Celebrations

This week our family celebrated life in very different ways... Olivia, George, and I attended the NICU reunion, and DB went to Virginia to attend his grandmothers funeral.

Damma, DB's grandmother, recently turned 90 and was an incredible woman. I've only known her for the last couple years, but here's what I do know... she was an independent, strong, christian, family oriented, woman who loved her babies and their babies and their babies... and one of the things I've really come to appreciate in the last year, she raised her two oldest children - twins - during the war! Damma will be missed very much, and I'm sure the celebration of her life this weekend was difficult but special. With Samuel still in such a fragile and unpredictable state, we weren't able to all pack up and go, but I was so happy that planning worked (thank you friends and Omi!) and DB was able to go and be with the family.

This photo was taken last May - we made our first road trip with George and Olivia (and DB's older brother) to see DB's little brother graduate from high school. It was also a special time for G & O to meet their great grandmother! 89 years old and holding two babies with ease - go Damma :)

Before DB left for the services (at 2am), he made special morning messages for the babies...

... which they certainly appreciated!

The NICU reunion was appropriately tagged Come Celebrate Where All Your Dreams Began... and it was a sight to see! It was all families whose babies have been in one of the high level nurseries. There were little babies still on oxygen and apnea monitors, all the way to big healthy kids running around. There were multiples and singletons. There were nurses, RT's, docs, behind the scenes folks... all these people who saved the lives of the children in attendance. And there were parents just beaming and showing off their children to anyone who would turn to look... me included :)

Samuel got to spend the day at home with Omi, which was awesome in itself! I think this was the first time - ever - that Omi and Samuel got to be just the two of them. Luckily Rachel could some along with us to the reunion, while I'm usually fine with George and Olivia, this was new territory. Within the first five minutes Olivia had a mini stranger-anxiety-breakdown, luckily she recovered quickly and we spent the rest of the day waving and dancing :) There were pony rides, a petting zoo, jump castles, face painting, a DJ, food, raffles, and even a train that gave rides. I had no idea it would be this crazy! Granted, Olivia and George didn't get to do everything, but they did try a few things...

Olivia is taking her dancing very seriously, while George pauses for a cheesy grin :)

The petting zoo was amazing! Little pigs, sheep, a goat, a tortoise, and a cow, among other things. George and Olivia both got to pet a duckling! But after Olivia almost ripped this one's beak off (shortly following this photo), I hope they didn't revoke that privilege for everyone.

We also got to meet up with friends! Julie's little girl was in the NICU with my three... born at 24 weeks and 2 days, she is also a little miracle! It was an incredible day to be surrounded by so many amazing stories. Julie was also at the Ronald McDonald House with me - it was nice to have a friend, especially when DB had to work.

We even rode the train with our friends :)

We also saw a few of our primaries, that was so great! We were sorry not to see them all, but three of the five that George and Olivia had is pretty good. (I've mentioned it before, but primary nurses are the BEST idea. A very brief recap - when a nurse signs up to be a primary for a baby, they try to pair them with that baby each time they work. When you are in the NICU for 11 weeks... or longer... it is so wonderful to have a few consistent nurses that get to know you and your baby really well.)