I can’t believe Oliver is two. I know every parent says that on their kid’s birthday but I didn’t know if he would get to turn two, and here he is. What a miracle and a blessing. We are going to have a Nebraska/Dinosaur themed party next week to celebrate.

Oliver was born on September 17, 2017. He was perfect…life was perfect! We had a perfect girl and boy, 21 months apart.  Oliver was an easy baby and really snuggly. He always fell asleep on me when we snuggled on the couch. He was also really laid back. He was diagnosed just a little before his first birthday – and has now been living longer WITH his diagnosis than without it.

Snuggly little happy baby!

He has undergone so much in his life already:

• Surgery for Hickman line placement and removal
• Extremely intense chemo and transplant
• 40+ days straight of throwing up and diarrhea and IV morphine for pain
• Countless medications by mouth
• Feeding tubes placed down his nose and throat
• Weekly lab draw pokes in the arm and several IV placements
• Being hooked up to an IV pole for days and days straight
• Needing to hold still for countless x-rays, ultrasounds, and other procedures
• Being woken up a minimum of every 4 hours, 24 hours a day while in the hospital
• Hours and hours and hours of waiting in doctor offices and waiting rooms
• Being unable to play in the dirt, sand, or sun and being mostly isolated (sometimes even from Eliza)
• The list could go on and on

During isolation when Oliver and Eliza could not be in the same room

Oliver has stayed a sweet, joyful little boy. By a miracle he is not terrified of doctors, he is not scared of strangers, and he does not cry when he sees the lab draw nurses. Instead he smiles and waves.

Oliver learned how to eat again after not eating by mouth for several months.

He is a normal little boy that loves trucks and dinosaurs. He loves having books read to him and playing with Eliza. He is so smart and is learning new words every day. He has grown taller and stronger in the last year.

I hope he doesn’t remember a lot of what he has been through. I hope he is able to understand someday the difficult choices we had to make about long-term side-effects in order to save his life. I pray he sees his life as a miracle despite any challenges he may face. He is so loved and so prayed-for by so many. We thank God for every day of Oliver’s life. We are celebrating him like crazy today. Happy second birthday little Bub!

*Top photo taken by Segar Photography