Happy Birthday Jayden

Today my baby turned 3 years old. Looking back at his pictures and thinking about his miraculous life all I can think is, wow baby, we've sure come a long way. What started out as a normal and healthy baby quickly turned scary within a few short months.

By 2 months old, he had undergone several ambulance rides, been flown to a hospital in MN, and endured major surgery.

He always seemed to trust us and always had the look in his eyes like he knew we were doing what was right for him, even though it was the hardest time in my life.
His fun loving, spunky spirit quickly got the best of us and we knew he was going to be ok.
Jayden's big blue eyes and long eyelashes have received so many compliments I lost count. I just know some day he will be a heart-breaker!
And the dependent, stubborn, strong-willed Jayden has emerged with a fighting spirit well before he turned 2.

But today, my little baby, the one the nurses called "big guy", the one who steals hearts has turned 3.

My little boy who has scared me to the depth of my soul, who has stolen my heart from the moment I found out I was pregnant, who has caused a room full of people to laugh from his contagious laugh, is growing up. 3 years ago today, I gave birth to the light of my life.
Even though Jayden had a rough go of things today, we tried to have a party, a small party with just our family. But he only had a few good moments as it was way to overstimulating and there was too much attention on him. Little Jayden had a tough time dealing with people singing and all eyes on him.

But, he did eat a bit of cake, all of his ice cream, and we eventually got through his presents. Now, we try to decide if it would be "good" or "bad" to have a bigger party with more family in a few weeks or if it would be torturous.