Happy 3rd Birthday Mia!

Dearest SweetPea,

Wow, 3 years ago seems so long ago, but that is when you made your amazing entry into this world. At 1:03 pm, you came out yelling and we were so excited to hear your little voice. A girl, we had a a girl! What an incredible journey God has taken you on these past 3 years.

One of our big prayers last year is that you would only be in the hospital once this year for your final intestinal surgery. That happened last Thanksgiving and we are grateful it went well. You did end up going under anesthesia one more time after that for an intestinal biopsy, but otherwise we haven't had to see those hospital walls. We've still had quite a few doctor visits, but no hospital stays, Praise the Lord!

Another big prayer was that you would start walking and we are so excited that you are there! Walking has given you so much independence and confidence. You used to cry when Mommy left the room, but now you just wander around and find me. That has been such a blessing.

Another one of our prayers was that you would start talking again and we need to say Praise the Lord because you are using your voice! You can't always say everything correctly, but we love how you try. Over this past year you learned your ABC's and how to read words and have an absolute passion for those. We love how you have become this little sponge that wants to learn, it's so awesome to see your personality develop. We are forever grateful that God has given you a second chance when science said you wouldn't have one.

This past year you were diagnosed as celiac and then not celiac and then maybe celiac and then definitely not celiac. We're happy you are not celiac, but it has been quite a journey to try to get you to gain weight. You are pretty much 24 pounds, which is only 2 pounds bigger than last year, but we think you are finally on the path forward for gaining weight. You are also 35 inches which is only 2 more inches than last year, but we are convinced you'll grow much more this year.

This year one of your favorite words to sign was "help" because you love helping, dishes, laundry, cooking...you are everyone's big helper. This year you also became a big sister and you love your little brother. You've already started teaching him about animals and ABC's. One of your favorite games is to have Daddy chase you around after you say "Mama" and he says, "no...Daddy!" because you tease him by not saying "Daddy".

We love you so much SweetPea and have so much fun watching you grow up. We look forward to all the praises we'll have to report after another year. God has been so gracious and good to you. Our big prayers for this year would that you would improve your speech and learn to control your bowels. They seem like large goals, but we know that with God, anything is possible.

All our love,
Mommy, Daddy & Calvin!