NICU 30-year Reunion

It's been six years since we lived in the NICU. (Any NICU parent knows that it's not just your baby that lives there -- you make your home there, too.) This year we were invited to the hospital's NICU reunion. They always have some fun things for the kids to do. We were sad, though, that we didn't get to really see any of Jackson's doctors or nurses. I guess we got there too early. Oh, well.

Jackson ran right to the bounce house. We had to hold him back so we could sign in and get him a nametag.

The next up was the Life Flight helicopter. He almost got to ride in one as a baby, but we're really glad that he got the ambulance (much cheaper). Either way, what kid, or adult for that matter, doesn't love a helicopter?! If we'd have let him, he would have kept going back.

They had some free little carnival games like a cake walk, a fish pond, "face painting," and a candy hunt. Notice in the picture that Jackson is only picking the candy that he can see. He refused to dig through to find the candy -- proof that he's a NICU baby -- avoid the tactile experiences if you can!

You can see that he's doing his best to not squirm and endure the hand-painting - he opted NOT to have his face painted. We did give him the choice, though, he definitely wanted the paint job. Can you tell what picture he chose to be on his hand?

Finally, he spent most of his time on the swings and clinging to his balloon. He didn't need everything else -- he was fine swinging. This kid makes me smile!So glad you Beat the Odds kiddo! You're living proof that miracles happen.