Happy Birthday Mia!

Precious Mia,

Wow, time flies when you are having fun and it seems like we just blinked and you turned 2 years old! We love you so much sweetie, you are becoming such a "big" girl! How big? Well, over the last year you've gained 6 pounds 6 ounces to bring you to 21 pounds 10 ounces. And you've stretched out 6 more inches, to make you now 33 inches long...or is it tall, we can't remember. ;) That's alot of 6's!

Over the past year you've learned how to crawl and pull to stand, one of these days you'll be walking, you keep getting closer. But, crawling does get you most places you want to go, including the cat's water dish, which you know is a No No, but it's always so tempting. Sometimes we get you before you make it there and tell you No, other times you get there and splash away before we can catch you...then we have a pretty big mess.

We keep praying that we won't have to spend as much time in the hospital each year, that's our prayer for this coming year. This past year you spent 9 days in the hospital for surgeries, which included heart surgery and surgery to recreate your anal opening. But, because your anal opening didn't heal right you spent another 19 times under anesthesia for the doctor to repack your bottom (wow, 19 more times of anesthesia, that's more than I thought it was), that was alot of 4am trips to LA, no wonder Mommy was so exhausted! And during those repackings you had one long hospital stay of 11 days! That's 20 days in the hospital last year just for hospital stays (that doesn't include doctor appointments...), and 21 times of anesthesia. We are praying that this year we finish with 1 more hospital stay and 1 more time of anesthesia and that we are done, that's what we are praying for big girl!

Over the past year you haven't said too much, in fact, it made us really sad when you stopped saying Mama, but you have learned a dozen signs and we keep teaching you more. Plus, we started speech therapy and we've seen alot of improvement over the past few weeks, so we are praying for lots more words over the next year, we really do love hearing your sweet voice.

This past year you started going to school, you were too smart for your class and they moved you up and you keep learning new things! You also do alot of therapy, our schedule is busy. You now do physical, occupational, and speech therapy...and mommy wants to start taking you to water therapy classes! You're a trooper and you really love all your therapists, so much that you even give them kisses when you go. We do love those kisses!

You continue to be an amazing testimony of the grace and power of the awesome God we serve! Your little life continues to touch so many people, God is using your little life in such an amazing way for Him! We can't wait until you are old enough to understand your own story and get to share it yourself. In the meantime, we keep writing it down so that you'll be able to look back and see how God answered so many of our prayers and healed your body in such an amazing way. We can't say it enough, but thank you God! Yet, even more than healing our little girl, thank you for sending your Son to die on the cross for us!

We love you baby girl,
we are looking forward to the "terrific" two's!

Mommy and Daddy