Lyra is 2 years old.

Part of me is still a little stunned that we have made it this far. She is 2.  She is no longer our little baby. It’s almost overwhelming to be honest, and I have been trying to digest it for awhile now. I remember sitting in the waiting room on the NICU at Children’s national when she was only 2 weeks old, talking to my sister, and her saying “when Lyra turns 3 months we are going to throw her the biggest party.” We didn’t know if she would make it that far.  I remember when she turned 3 months old I cried all day because I was happy, but still so scared.  I knew we weren’t out of the woods. Between that point and her first birthday we had another emergency surgery, six more hospitalizations, and more trips to the emergency room than I can count.

I remember trying to be really happy on her first birthday, but it was hard.  We knew she was sick and she likely needed to go back into the hospital, but we were trying so hard to keep her out. At 2 AM on the 12th I took her to the emergency room and we were admitted by 7 AM.  A few days later we celebrated her birthday in the cafeteria at the hospital. The cake I had carefully baked for her remained in the freezer at home. She wasn’t even allowed to try any of the cake my family had brought with them.  It was bittersweet.  We were so happy at how far she has come, but it was hard to celebrate that in the hospital.

(1st Birthday)

But today, she is two. We have had a very different year.  The most important difference is that Lyra has not been hospitalized since her first birthday! …. knock on wood…. Don’t get me wrong, we have had plenty of ER visits (including one earlier this week), but we have managed to keep her home.  In this last year Lyra has learned to use a baby walker, and has grown out of it.  Her new new walker should be here in a few months. She has learned to stand and to cruise along a couch.  She asks to be picked up, and crawls after her favorite buddy (Tyke).  Oh, and she learned how to climb to stairs (and is working on climbing everything else in our house). Many of her medical issues have stabilized, and we have learned how to better manage her GI issues. She is bigger, stronger, and oh such a happy kiddo.

So, today we celebrate her 2nd birthday and how far she has come. Enjoy the images below.  I call them: “It was easier to get good pictures of you before you could move.”