loved sugar.  After Mommy took away your smash cake you bawled your eyes out.  I bet you would've eaten the whole cake!

2nd birthday at Mommy's townhouse!

You became Mommy's climbing daredevil at 2 years old, causing all kinds of trouble!  We spent a long part of your 2nd year dealing with nighttime sickness, and nobody knew what was causing you to puke so much.  We also spent a lot of this year running around from one babysitter to another, because Mommy was working full time and we had moved to a townhouse far away from Mommy's family.  It was a pretty stressful year for Mommy, but you took it in stride!

3rd Birthday at Mommy and Daddy's house!

By your third birthday we had moved into Daddy's house!  Now you had two daddies who loved you very much, and you had a Mommy who could stay home and take you to a million doctors and therapists and find out what was bugging your insides.  Turned out that you'd been having a shunt malfunction and you needed Brain Surgery #3!  Your Mommy and both of your Daddies were there for that long week in the hospital!  You also learned to walk this year, which Mommy had been waiting for for so long!!  She was so very proud of you (and still is!)  This is also the year you slept through most of your birthday party.  Whoops!

Not your 4th birthday, but close to that time

I can't find a picture of your birthday last year, because we didn't have a party and I didn't take too many pictures.  You ate a cupcake and "blew out a candle" at our kitchen counter.  Pretty low key as far as birthdays go, but you didn't seem to mind - you still got tons of presents and love from family and friends anyway!  You spent most of your 4th year relaxing in between therapies and doctors visits - we decided to keep you home from school this year and I think it was a very smart idea.  You've gotten so much more social and fun to be around in a crowd because you feel safe and loved. 

For your fifth year Little Man, I hope you learn to talk.  I can't wait to hear your little voice someday - I hear your squeals and sounds now and know that you WILL talk, and I am being so patient!  I hope you love school the way Mommy loved school, even though it will be different for you.  I hope you learn to love your baby brother who is on the way, he is due on the very same day 5 years ago that you came home to Mommy from the NICU.   But even if none of these milestones happen this year, we will keep being patient and see what other fun things happen for you.  You are your own person, there is no one like you in the whole wide world - that is why Mommy is so lucky!!

Mommy can't wait to celebrate your birthday with you tonight and this weekend Little Man!  I am going to post this blog and then we are gonna watch some Thomas movies on the big screen and have a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch - perfect birthday times!