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NOTE: Some of the photos below are of children in the hospital - some people might find that disturbing and that is not our intention!
and now, in no particular order - your finalists!
Kayden is a very special little girl. She was diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss at birth. She received her first hearing aids December 24, 2008 at only two months old. On April 5, 2010 Kayden was implanted with a cochlear implant on her left ear. She is also developmentally delayed, even though she is an overly happy two year old, she has the mentality of a one year old. She has a smile that is contagious and beautiful long brown hair that cathces everyone attention. She loves to smile and her favorite thing to do is watch other people. She absolutely loves spongebob sqaurepants and chicken nuggets!
This is Ellee , she is eight years old. This picture is on her eighth birthday with her two dogs. For the second year in a row, she asked her guests that attended her birthday party to bring dog food for the animal shelter as her gift. After the party, she took the donations down to the Meridian Animal shelter. The first year Ellee did this she was able to donate 108 pounds of dog food. Last year, she donated over 300!! She is very smart, sweet, and loving. Her world revolves around animals of all types, but mainly dogs.
Hi, my name is Taquari!! I am 1 and lots of fun. What makes me special is my winning smile and my ability to brigten up a whole room with my pressaunce. I love to dance and play foot ball but most of all I love to take pictures. I like to take my mommys phone and take pictures allll the time. So I hope my smile touches your heart like it does my family and friends.
This is my little SUPER Baby, Bria Mae!! She is barely 7 months old in this picture (taken last week) standing up in her crib. All the other 7 monthers I know are just sitting around and some are barely doing that... my daughter is holding onto things and trying to walk already! This makes her a SUPER baby in my eyes.
Hi my name is Joshua! I am special in my own way because I am one of a kind and there's no one else quite like me. Im always very happy and all smiles. My blue eyes can light up the room. I love getting my picture taken and alway give my parent's a grin when they turn on there camera.
Alyssa absolutely LOVES to go exploring and see the world around her. On this day we were visiting her great grandparents and during our walk she found a golf ball and a stick. These were her treasures for the rest of the day and there was no way she was letting go of them. She spends all her waking hours learning new things and trying to discover how the world around her works. Our walks are filled with her telling us everything she sees and asking about the things she doesn't understand yet. We enjoy her love of life and learning everyday.
Reese is an amazing little boy full of joy and happiness. His out-going attitude and drive for adventures make each day new and exciting. No day is ever the same! His giggle is contagious and his smile makes you melt. His kisses are slobbery bunches of loves and his hugs make you never want to let go.He is the miracle that has blessed many and continues to surprise and amaze everyone with new steps and stages he ventures into. As he is growing and learning new and exciting things, we are always on our toes never knowing what is going to happen next. He lives in the moment and we cherish every second to the fullest!
Last January, our family was blessed with a little something extra. Yes, our radiant new baby brought extra love, extra snuggles, extra lovely stormy blue eyes to gaze into. But she also brought us something we never expected: an extra chromosome. Having a child with Down syndrome is nothing that ever entered my wildest imaginations about the family I always wanted. But I've learned that life happens exactly as it's supposed to... and sometimes it throws a little something extra in to mix things up. Our Mirabel Ruby is a daymaker. Her constant smiles literally light up a room, and I have the extra special pleasure of watching my lovely daughter brighten the days of people everywhere we go. We have some extra work ahead of us, and some extra challenges, too. But I'm extra excited to experience life through these amazing almond-shaped eyes.
Her fearless attitude towards life. Nyomi has always been on the smaller side for her age but she was practically born walking and talking. She started walking at only 9 months and never stopped going. Her sense of humor keeps our whole family laughing all the time. She is not shy to ask for what she needs and is very loving to her family and friends. She is constantly trying to keep up with her 5 year old sister and does a good job at it. She was moved from the mommy and me class to her gymnastics class when she was less than two and a half because of her development. She has been the smallest one in her gymnastics class because the starting age is three but her size has never stopped her because she keeps up with all of them.
I am James and the stinker of the family. The stinker part explains everything. I am into everything, I even get up on the kitchen table and dance. You may run and chase me but it dont work. I may be cute with big blue eyes and give the best kisses around but watch out, I AM A STINKER...
Adeline has lots of things that she loves to do. She really likes dancing with her mama, getting kisses from papa and spending time with friends. However, our baby girl has a secret identity.
What makes Addie unique is her dream to grow up and be just like her favorite super hero, the Caped Crusader. Every day Addie works on developing her physical strength so that she can fight for justice. She trains tirelessly by rolling from her tummy to her back, holding her head steady and bearing weight on her legs. But don’t worry… no Batmobile for our little crime fighter yet. Until she can drive herself, we will make sure she arrives to her epic battles safely.
