Monday, March 15, 2010

Loving the Spring Weather!

Spring fever has hit us big time!!!! We went to the park for the first time in a loonnnnng time a few weeks ago and I forgot to post the pictures. Haley is always a little skeptical when we first get to the park, a little overwhelmed by all the other kids running around like wild banshees and all the big equipment, but she eventually warms up to it and plays.

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We also had a chili fund raiser at Chapel Hill last weekend, full report of my running blog {Here}. We were exhausted but it was a lot of fun and we had a pretty good turnout. We raised a total of $1178 so far, a few donations are still trickling in, but overall I think we were pretty successful.

Friday, March 5, 2010

2 Year Stats

Haley had her 2 year pediatrician appointment earlier this week and she is growing like a WEED! I can't remember the exact numbers (I should write these things down). She weighed almost 27 lbs I beleive, which is little over the 50th percentile and she had a pretty big height growth spurt and is now in the 75th percentile. She has always been below the 50th percentile for both height and weight, sometimes closer to 25th, so she really made a big leap at this appointment.

The doctor was pleased with how she is doing and the progress she is making. He talked to me a little about potty training. And although it is still early to expect her to fully potty train, he told me to go ahead and start introducing it. He said that we should not let the fact that she doesn't speak and can not walk hold her back from at least introducing potty training. We got her a potty for her birthday, but haven't really done anything with it yet. From what I hear potty training is a pain in the butt for the parents (no pun intended) to not be in any rush, so I will just let Haley tell us when she is ready.

Not much else to report, but I did want to leave you with some new pictures. There are a ton more on the Picasa album (the link is on the right side of this page). Enjoy!

Haley on her potty

At the Build-a-Bear party

Random cuteness



Monday, March 1, 2010

Happy 2nd Birthday My Sweet Baby Girl

Two years have come and gone. There is no truer statement than "they grow up so fast". This has been especially true this year. You have been through so much this year, more than some people have to endure in a lifetime. You have shown us the true meaning of perseverance, strength, patience, faith and love. But this year has also been much more than about your "differences". We refuse to let your difference define who you are.

You are coming in to your own and changing so much everyday. You have a huge personality. You are so silly and witty, even at just 2 years old. You have the greatest sense of humor. Your laugh is the best sound on earth, and its the most unique laugh. Although you do not speak true words yet, you certainly do know how to communicate and are very good and telling us what you do and do NOT want. You can be very opinionated in your own little way. It is hard to sometimes remember that although you can't talk to us, that you understand every single thing we are saying and can comprehend its meaning.

You are generally a calm and even tempered kid, although sometimes it does not feel that way. Parenthood is difficult and sometimes our patience wears thin and we have to remind ourselves that you really are an easy baby compared to others. You enjoy playing and can entertain yourself for hours. You love animals. Your puppies and kitties are some of your best friends. Playing with baby dolls and dollhouses is also something you enjoy doing. Jewelry has also become something that fascinates you, I have to hide my rings and necklaces from you sometimes! You like to play outside and it has been a really rough Winter, we have not been able to go out much and that does not make you happy. We are going to get you a swing set for your birthday so there will always be somewhere to swing and slide and play outside! We hope to be able to teach you how to swim this Summer, you really enjoy the pool.

You have always slept well at night and for the most part still do. For a brief time when you had your first ear infections, you did not want to lay down to sleep and kept sitting up in your bed at night. You go to sleep easily around 7:30 and sleep solid through the night, that is a great blessing!!!! Naps are starting to become sporadic though and we are afraid they will soon become a thing of the past, another sign that you are growing up!

You started going to preschool earlier this year, a special school where there are others with "differences" just like you. Your teachers are very special and care very much for you. You have made lots of friends and really enjoy going to school. Some days when we pick you up, we think you would rather stay there and play with your friends than come home and take a nap. You now have all your therapies at school. You have been using a walker to get around for a couple months, but much prefer crawling...its so much faster right now. But one day you will get the hang of walking and will no longer be held back by the limitations of your walker.

You are a very smart little girl too. You are starting to learn some of your colors and shapes. You can point to several parts of your body. You are the biggest copy-cat too, and really enjoy copying everything your Daddy does. Puzzles and shape sorters have become old hat to you and not very challenging. You are very analytical at times and we can just see the little wheels in your mind at work when you are trying to figure something out. We can only imagine what is going on in your mind if it could only come out!

Eating has become a struggle lately. You are not a picky eater, but it is hard to figure out what it is that you want to eat some days. And you must be the only child in America that does not much care for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Some of your favorite foods are bean burritos, blueberries, waffles, tuna, and slaw. You have very strange tastes, just like your Daddy!

You are simply the most beautiful little girl we have ever our laid eyes on, and have always thought so (and we am not just saying that because we are your parents). We can't go anywhere without at least one person stopping to admire how cute you are. Your hair is so long and pretty, we have still yet to cut it, we can't bear to cut it yet. And your big brown eyes could melt the coldest heart. You are going to be a heartbreaker! Mama has been horrible, horrible, horrible about not taking enough pictures this year and she will try harder this year to take as many pictures as she can of your sweet face!

And you are so very sweet at times. For a while you were giving out kisses like they were going out of style. Kiss and hug everybody! But now you have become more conservative with them, kisses are not free anymore. You love to cuddle your stuffed animals and will hug and pat them on the back. Blowing kisses is something you are very good at and do all the time.

Physically you are growing so big too. Although you still look kind of tiny, you are deceptively heavy. Picking you up is sometimes a struggle, you are very "solid" even if you are only 27ish pounds. You still have the tiniest feet, only wearing a size 4, when most kids your age are in at least a 6 or 7. You are starting to wear some size 24 month clothes, but mostly still fit in most size 18 month. Packing up the clothes you have grown out of is something that is hard for Mama to do, it reminds her of how tiny you used to be. You came in to this world at 7 pounds and now you are 20 pounds heavier, it is hard to believe!

It seems like just a blink of an eye ago that you were born, when we first met you and our lives as we knew it changed forever. That was the best day of our lives! You are such a joy and a blessing, and we love you so very much.

Love,

Your MaMa and DaDa