Happy Half Birthday, Wyatt!

You always hear, "It goes by so fast!" but this has not always been the case for us.  That said, it is hard to believe our little Wy guy is 6 months old.  He brings us so much joy and fills our hearts even fuller with each passing day.  Being back at work leaves life in a bit of a swirl, if you will.  And it's easy to think about how many loads of laundry need to be done, if the diaper bag is fully equipped for the day, and the thought of - Really?  It's time for another bottle? but when I stop and think about this little life we've been given, I am overwhelmed with joy.  I recognize it's cliche to say but for us, it's truly our reality.  And a beautiful one.  Happy half birthday to our beloved miracle baby. 

Seaside

Over President's Day weekend we joined Matthew's family for a little getaway.  Just before this trip we had visited the pediatrician and our biggest question for her was, "When can we go places?" and she replied, "Where do you want to go?"  "Out to eat?" we said.  "Go out to eat!  That's an easy one!  You can keep him covered."  Yahoo!  So, we were excited to go more places than outside with Wyatt which we were able to do in Seaside.  We stayed in a darling little house right on the Promenade, enjoyed lots of walks (Wyatt LOVES the stroller), a few dinners out (he only screamed through half of each), and fun with family.  It was Wyatt's first look at the ocean although I'm not sure he was ever awake to see it!

This also happens to be the place Matthew proposed exactly 11 years ago at Haystack Rock so I've included some pictures from that day, too! :)

51

Today I boxed up Wyatt's preemie clothes (saving a few special ones to keep) and sent them to Evergreen in hopes that other families can experience that wonderful day like we did.  

Day 50 in the NICU wasn't a great one.  Day 51 was splendid.  I'll never forget arriving at the NICU, tentatively walking in, always wondering what hurdle we would face that day, checking the board to see if his weight was up or not, and then peering into that ever familiar plastic box to see my baby.  

That day was different.  When I peered in, I saw my tiny bundle in clothes. Real, commercially produced, Carter's-label-toting, that-other-babies-wear...clothes!  I'll never forget that navy and white striped onesie, joking about how the horizontal stripes made his tiny figure look just a tad bit larger.

You never know when these babies are ready for the next "normal" but that day, the nurses knew, and someone had shared their outgrown baby's preemie clothes and made our day 51 unforgettable.  Hopefully someone else's day 51 or 31 or 91 will be extra special, too with one of Wyatt's outgrown outfits.