New look

I've been playing around with my blog a bit and wanted to give it an updated look.  I downloaded this template from Blogger Buster and find that it is mostly working for me but I have to get acquainted with how to customize it.  Expect a bit more tweaking to happen over the next week or so.  

That's it for this post.  A lot is happening here and I should have some good news to post in a few days, so check back later.

Mom of the Year!

I was just informed I received the Mother of the Year award.  Click here to see the announcement. I'm so honored, I'm speechless. 

Milestones

Great things have been happening with us lately!  Here are just a few celebrations we've had in the last couple of weeks:

• Emma is working so hard at sitting.  We dusted off her Bumbo this week and were so impressed with how good she sat up and then amazed to see her reach and play with a toy while in sitting position.  This is something I've been wanting for so long.  This will open up a whole world of play to my little girl!
  
• Julia now wears her big girl panties to bed!  This happened about three weeks ago and she's had only two accidents.  Way to go, Julia!  
  
• Emma has been getting more and more vocal (except during her AV sessions, but that's another story!) and said "up" this week!
• Emma grabbed two dominoes and knocked them together just to hear the sound!  It's huge for her to hold items in each hand and then to knock them together - for the sound! - well, we're over the moon proud of her!
• Julia and Me-mom made brownies the other day and I was eating one and Emma kept giving me an evil eye for not sharing.  So, I put it to her mouth and she took a teeny bite and gave a HUGE grin.  She demanded more and so I broke off little bits to give to her so she wouldn't choke.  She loved it.  It was so nice to see her interested in solid food.  Seems like she has Daddy's sweet tooth.
• Julia loves playing with the whiffle ball.  She can even hit the ball when we pitch it to her, time after time.  It's amazing to see her go.  Chris bought her a tee ball stand and she loves playing with it.  I think we have a future tee ball player in the making.

Questions, questions

For the last few months Julia has been making comments that tells me she knows Emma is delayed in her milestones. We've always tried to answer Julia's questions or comments as simply and honestly as possible.

The most recent comment came this week when Julia was commenting on the size of Emma's feet. "Emma's feet are so tiny, Mommy." I told her that yes, they are tiny compared to Julia's feet, but she has a new pair of shoes since they did just grow. We moved on to other conversations, but Julia kept coming back to the conversation around Emma's tiny feet. Finally, she got very thoughtful and said, "When Emma's feet grow she'll be able to walk because they won't be so tiny anymore." So, that was behind the conversation! Emma's not walking yet. I explained to Julia that Emma is not walking yet but it isn't because the size of her feet. It's because her muscles don't work so well. She seemed to understand that and said she wanted to help Emma make her muscles stronger like her and Daddy (I guess Mommy just isn't that strong!). I told her that Emma would like that.

I'm sure there will be more questions to come, but for now it's nice to know that Julia isn't afraid to ask questions or make comments on Emma's progress. And, it's nice to see Julia celebrate as much as me and Chris over all the little milestones that Emma is making on her own time. Of course, Chris and I continue to make a huge deal over Julia's milestones, too, so maybe she has us as role models in showing our enthusiasm :-)

Join me in a 5K Walk for Hearing

A.I. duPont Hospital for Children is hosting the 1st Annual Hear We Go 5K Run/Walk on the hospital grounds to benefit clinical and research programs related to hearing loss and hearing conservation in children. Cost is $16 if you pre-register by May 28th, $20 after May 28th. You can register online here.

There is also a Kid's Kiddie K free to kid's 10 and under with registered participant. Refreshments, activities, raffle and education fair will also happen.

Date is Sunday, May 31 at 10am.

Chris is running this event and me and the girls are walking.  We'd love to have you join us for this cause.  Thanks to wonderful advances in technology, Emma has been "hearing" for 4 months now with her cochlear implant she received at A.I. DuPont - what a miracle!

P.S.  If you can't make the walk and want to give a contribution, they are welcome, too!