Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

This year has flown by. I know I say that every year, but they just keep going by faster and faster. I need to find a way to slow things down (good luck, right).

Overall things are going well. Casey seems to have fully recovered from the drug allergy we were dealing with for a while. She is back to causing trouble. School is out next week, and all of her therapist are off as well. It should be a nice quiet week. We have a few things to do Monday and Tuesday, but then we are just going to enjoy the down time.

Casey loves the holidays. She listens to Christmas music all year. I have to admin I love Christmas music too. We plan to put up all the decorations on Friday after Thanksgiving. The lights on the tree always seem to make Casey happy.

I think Casey is in the middle of another growth spurt. Her legs seem a bit more boney than usual and her clothes are all a little short. She is getting so big. It looks funny when I try to carry her around. Her long legs come down past my knees.

That's about it for now. We hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

World Prematurity Day

It's hard to believe that just a little over 5 years ago Casey came into our lives. I can't imagine life with out her. Today is World Prematurity Day and I just wanted to write a little something for all of the other families that have, are or will find themselves in the NICU (a very scary place for ANYONE).

Doctor's did not give us much (none at all really) hope. The time that we spent in the NICU with Casey was terrifying, felt like it lasted an eternity, and was the most isolating lonely time. We never gave up hope, and our little miracle proved all the doctors wrong. She still has a lot of medical issues and challenges in her life, but she is very much alive. Her personality, her spirit, and even her diva attitude grow bigger every day. Our Casey is an inspiration to everyone that has ever heard her story.

I don't want to tell everyone it gets easier (it really doesn't). But you do learn to adapt. You redefine 'normal' and you adjust goals (yours and your child's). You learn who you can count on, and who you can not. I have learned to treasure EVERY moment. We celebrate little milestones everyday. We may never get to walk or talk, but we focus on what we can do and celebrate the heck out of those events.

To all of the wonderful parents, grandparents, friends, family, etc. out there to preemies and special needs kids, thanks for all you do.

Halloween

Casey loves Halloween. She wore her Tinkerbell costume to school yesterday. Her teacher brought in 2 of her puppies and dressed them up as well. After school Casey went to trick-or-treat at all of her doctor's offices. They were all very excited to see her. She had a great time. On our way home from visiting all of her doctors we stopped by my grandparents (her great grandparents) for a short visit. Casey was about to crash by the time we got there so we could not stay long.

After taking a good nap Casey was ready for round 2. We got back into her costume and went trick-or-treating to a few houses in the neighborhood. I was happy to see that there were a few that registered with CLU as homes with non-food treats. Hopefully as this catches on even more homes will think about kids like Casey when getting ready for trick-or-treaters.

Casey was so proud of her Halloween treats. We got home and she snuggled with Daddy while I handed out stickers and toys. When she went to bed there was no fighting at all, she went straight to sleep and slept hard all night. Tinkerbell was exhausted :) It was pretty cute, the glitter on the wings kept shedding. It was like she was leaving a little pixie dust trail behind her.

Rather than just uploading a picture from yesterday, I thought I would show you all how much Casey has grown. Here are Halloween pictures for each year...

	2006- Casey was a little bunny. I think she wore this costume all of 20 minutes. We had just enough time to snap a few pictures then she as mad and wanted out :)
	2007 Casey had her foot surgery early October, so we had to work with 2 full leg casts. Tim found a glow in the dark skeleton shirt and it was perfect.
	2008 Casey was a blue flower fairy. She picked it out all by herself. We took Casey to a costume shop and she shocked us all. She was very into yellow at this time so the blue was a surprise. She was a beautiful blue fairy.
	2009 was a tough Halloween. Casey had been sick for about a week before. We ended up in the hospital the next day were we stayed until early December. She was not up for wearing the Minnie Mouse costume, but she tolerated the ears long enough for a picture.
	2010 Casey insisted on being a nurse. We had little scrubs made with her name on them and everything. She had a great time visiting her doctors and dressing up.
	2011 Casey chose Tinkerbell. She has been all about princesses and fairies this year. She picked Tinkerbell right away and I think she chose well. She helped me make little puff ball socks and everything.