Katie's Fifth Birthday

I have no idea why I can't rotate this!

Five years ago, this sweet baby was born.  I can only imagine how scary her birthday was for her very young parents, as she was born by emergency c-section.  And if that wasn't scary enough, her parents were then told sometime after her birth that she has Trisomy 21, or Down syndrome.  This diagnosis is difficult, at best, where my sweet girl was born.  Born to parents who were exceptionally young, this diagnosis I think made it impossible for them to keep their tiny little baby.  So that tiny thing stayed in the hospital for nearly three months.  Nobody came to visit her.  Literally, nobody.  She was a tiny baby all alone in the hospital.  She had no parents, and nobody who loved her.  Yet.

After the hospital, she was sent to a baby house.  She was still alone, and nobody came to visit her.  There was nobody who loved her to rock her and whisper to her in the night when she was sad.  There was nobody to snuggle her and rub her belly when it was upset.  There was nobody to kiss her boo-boos when she fell down.

She had four birthdays at the baby house.  I wonder if she even knew that the day was special?  That it was a day to celebrate her little life?  She had no balloons, no presents, and no birthday cake made special for her by her mama.  

She got bigger.  And, amazingly, against all odds, she developed a spunky, sassy, sweet personality.  She had nobody to call her own.  She had nothing that was her's only - no toys, no clothes, not anything.  She literally had herself.  How does a little child survive that?

This one did.  And not only did she survive, she thrived.  

And she will never spend another birthday alone.  

On her fifth birthday, this sweet girl has a family!  She had a special birthday dress, and a big birthday hair bow.  

This year, she got a cake fit for a princess.  A cake that her mama stayed up late to bake and got up early to decorate, especially for her.

She had lots of yummy food, most of which she had never tried before.

This year, she had a party with balloons and sugar cookies.

And this year, for the first time in her five years, she had birthday gifts - picked especially for her.

It didn't take her long to figure out what to do with those gifts!

This year, on her fifth birthday, she was not alone.  She was with people who love her and were so excited to celebrate her life.

This year, Katie got to spend her birthday swimming and playing.

Exactly how a five year old should spend her birthday.

She was not alone.  In fact, she was the opposite of alone.  This year there were people who were so excited to celebrate her day!

I hope Katie's first parents are not sad on her birthday.  I would guess they are sad that they don't have their girl, but by placing her for adoption, Katie's parents gave her the best gift ever.  They gave her a chance.  They gave her the opportunity for us to find her.  It took us a while, but we did it.  And she is perfect.  She is the part of our family we never knew was missing.  Her life is so different now than it would have been.  When she cries, she has someone to hug her and snuggle her.  When she accomplishes something, we are right there to celebrate it.  When she is tired, she has a papa who loves to snuggle her.  When she falls down, she has a mama to kiss her boo-boos.  When she can't do something, she has three brothers ready to swoop in and help her.  

She is surrounded by people who love her.

It was this sweet girl's birthday, but we are the ones who have gotten the gift.  I hope she knows how much she is loved, and wanted, and celebrated by her family on her birthday, and every day.  

Happy, happy birthday my Katie girl!