Three Years Old !!

Does this mean I can inform her that "terrible two" antics are a thing of the past?! Sure, good luck on that pipe dream being honored, mom. A mom can dream though... ;)

I can't believe three years have gone by. To think there was a time where all we could do was PRAY and HOPE and WISH that we would be able to see even one of Ava's Birthdays, it seems like such a foreign thought now days. But it very much was the reality of things. Not being promised another year, much less three incredibly healthy ones. "Healthy, how can you say healthy when your daughter still has an irregular heart that will always require repairs and monitoring?!" To know my daughter now, to see her, all you will see is a happy, thriving, engaging, precocious, loving and HEALTHY three year old girl. Sometimes shy, sometimes apprehensive, but hey who isn't now and then.

We were told to not expect much as far as development in Ava goes. That she would be severely delayed in almost everything, because "Almost all heart children are, especially those who spend as long as she did in the hospital." We were told she wouldn't ever be one of those smiling, happy babies. That she might fear everyone and everything. She wouldn't ever gain enough weight, eat by mouth, etc. You get the gist. Frankly, I get a kick out of boasting every chance I get to the people involved in saying such things that none of it could be further from the truth!! She has always been a very happy baby, loves everyone she meets, fears almost nothing(unfortunately for me, at times), and as far as cognitively, she isn't delayed in the slightest, sometimes topping charts in that area. Sure, she was in the lower range of "normal" for walking. But she still did it. The biggest hurdle for us has been speech, but even that has everything to do with muscle tone and nothing to do with a typical delay. So THERE, mean, cold, bitter men and women in white coats!

Ava is a blessing, one I am still not quite sure I deserved. She has brought so much to our family, that none of us could imagine life before her or without her. From day one Ava has been a force to be reckoned with. Showing her feistyness before she could even control movement in her fingers! Nothing there has changed, that's for sure! But her strong will and all around feisty side have been a big help for her overcoming these daunting hurdles thrown her way. So rather than curse whomever gave me a daughter more willful than myself and my husband combined, I THANK GOD for it.

Today that little girl that came home after three long and agonizing months in the hospital weighing under 8lbs and smiling for nobody is a happy, energetic, 31 pound THREE year old little diva. Happy Birthday Ava, we love you and are so very proud of you!!!




















Above are a few photo previews of some gorgeous pictures my super talented cousin Tracie took last weekend of the Birthday Diva. I adore them and can't thank her enough for doing a perfectly beautiful job capturing my daughter on film. I will treasure these forever. Enjoy. :)