Last week we celebrated Sylvie's first birthday! She got to have some cake, though mostly just played with it. We sang to her and thought back on her birthday a year ago. 

She has come so far since she left the NICU.  She is crawling, climbing over everything, and trying to stand more. She still mostly drinks milk, and is getting more and more into foods. Big winners are peas and sweet potato. She got to try a tiny bit of pizza on her birthday too and of course she loved it. 

Leading up to her birthday was tough. Thinking back on her early days and all the feelings we went through was a challenge. Seeing her grow and change and develop her own personality has been the greatest joy. 

She continues to progress in her development. She is growing at her own pace and we've learned not to stress as much. Not enough to put the baby scale away, but enough not to use it. From a medical standpoint she is developing on track with her adjusted age. She has more frequent vision and hearing checks because of her NICU stay coming up and is following every few months with the NICU clinic. Once a month a teacher with the Help Me Grow program comes to our home and helps with her development as well. We have such great support around us.

She has a devious smirk and we can tell she'll keep us busy. She loves to be outside and join on hikes and get her hands in the water, sand or rocks. 

Thanks for being a part of her journey and for all the support you have given us, we can never express how much it has meant. Looking forward to many more exciting years!