My baby turned 3 today

Three years ago she entered our lives at just 6 pounds 1 ounce. We didn't know what all was ahead of us. We just had our first child. Three days later she had her first surgery to correct her stomach. We thought that was all and that she was fine and then learned about her heart. At two weeks she had her heart surgery.

When I filled out the order form for first child, I admit, I didn't check the box marked "Down Syndrome". God gave us what he knew we needed. We needed Miss K with Down Syndrome. We needed to love her, push her, encourage her, laugh with her, praise her, train her, teach her, hug her, tickle her, kiss her and all those other wonderful things you do with babies. We were able to sit and watch how God has shown us that he cares for her and us. It began with the hospital bill, then the PT, the free exam at University of Washington, then the EI center, and the list is more than we can recall.

I have a dear friend whose Chinese name is Kai-lene. I loved the sound and so we began to look for English names and liked what we picked. The English meaning isn't that great boomerang but we had a direct translation into Chinese and we liked that meaning -- victorious and beautiful. The middle name is one that my husband liked. We had two spellings and different meaning based on the spelling. We had planned to spell it one way but then last might sitting in the hosptial room as we were filling out the paper work we looked and realized if we spelled it the other way each name would have a letter that went below the line -- g, y, and another y. Only and engineer would engineer a name.

Today she speaks some words, she is a great eater, she walks, she laughs, she climbs out of her Pack 'N Play. She says "bye" when she doesn't want you around in a very independent way. She loves her baby. She is not delayed in whining or in stubbornness.

She is a joy and a blessing to our family.

This was a few weeks ago but shows her independent spirit.