Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Cinco de Izzy

Our little Izzy turned 5 last weekend. I can hardly believe five years have passed since she made Mikey and I a mommy and a daddy. She gave us the best gift…parenthood.

Five years ago on her birthday it was 90+ degrees. In October. It was marathon Sunday in Chicago and they called off the race when our buddy was in the middle of running it…it was that hot! So when Izzy asks me to tell her the story of the day she was born I always start it out with how unseasonably hot it was.

The story begins with how long we waited for her to arrive. Years before she was born we longed for and dreamed of her. And when we found out we were pregnant with her we cried tears of joy and couldn't wait to meet her.

I then fast forward to her kicking, hiccuping and growing in my belly until one day I woke up and just knew it was time to meet her! I explain in detail the story of us going to the hospital and pushing her out on the second push. How Izzy cried when she was born into this world (she loves hearing the crying). How the doctor placed her on my chest and I just stared at her crying. Until my sister Kim said, “Well say hi to her!” My heart was bursting with so much love that I was rendered speechless.

We tell Izzy everyone she met that day and who held her and how many visitors she had. At this point she just wants me to start over again from the beginning. It’s so sweet to see her eyes widen at certain parts as she is just amazed as I was when it was all unfolding.

Love that she wants to know her story…as I love reliving it.

Days like today when I hear of a friend’s cousin who is going through egg retrieval for her first IVF I am reminded of the long road we traveled  And it makes my heart ache. For this gal. For us. For anyone that has to go through infertility. Allowing my mind to revisit that time hurts so much. The anticipation of what’s to come, the hope that maybe this time it will work, the devastation when months of preparing was all for not. But then the elation when it all finally did work; our little miracle Izzy was conceived in a petri dish in a lab on Meridian Street. Then she was returned to me to incubate her for 10 months until we met her on October 7th, 2007 and our lives were changed forever.

Five years ago our Izzy entered our lives and our hearts and we celebrated her with a huge party…

Bounce houses galore!
Laney and Izzy with their friend Audrey
Do you think Izzy liked being the center of attention?
Buggy can play just as rough as the big kids!
These three little boys are some of Izzy's best buds: Caleb, Luke, Greysen
Thirteen kiddos celebrated
Monkey Joe even made a special appearance!
Birthday girl!
Best buddy Sammy Fred
Took forever to get them all into one picture
Daddy Jeff with Maggie
Izzy scored some major loot and was in heaven being the center of attention (shocker).
Besties!
Happy Birthday sweet Izzy girl!

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