What makes Connor so special? As you can see from the photograph, Connor was born with Bi-lateral Clubbed feet; a congenital birth defect which affects one out of every thousand children. When Connor's parents first heard the news his mother was only 5 months pregnant. They were told he would be slow to roll over, crawl and walk like most kids and there was a slight chance his feet may not fully correct at all. This worried Connor's parents. But what makes this little boy so special is his little spark and determination. Despite 6 months of castings, surgeries and braces this little boy is full speed ahead!! He let's NOTHING slow him down! He is 8 months now and is crawling and learning to pull himself up on things. So much for being "slow" eh? He has two very proud parents who think that this little boys drive and determination.
Chandler recently spent two weeks in the hospital at St. Lukes in Boise. When he first entered the hospital the staff were not sure what was wrong with him. He was having a very hard time breathing and was very tired all the time. At the end the docotors forgot to run a very simple test and Chandler was diagnosed with RSV, a very common virus in infants. In spite of all the pointless test that were preformed on Chandler his spirits were still held high and he could still light up a room with his beautiful smile. What makes him so special is he has such a contagious personality. Though everything he went through he still yeld onto his smile and passed that on to the people around him. This is a picture of him in the hospital, bringing light to those around him.
My Taylor is one very special little girl. She is so full of personality and goofiness that just fills a room with laughter. She is also very very smart and witty and comes up with the funniest things to say. She is currently one of the most advanced kids in her preschool class and is already is learning to read. She loves to be un the spotlight and is always singing. Since she was 2 she could hear a song twice and already know most of the words. A truly gifted little girl.
Hayven was born 11 weeks premature, at 2lbs 15 oz she earned her name as little miss Diva in the St. Lukes NICU. Hayven spent two months in nicu where her nurses dressed her up in head bands and bows from the day she was born. At just under 3 pounds Hayven had a diva personality! She is a strong individual, she fought a long 2 month battle with a blood transfusion and medications to help her breathe, she has been a fighter from the the very beginning. Hayven knows what she wants and is the smartest little diva ever with a sparkle in her eye and her diva little laughs and giggles, she is such a blessing and a miracle. Hayven is home and healthy and the happiest little diva that any one could ever ask for!
This is Tyler and his puppy Monkey. This picture is special because Tyler's motivation to crawl at five months old was trying to chase Monkey around the house.
He absolutely loves playing with her, chasing her around the table and playing hide and seek. She will most likely be his motivation to walk as well. He is special because he is the youngest and only boy of three children, he has made our blended family complete. He is very vivacious and always happy. He is all boy in all that he does, very adventurous and outgoing. Tyler loves "talking" to everyone he meets and being the center of attention. Tyler is truly loved and enjoyed by all who all meet him.
This is my daughter Shayna and she loves to just have her picture taken...24-7! She was a very sick child until she was 6 years old. She was so sick she never felt like doing anything and always had shinier eyes from low oxygen levels. So the fact that she is now healthy (thanks to a Chiropractor) and want to do anything is just an awesome gift. She also enjoys playing with her friends, ice skating, bowling, playing with her brother and sisters and playing volleyball.
This is Chandelle - What makes my child unique-
Her compassion, even at 1 is amazing. She has such a caring heart and love towards animals. She can be seen kissing a cat, rubbing noses with a dog or just having tea with all her "animals".
This is Kaylor, in about February 2010. The reason that I am submitting this picture is because Kaylor was physically abused and hospitalized for about 2 months. This picture was taken right after we were able to come home for the first time. I look at this picture and completely believe if this little boy almost lost his life at the hands of another person, and can turn around and flash his momma a wink...that we as adults can overcome ANYTHING! Kaylor is truly an inspirational little man, and his story can most definetely inspire anyone.
My daughter Mackenzie is good at many things. She is a wonderful gymnist, she is smart and funny as well, but the thing that puts me in awe about my child is her absolute ability to overcome anything. Her ability to laugh and smile and dance and sing. This wasn't always the case. Kenzie came into this world screaming and didn't stop screaming until we discovered after two years and many infections later. That she was in a great deal of pain. She had several ounces of fluid pushing against each ear drum. She couldn't hear us so she was unable to learn the words that would have told us, "mommy I am hurting" two years and 5 months later, we met a wonderful specialist who put an end to my child's pain. I chose this picture because this picture was the first picture taken after Kenzie recovered from her surgery. This is Kenzie playing and singing and dancing in the water, for the first time pain free. This is my favorite picture because she is pain free and happy, and to me it was the first time she was able to be herself. Kenzie's favorite thing to do now is sing and dance. She can hear us and we can hear her. I love my girl so much and this picture brings tears to my eyes everytime I look at it. Thank you for letting me share a litle bit of her with you.
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