FOUR!!

Today is Marshall's birthday and he turned FOUR! I can't believe my little boy is so big. He was born at 33 weeks gestation after I had been having lots of trouble with my pregnancy. We were grateful he was able to stay in as long as he did. When he was born, via Emergency C-Section, he was not breathing, his color was blue/gray, and he was unresponsive. Thankfully the nurses were able to revive him until the NICU team got there. He had such a rough start. I got to see him for the first time on my birthday (which is the day after his). I remember standing there and crying and wanting to hold him but I was not allowed to yet. He wasn't stabilized enough yet. Just before I was discharged from the hospital, I was finally able to start holding Marshall, although the time was very limited. He still had severe jaundice and had to be on 2 lights at all times. They would let me try to feed him twice a day for 15 minutes. Brian got to hold him occasionally too. I pumped breast milk for Marshall and Brian would take it to the NICU. Brian stayed with me the whole time I was in the hospital and was able to spend quite a bit of time with Marshall when he took the milk to the NICU. Brian used to rub Marshall's head (still does when he's upset) and talk to him quietly about how much he loves Marshall and how he's so glad Marshall is part of our family. After 3 weeks, we were finally able to bring Marshall home. It was such a wonderful day!! Grandma Judy (Brian's Mom) was staying with us to help out. We took Marshall home a few days earlier than we had planned so we decided to surprise Nathan. We put Marshall in his car seat and put him on our doorstep. Then we rang the doorbell and hid on the stairs so we could hear Nathan's reaction. He was SO happy to see the surprise waiting on the front porch. Nathan sure loves his brother!!

Fast forward 4 yrs. Marshall is a bouncy, smart, funny, frequently happy little boy. He loves his wooden trains (Thomas and Friends), Curious George, the color purple, his "Pediasure milk", and his family. His favorite things to do are- jump on the trampoline and fight the bad guys. He frequently does both at the same time too!! He can be so snuggly and we love his hugs. He is always telling us he loves us. Marshall LOVES to play with his trains. He wants to get a new train with his birthday money from Grandma Judy. His favorite books are Miss Nelson is Missing, Miss Nelson is Back, and Miss Nelson Has A Field Day. He also started asking for the book How Much Is A Million.
I can't imagine our family without Marshall. I'm glad I don't have to.

Happy Birthday Marshallman! We love you Bugaboo!!