What A Difference A Year Makes!

Today marks the day that our sweet girl has been home with us for 1 year!

Sometimes I can't believe it's been a year, but other times, it feels like it's been much longer. Time is weird like that. Especially as you are watching your baby grow up.

I remember people telling us that the NICU experience would be hard, but someday it would just be a blip on the screen. I wouldn't say that we are there yet. I'm not sure we will ever actually be there. That's quite a blip. One that forever changed our lives. It saved our daughter. It changed our relationship. It changed how I look at the world.

It changed me. Not all for the better, mind you, but it changed me...kind of like that song from Wicked: "Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But because I knew you, I have been changed for good." I know in many ways I have matured and been made stronger through this experience, but I certainly wouldn't say that I'm nicer for it. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm not. But, to quote another favorite musical (Into the Woods), "Nice is different than good."

And Becca has certainly changed. Here she was a year ago (at 4 pounds, 10 ounces):

And here she is today (somewhere around 14 pounds):

Or how about this? Then:

And now:

Oh, how I love toddlers and their messes. It's so fun to watch their curiosity spill out. I'm thankful that Becca's body is finally catching up so that she can explore how she wants to. Life is good.

In honor of Becca's homecoming, I am finally going back and catching up on her last month in the NICU. Remember how I just left you hanging, and then - all of a sudden - she was home? I'm trying to fill in the blanks. If you'd like to rewind with me, here's the first post. I'm post-dating them so that they fall in chronological order, so you can also get to them by going to the 2008 archives and scrolling to late September. I'll try to finish the rest up this week. We'll see how that goes. After all, I've got that toddler to contend with. Life. Is. Good.