Four Hundred Thirty Five

Dear Baby Calan:

Today you are 435 days old. Since daddy likes to find the meaning in numbers, 4+3+5 = 12, which is the day of month you were born. These 435 days have been filled with amazing, tiring, soul-searching moments. At 45 days the doctors said that you didn't like mommy's milk and that you had to try this stuff called soy milk. They said it would make you stop crying all the time and hurting so much. At 55 days the doctors said that you didn't like soy milk so you had to be on this stuff that was made out of gold and cost mommy and daddy a small fortune or potentially your college savings (just kidding, it's still there but only for A&M - daddy says).

At 173 days, you had your very first trip to the ER. You were burning up, coughing and red all over. Mommy and daddy hopes that you didn't like that place too much and won't return for a long long time. At 183 days the doctors told us that you may have trouble seeing and may need baby glasses. They said that your nerve that connects your eyes to your brain was teeny tiny and it causes your eyes to twitch and unable to see out of the sides of your eyes or how far away something is. At 189 days the doctors told us that your muscles were abnormally weak and that you may have trouble walking and playing like all the other kids and may never play sports.

At 294 days you started working with a lovely talented lady named Lanee who helps your muscles build tough and strong. At 372 days your separation anxiety finally kicked in and you didn't want to be away from mommy or daddy not even a second. At 405 days you were hooked up to a machine that watched your brain go all squiggly on the paper. You didn't really like those wires connected to your head or the goo that was stuck in your hair either. But, you were a real trooper.

At 422 days, you met with a doctor that wanted to look deep inside to make sure all your squiggly pairs or "chromosomes" were all there. They had to take your blood and like everything else, you made it a challenge for the nurses. Mommy and Daddy made a promise that you were never going to have to go through that again. Daddy almost fainted.

Well baby, it has been an incredibly adventurous 435 days filled with highs and lows but you have proven us time and time again that you have amazing determination. You have learned to accomplish many things already and we cannot wait to see whats in store for the next four hundred and thirty five days. The sky is the limit for you sweetie. We love you and keep up the good work! We are so proud of you.

Mommy and Daddy