Smiling as they gather around the birthday cake, this is the moment that little Amie Mackay’s parents did not dare to dream about last year.
Amie weighed just 1lb 30z when she was born 15 weeks early, becoming one of the smallest babies to be born in Scotland.
Her twin sister, Lucy, died during the pregnancy and her parents Dani and Greig were told to expect the worst.
But the tot has defied the odds and is now sitting up and talking, and celebrated her first birthday on March 21.
Mrs Mackay, 32, of Dyce, Aberdeen, said: “Amie is 11lb 7oz now. She’s a little fighter.
“Amie’s birthday was such a happy day. I couldn’t let myself imagine we’d ever get there.
“I can’t believe she’s one already because she’s still so little.
“She’s doing well at the moment. She’s started sitting up this week and already has a couple of words: ‘hiya’ and ‘daddy’. She also shakes her head when she doesn’t want something and will wave back at you.”
Mrs Mackay was devastated when a routine 19-week scan revealed her waters had broken around one of her precious twins.
She went into labour at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary six weeks later, but Lucy’s heart stopped. Amie was being throttled by her mother’s cervix before she was delivered by emergency Caesarean at Ninewells Hospital.
The tot – who medics had warned would be a stillborn – had heart surgery at Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow and did not get home until she was about five months.
She has since been back in hospital seven times with health problems, and has chronic lung disease and is on oxygen until her lungs develop.
The family, including sister Leila, eight, and Finlay, four, celebrated Amie’s “emotional” birthday alone, and let off a balloon in Lucy’s memory. They also bought a cherry tree that will blossom every spring.
Mrs Mackay added: “It felt like Lucy was a part of our day.”
The next day, they held a party for 30 friends and family. Among the guests was one of the nurses from Ninewells who became a close friend throughout their stay in hospital.
Mrs Mackay said: “All the nurses played a massive part in Amie’s survival but this one nurse stood out for us.
“One day Amie was not doing well at all. She went above and beyond to keep Amie with us. She said no other baby has made such an impact on her.”