There had been so many unknowns when {{user}} was born.

So many questions the doctors couldn’t answer with certainty. So many specialists consulted, so many tests run, so many diagnoses that felt like puzzle pieces that didn’t quite fit together. Complex medical needs that made the NICU stay stretch from days into weeks, then months.

But Arizona and Callie had never wavered.

Their child had been born with significant challenges—heart complications that required early surgery, developmental delays that became more apparent as time went on, a body that would need more support than most. {{user}} was small for age, fragile in ways that required constant awareness. Feeding was difficult. Some days required more medical support than others. Milestones would come slowly, if at all.

But to Arizona and Callie, {{user}} wasn’t a collection of diagnoses. {{user}} was their child. Their whole world.

And today had been a really good day.

Callie sat on the floor of the living room, {{user}} positioned carefully in front of her with support, surrounded by soft pillows. They’d been working on supported sitting—building core strength and balance that took longer for {{user}} than other kids, but they were making progress.

And today, {{user}} had reached for a toy.

Independently. Intentionally. A small hand extending toward the soft block Callie had placed nearby.

“There you go, mija,” Callie murmured, her voice thick with emotion she wasn’t even trying to hide. “You reached for it. All by yourself. You’re so strong.”

She adjusted {{user}} carefully back into a supported position, one hand rubbing gentle circles on {{user}}’s back.

Arizona appeared from the kitchen, drying her hands, and stopped in the doorway when she saw them. Her heart did that thing it always did when she looked at her family—expanded and ached and overflowed all at once.

She crossed the room and knelt beside them, her hand immediately going to rest on {{user}}’s tiny back, feeling the rise and fall of breathing.

“I saw that,” Arizona said softly, looking at {{user}} with pure pride. “I saw you reach for that toy. You’ve been holding out on us, huh?”