HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALLA!!!!

I am sitting here thinking about how one year ago I was in a hospital in Eugene, OR, wondering when my little girl would be born and if she would be healthy. Now I am sitting in my living room, having just put my perfect little girl down for the night. In the last year she has grown from 3 lbs 2oz to almost 20 lbs. She has gone from not being able to breast feed to feeding herself chicken, carrots, pasta, and peas for dinner tonight. A year ago her little hard barley fit around her Daddy's thumb, too having big hands that can grab a wooden block and hand it to her mother. Life is amazing, babies are amazing, my little girl is amazing. I can't wait to celebrate Calla's birthday tomorrow. She has brought so much joy to our lives and we could not be happier. Enjoy some of these pictures from the beginning of her life and from the recent weeks.

Just after birth, April 15, 2008.

Calla is holding her Daddy's hand.

Calla showing off her long arms to her mamma!!

Calla just before her 1st birthday!

Calla celebrating AZ just before her first birthday!!

Signs you know the parent of a preemie when

1. your kids wear 0-3 months for 6 months plus.

2. you don't freak out when your baby turns blue while eating a bottle..the whole breathing/swallowing thing just isn't figured out yet.

3. you have a NICU "routine" down, and are more familiar with their "pumping" room than your own bedroom.

4. you can change your baby's diaper while holding both of their legs up with two fingers only (don't we wish it was still that easy!)

5. they fit perfectly in your cleavage, wrapped up in a robe :)

6. your baby looks like a little old man, and when she starts looking like a baby you get freaked out!

7. your parents are too scared to hold your baby, and keep telling you "maybe when they hit 5 pounds, I'll feel more comfortable..."

8. your hands are raw from washing with hospital soap.

9. the smell of hospital soap makes you think of your baby and you smile :)

10. You know your baby's weight in grams, not pounds.

11. You have a total sigh of relief when your baby hits 3 pounds!!

12. Your new best buds are the nurses, and you grill them each time you enter the room.

13. You will never be able to listen to beeping and buzzing monitors without your heart skipping a beat.

14. you mastered washing their bottom through two arm holes in an incubator.

15. the best day of your life isn't the day your baby is born, it's the day you get to bring him home!

16. You get a few extra weeks with professionals to know your baby and learn how to take care of him or her before being on your own!

17. You value those last few weeks of sleep even more :)

18. You become friends with the night guard in the ER who lets you in the hospital after hours

19. You become even closer to your baby, becoming war veterans together in "the fight for life"

20. The complaints of the 'normal' moms become laughable and you have an unspoken understanding with other preemie moms

21. Every milestone is even more special and impressive

22. Double their birth weight by 6 months? Try quadruple! ;)

23. You never knew that 18 hours a day in a hospital for weeks on end could be the highlight of your summer.

24. You never wished so hard for a sleepless night in your own home with a crying child.