Daniel is 4!

-Four year ago I was waking up at Southern Hills hospital ready for another long day of hospital bed rest. I was prepared for the day, we (the nurses, doctors, Richard and I) had created a routine - nothing to eat after midnight (for me), ultrasound w/BPP early every morning to check on Daniel and lab work to check my protein levels. Richard would arrive a little before lunch time with food and spend the day with me watching movies, talking and napping. Wednesday, June 21, 2006 would not be like the prior 3 days. The ultrasound showed that the blood flow to Daniel was totally blocked and because of that Daniel would have to be delivered immediately. We were terrifed - Daniel would be born 11 weeks early. The wonderful Neonatologist talked with us about how critical Daniel would be. We called family and friends and the prayer warriors started praying. The nurses and doctors quickly began prepping me for an emergency c-section and we headed to the OR. Daniel let out a little cry when he arrived which gave me a sense of relief. He was taken to the NICU where the wonderful team of doctors and nurses began caring for him. I did not see him until the following day due to getting extremely sick in recovery. Nanny and Daddy divided their time between my room and the NICU and would show me pictures of my tiny baby boy and tell me how he was doing. Daniel spent the next 72 day in the NICU.-This morning, I was up early making breakfast and getting my former 2 pounder ready for school. Daniel has come so far over the past 4 years. He has been a fighter, a tough little guy. He has spent too many days in the hospital since he was born. He is our miracle. It is amazing too see how much he has grown in the past 4 years. He is now a 30 pound little boy who loves cars to the point of obsession, loves "shows" (movies) - his favorites are Cars, Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Little Rascals, he loves to go to school, he loves big kids - Emma (his cousin) and Kaitlin, Hayden, Hannah and Carmen (teenagers at church) are some of his favorite big kids, he is a "Daddy boy" and he has taken on the role of "big brother" well - telling "CaCa" what to do and making sure "CaCa" does not bother any of his things (cars). Daniel completed his 1st year of preschool at Benny Bills and is currently in the extended school program at Station Camp - he LOVES school and is learning so much. He is still struggles with some developmental delays (mostly speech) but he has come so far since beginning school. He can now say a few 2 and 3 word sentences - "What you doing?", "What is wrong", "I cup (or whatever he wants)", "I to0 (he wants something too)". He can name everyone in our family - Daddy, Mommy, CaCa (Caden), Zac (Isaac), Nanny, PopPop, Memma (Emma), Mary and Matt. He also constantly talks about his friends from school. He still has a long way to go before he is "caught up" and we are okay with that, he is headed in the right direction and we see improvements daily. Daniel is not potty trained. (I know sad at the age of 4) He will sit on the potty and sit and sit but he will not pee-pee or poo-poo. (We are accepting advice and tips.) The past 4 years have been a fun adventure full of lots of joy, celebrations, love and laughs. We are looking forward to life with a 4 year old.