Today is Thade’s half birthday! My brother and I have celebrated our half birthday’s for as long as I can remember, and I was looking at the calendar and sure enough today is Thade’s. I’ll bake his favorite cookies, and sing him “Happy Half- Birthday”, and I know he’ll ask for presents and a party.

Seeing just how much my little guy has grown up in the past four years blows my mind. He has come so far and learned so many amazing things, and he gives the best hugs on the planet. He is an amazing big brother, and a fantastic helper too.

I think about just how much we went through to get to where we are today. Four and a half years ago, we were nervous and painfully waiting through 20 + hours of labor for Thade to make his arrival. We were so happy when he was finally here, and we were finally parents. Thade was such a sweet baby, but at just four weeks of age he became very sick.

I was nursing at the time, and I panicked that my baby was losing weight, and he couldn’t keep anything in his little tummy. I watched everything that I was eating, and even though it had only been a few days with him being so sick, I knew something was very wrong. I phoned the doctor immediately, and the receptionist told me” that there was nothing to worry about, as long as he didn’t have a fever there was no reason that we needed to come in”. I knew something was very wrong, and I demanded an appointment.

We had a the best Doctor, he cared greatly for our little family. He correctly diagnosed Thade with Pyloric Stenosis, and our little one would need surgery for his stomach immediately. We would then spend a week in another hospital (our hospital couldn’t perform the surgery), with a different Pediatrician telling us that it was just a virus, and no surgery was needed. Thade was put on an IV, and we bottle fed him Pedialyte to help him get re-hydrated. He improved, and a few days later we could all go home.

Within 24 hours after being at home, his tricky stomach was back at it. We went back to our Doctor the next day, and he was furious with the staff at the other hospital. Thade needed surgery, and he needed it right away. We headed back to the hospital, and prepared ourselves for his surgery. It was so hard though, we couldn’t tell Thade anything, just that we loved him, and we knew that everything would be fine.

The surgery was a complete success, and the surgeons did an amazing job caring for our little guy. I remember visiting Thade in the recovery room, and how sad I was that I couldn’t explain to him what had happened, but just how relieved I was that he would be healthy. We would get to take him home once more within 24 hours.

We were finally home. Thade was happy to sit in his favorite bouncy chair, and watch the moon out of the diamond shaped window in our front door. He would just smile up at us, and we knew he was going to be just fine. He barely made a peep, and he made a full recovery.

Four and a half years later you wouldn’t even know that Thade ever had surgery. His scar has almost faded, but he asks about it often. I tell him that is one thing that Mommy and Thade have in common, we both have scars on our tummies (mine is from Dylan’s c-section though).

Four and a half years later Thade is our contemplative child that asks a million questions a day. He is also our Artist that is always drawing, painting, or creating beautiful art work. Thade still gives the best hugs, and probably always will. He is headstrong, but kind to others, and he is always looking out for his little brother.

Happy Half- Birthday to our dear Thade, and many many more Half-Birthday’s and Birthday’s to come!

We love you!