Aspen is full of surprises.
Ask her what her favorite animal is, and the rambunctious 5-year-old will tell you an elephant.
What does she want to be when she grows up? A "dog musher," of course.
Aspen's penchant for surprising people started from the moment she was born at 27 weeks and weighing only 1 pound, 14 ounces.
"When we took her home she was still only 4 pounds," says her mom, Karlee. "We were very lucky she didn't have too many complications."
Because Aspen was so small, she needed to be in the Neonatal Intensive Care Until (NICU) for almost three months in order to have time to grow, take in nutrition and breathe on her own.
"Neither of us had been around a small baby before, so there were a lot of unknowns," says her dad, Tim. "But the nurses were really helpful, not just in caring for Aspen, but in teaching us how to care for her, too."
Aspen is now a happy and healthy preschooler who likes to go to the beach, sing and dance, draw and color, and play on the swings.
Published on: April 29, 2016