Turning Three

In the blink of an eye, Vera will be turning three.

Oh my Three.

As in One, Two, Three Go!

As if, once she hits the mark, there's no stopping her.

Unlike when she turned two, I've been reflecting on her life a lot more this time.

The first year
We were like on a 'Cruise-to-Nowhere'. We didn't know where the destination was. We were mostly alone in our cabin with Vera. She grew amazingly well, never fell sick once, it was good.

The second year
The seas got rough. Vera was in and out of hospital, and we struggled to learn how to cope with her respiratory issues. As the boat rocked, me and my bulging tummy strove to balance between preparing for Daen's birth, and managing Vera. More people come to know about, and love her, and our world expands again. Having Beth to care for her was a blessing.

The third year
Daen comes into our lives and things reorder again. In a happy way. More people come into our lives thanks to him and he had been good for Vera. We are more confident of handling her illnesses with suctioning; she had a minor surgery (adenoids & tonsils) with major improvements to her well-being; with that has come improvements to her physical abilities - sitting, rolling, turning, standing.

As her third year draws to an end, it does seem like we've reached some sort of cruise mode. Daen's now up on his feet and much easier to care for, freeing up therapy time for Vera.

What a journey it has been and will continue to be.

Vera is where she is today because of all the angels sent her way:

The doctors and surgeons - whose deft hands gave her a way to eat, a beautiful smile, better breathing;
Her milk mommies - who spent hours expressing milk for her for months;
Her Mai Mai (aunt) - who looked after her for 3 months after birth;
Her wonderful grandma and greatgrandma and grandaunt - showing that age is just a number when it comes to love;
Her teachers and therapists - who work hard at helping her improve
Her caregiver - who gives up sleep night after night so Vera would get more of it.
Oh, and not forgetting the online angels near and far who have kept us in your prayers - Thank You.

We live in awe every day.

p.s. Till today, we still get comments from new people reading Vera's blog. It always brightens my day to 'meet' new people wanting to learn more about her life. (Of course, our 'old' friends - you know who you are : ) - the ones who never fail to cheer us up with encouraging comments are always treasured!)