Happy Birthday!

Today is my best friends birthday. He is the MOST amazing best friend a girl could ask for. I honestly feel like I am the most luckiest person in the world. Here are a few reason why I love this man!

He is Tyler's Hero. His best bud. MY best friend.

A protector of all things. His strong arms and hands are always ready to do the protecting.

He has gracefully lived up to the challenge of having a special kiddo. He has learned how to move him, help him and make him be better. Watching him father this special little guy has made my love grow TEN fold.

After shunt surgery placement it was HARD. Tyler was never happy. He was crying all the time. I was losing my patience. This picture captures them perfect. He is so calm, gently and caring no matter what. They have a look about both of them. When they are together my heart skips a few beats.

He is my best friend. My world. And he holds OUR world in his hands. I couldn't ask for a better partner in life than Dallas. I thank my Heavenly Father for giving me Dallas EVERY single day.

Dallas is unselfish. He always has been. He always puts Tyler and I first.

After we moved to Arizona we were solely relying on each other. There were times that he would come home only to work all night to get his business going. In fact he STILL does that. He got a job here in Utah because he was unselfish. He has worked hard enough in the last 4 years of our marriage to keep me home with Tyler. He has put so much extra effort in that he has made a successful business and we ALWAYS have what we need.

Now back in Utah he is even more my best friend. There is not a moment that goes by that I don't miss him when he is gone to work. He is there when I need a hug or a sounding board or a place to vent my frustrations and anger.

He is Handsome. Oh is he handsome. I smile when I look at him. I LOVE his dimples. I love the way he looks at me and smiles. I love when he taps me on the shoulder to smile at something that Tyler is doing. When I look into the eyes of my child, though they are blue like mine the soul is that of Dallas. It is Caring, loving and unselfish to!

He is supportive. His house is looking like a craft store and he NEVER complains because he says it makes me happy. During my Grandfathers funeral he was there holding my hand and giving me comfort when I was sad.

He is an amazing father. Though all circumstances were not in our control when we were in the NICU he has proved time and time again that he is the best father that I could ask for my child(ren). He has proven that he will step out of his comfort zone to be there for me and our child in any way he can.

He trusts me. As a wife and mother he trusts my gut instinct. A few times it has failed us but he never loses that trust in me. He always listens when I say something isn't right.

Most of all he is mine for Eternity. No matter what happens in this life he is mine in the next. He is a strong and worthy priesthood holder in my home. He is loving, caring, sweet, gentle, understanding, protective, a father and a provider and most of all he is mine.

D, I love you so much and hope that you have a wonderful day. I can't thank you enough for traveling this journey with me. I love you... even without lap band :)

You know you are a preemie parent

1.You use strange initials (C-PAP, CCs, NICU, NG) when discussing your child.

2.You actually remember how many CCs make up an ounce.

3.You count his/her weight in grams. ( Ty was 750 grams.. and for a long time we did Kilo's and when we finally made it to a Kilo we almost had a party!)

4. The skin on your hands is peeling from washing so often! ( This one was so true in the NICU. Not so much now but I am still pretty dry and I still LOVE hand sanitizer)

5.You hesitate when someone asks his/her age, but you know exactly how much he/she weighs! ( we had to get our "story" straight of what we would tell people so we didn't have to explain why he was so little. One time we had to explain that his oxygen was not a feeding tube. Good thing we didn't go out much then)
6. The answer to "How old is your baby?" is a story 30 minutes long!

7. When someone asks his birthday, you reply, "Which one?" ( I am not as bad now "wishing" it was really christmas. He is a good September baby.!!!)

8. You start to understand some of the things they say on ER! ( Even Dallas was getting pretty good at understanding what they were saying!!)

9. You turn into Kung-Fu Mom when someone tries to touch your baby. ( when Ty got older a women at walmart thought he was only nine months old when he was almost 2 and she tried to get him out of the cart cause she thought he was "unstable" I was LIVID!!!)

10. You attempt to measure just how much spit-up he/she just had before you clean it up!

11. You know how much he weighs before putting him on the scale at the doctor's office. ( VERY VERY True. Not now. I have NO idea. I have a rough idea but I figure he isn't dead so keep doing what I am doing :))

12. You cry at Maternity Ward and get mad at Baby Story. ( I actually can't watch them and I watch special delivery cause half of the kids end up in the NICU. Makes me feel much better about it.)

13. You see a 7lb newborn and say "Wow! She's so BIG!" ( a lady in our ward had a grandbaby that was born weighing 3 lbs and she was telling me about her. She was saying how she told her daughter that she was big. A women listening about died. A three pounder is HUGE!!!)

14. Your baby is months old before he can even go to the mall. ( We met Max at the mall when Ty was pretty old.. so that is true.!!)

15. You have ever explained why your baby is on an apnea monitor.

16. When someone says how tiny your baby is, you argue that he is huge -- and to demonstrate, you whip out pictures of him in NICU. ( I don't carry pictures but I kinda roll my eyes. HOWEVER, we usually get he is still TINY!!)

17. You do a health check on people when they come to your house to visit. ( still true and we remind others that if they are sick to stay away)

18. You make people wash their hands before going near your child.( Not as much now but when he was little we were VERY strict about it)

19. You want to scream when someone says that she just wants to have this baby now - at week 28, 32, or 34. ( This one still makes me angry. Women who complain have NO idea how lucky they are. I can totally imagine how uncomfortable they are. I just hope they know how LUCKY they are as well. Honeslty, take it for granted!!)

20. You are so amazed when someone actually tells you your baby is big for his age. ( I will be when it happens)

21. You tried to find a place to buy newborn size diapers in bulk.( That one is true but they don't make them. I do think Ty was in size 1 cause he peed A LOT!!)

22. You called half your relatives when the baby grew out of their first pair of pajamas! ( Grandma and grandpa Labrum gave Ty some Preemie jammies and he grew out of them fast. They bought him some new ones when he came home for Christmas because he didn't have any from them. I kept them in his preemie box)

23. You never take your child for granted.( as most parents I am sure but for me EVERY day and every smile and every milestone and every STEPPING stone is amazing to me. He is amazing. When I think of what he is doing and what he was projected to do I feel so LUCKY!! My love grows deeper every step of the way!!)

24. You worry about RSV season and it is still weeks away . . . ( or years. You never worry that you won't get "it" and worry about how to get synagis ... AGAIN!!)

25. You know what "RSV" stands for. ( do you?)

26. You donate his/her tiny clothes to the NICU and marvel that they seem so small - when they were too darn large! ( I didn't donate but I saved and I forget we were that little)

27. Your son/daughter gets a simple cold and her doc sees her within the hour! ( and you got to go in the back door and you NEVER waited.)

28. People say, "He CAN'T be __ old...he's too little!" ( and you roll your eyes thinking yeah why would I LIE!!)

29. It has taken them 5 months to grow INTO newborn clothes!( I never thought we would even wear 12 month stuff .. it took way longer than 12 months to get there)

30. You pick up 2 pounds of ground beef and think that your baby was born at the same weight ( or that he wasn't even that big!! poor bubba... )

31. You buy "Purell" in bulk

32. You can stare at your baby for hours when he sleeps. ( and if he sleeps. More now I stare at him when he gets ready for a nap. He is so beautiful!!)

33. You know about oxygen tanks and regulators more than the company supplying it to the airplanes. ( true true and you find out that the sat machine does break but speed dial works well with the oxygen company. They come fast!!!)


OK preemie moms and readers!! What do you have for the list