Mia, the wonder baby, turned 2 yesterday and we celebrated at the park with friends. Cupcakes, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, sunshine and green grass ~ these were our party supplies. We sang to her and said, "Happy Birthday, Mia!" a thousand times but she had no idea what it meant. It means the world to me, though. I remember driving home from the hospital without her ~ leaving her at the NICU in a clear box covered in tubes. I will never forget the moment the nurses rushed into my hospital room on day three after my water broke at 8 months ~ Mia did not want to come out no matter what they tried. But quite suddenly these friendly, cheerful nurses had turned startlingly no-nonsense as they wordlessly moved me onto a gurney, ran me down the halls, trying to cover my face with a mask (I was fighting them ~ I was terrified, panicking) and finally someone said, "we have to take the baby out now ~ we're losing her." So, my 4th baby was born by emergency c-section.
And then, of course, there was the 8 months of pregnancy before her birth ~ eight months of waiting for the miscarriage to hurry up and happen, eight months of emotional limbo and running back and forth between hospital and doctors, who had no experience with my high-risk situation. There was physical pain, too. It was my worst pregnancy.
So, I think that's why our bond is so intense ~ Mia's and mine. To say 'Mia is special' is an understatement. I just assume everyone else can see how special she is, but I wonder if they only see a little girl as precious and sweet as all the rest. In my eyes, Mia practically glows.
In a way, we celebrate Mia everyday. This girl get so much love. But her birthday, of course, is an extra fun day.
I drew the doodle of Mia to make personalized seals on her last-minute goody bags. (Maybe next year I'll get to draw hair on that head? ;) And of course I've still got oodles of the brown paper bag + doily supply, so I was happy to use some more up.
And, I've found another way to use up those long thin fabric trimmings that I just don't have the heart to toss away. I've been saving them for ticker tape pieces, but they also make cute ribbon. Yesterday I used them to dress up clear plastic bags filled with gumballs for a sweet DIY look.
I've always been horrible at getting pics during a party, but lemme tell you how it went. The little ones went straight for the sidewalk chalk, the boys ran off to all corners of the park, and Mia stood in the middle of it all gobbling up her cupcake. Then she moved onto the ring pops and bubbles ~ so when I got her home she was a sticky mess, all blue around the mouth with a hunk of frosting up her nose. Love. Her.
Here, we were singing "Happy Birthday"...
... thank goodness, big sis Olivia was nearby to protect her from all that.
But a cupcake makes everything better.
Happy 2 to our wonder baby, Mia!
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P.S. I want to say thank you to all the nurses and doctors who have cared for me and my children along the way. I may not have reflected it in my account but I can't think of any work more noble than what they do ~ so much so that I was inspired to become a nurse myself. In fact, I was set to start nursing school only one day after I discovered I was pregnant with Mia. I've since taken it as a sign that it wasn't meant to be ~ though Mia was meant to be. And I continue to admire all the nurses out there who do such good, amazing, hard work (I think of my friends, Michaelanne and Sam Z. while writing this). Thank you.
xo amy
