6 months. 6 months of remembering there is beauty in the madness and that humility and grace are not easy traits for anyone, let alone a headstrong and hormonal (well, for the “post-partum”part of my life which my husband still thinks I’m in some days) mama like me. 6 months of being hopeful when there seemed to be no way out of the NICU ever, no way home, no way back to normal.

But, here we are. 6 months after Nicholas’ birth and anxiety-ridden 1st few months of life in a NICU 800 miles from the doorsteps of our home we are here. Still standing. Stronger than ever.

And we are so blessed. As I type this, we are returning from a week-long trip in Fort Myers, FL where Nicholas was born and where we celebrated his 6 month birthday, our 1 year wedding anniversary, and perhaps the most beautiful of holidays: Easter. Easter reminds us that where there is faith there is life everlasting and unconditional love – Nicholas also reminds me of just that every single day (and it’s no coincidence to me that his 6 month birthday fell on Easter Sunday).

So, as we do every month, we celebrated. We sang the “happy birthday” song in the warm Florida weather,practiced sitting up, read books, played with toys from our 1st Easter basket, and giggled. We slept in GG & Grandaddy’s arms, practiced standing, learned the “up game” in GG’s lap, and found our toes for the 1st time. We also watched (or better yet, listened to) Nicholas talk to all of us all day long.

happy birthday to our handsome (and chubbier by the day!) Nicholas Christopher Szapacs.

more on our vacation which included our 1st plane ride as a family, boat rides, and an anniversary better than even Nicholas Sparks could write (thanks to my husband)to come!