3

today our carson turns 3. i am in shock that it has been three years since our journey as parents began. three years ago our lives were changed forever. even though it wasn't your typical entry into parenthood, it was ours. it was the entry into preemie parenthood, which is a whole new and scary world that not many people get to experience. it was scrubbing your hands and arms till your skin was raw, looking at numbers first before looking at your baby, checking the tubes to see what was added or (hopefully) taken away, listening to report from your nurse of the day, and just sitting next to your sweet children waiting for a good time to change a diaper or just take their temperature to try and do something "normal."

but before we knew it we were taking our little guy home. again, not the homecoming we were anticipating, for one of our sweet boys was not physically with us, but a homecoming it was. now our lives were to really begin. and now, three years later carson has amazed us all with what he can do. i remember worrying myself so much about what would be. would he be blind, could he hear us, will he ever talk, was his brain growing normally, will he walk, run? with the last two not quite checked off (but they will be soon he is so very close) carson proved me wrong in every way. and now he is three. amazing.

from this (almost 2 months old in the NICU, weight about 3 lbs)...

to this. 3 years old today asking his daddy to take him for a ride on the mule.

happy birthday carson and cooper. we love you both so very much.