Birthday Girl!

Guess who turned 1 year old today? Brielle Leeann Karppinen did, that's who!

This year has been a never ending roller coaster ride. The first 90 days of Brielle's life were spent in the hospital. We weren't able to hold her right away after delivery, or bring her home a day or two later like you normally do when a baby is born. No, 90 days in that hospital. Just imagine, 1/4th of Brielle's 1st year of life was spent in that hospital. She was already 2 months old when I was finally able to hold her for the first time. Looking back, and seeing all of those pictures of how tiny she was, seeing all of those emotional posts from back when things weren't going well at all, it just makes us realize how much of a true miracle this little girl is. 1 pound, 10 ounces. Wow! When I was born, I was a small baby, weighing 5 pounds 11 ounces. that is a huge difference! And to think that that wasn't the lightest weight she was. She went down to 1 pound 5 ounces shortly after birth.

January 31st, I was able to finally do my part in taking care of her, and give her a sponge bath! I was so scared, because I felt like "How am I able to use this wash cloth to wash her up without taking her delicate skin of with it? But that day was an amazing day for me! It felt good to finally be able to help a little bit like a big sister should.

February 20th, a day that I will NEVER forget. That day that I had been waiting for since the moment she was born. Already over 2 months old, and I was finally able to hold my baby sister for the very first time. That was the best day. She was so tiny, it was like holding a toy doll. She was over 4 pounds at that time.

So, I was being artistic the other day. I made myself a sisters poster, pictures of me and Brielle. In the middle of the poster, I have written "Sisters are special, from young ones to old. God gave me a sister, more precious than Gold." This saying, really hit home for me. I am truly blessed for this sister that I have, and I truly believe that God was watching over our family when it came to Brielle. She has changed our family forever, for the better. We cherish the little things more. We appreciate everything  more than we used to. Because we know how fragile life is, and how easily it can be taken away. Being in the NICU for 3 months, you see things that you wish you hadn't seen. Not all of the babies are as lucky as Miss B. Not all of the families are as lucky as we were, to be able to bring home their child. Life is delicate, and it is hard, and hurts so bad! But life makes us stronger.

That 1 pound, 10 ounce baby turned into a 17 pound baby girl in just 1 year. And she is finally crawling! I can not wait to see her crawling towards me today!

Happy 1st birthday Miss B! I can't wait to see what this next year brings for you. Keep growing strong, you are, and always have been a fighter.

Thank you for reading! Until next time.