It's so crazy to think that two years have already gone by since little "Thumbelina" came into our lives.
A lot has happened since Elsie turned one. When she was 12 months old, she had just begun sitting up, was scooting around backward, and learned how to transition from laying down to sitting up, and from sitting up to scooting.
One year later, Elsie is walking, jumping, climbing on and off of furniture, throwing balls, coloring on paper (and walls!), and so much more.
Elsie's expressive language has really improved since our appointment at the Neonatal Follow-up Clinic in October, where the language pathologist said that she was mildly delayed. She went from saying just a few words and animal noises to really communicating. She says more and more words each day. You can't imagine the feeling I had the other day when she crawled into my lap and in a sing-songy voice, kept saying "I love you! I love you!" It was so tender!
Elsie's oral eating skills are still coming along slowly. Some days are better than others. Occasionally she'll taste AND swallow a few bites of something like yogurt or ice cream. She's definitely more interested in food, and enjoys tasting it, chewing on foods, and then spitting them out. She knows where the snacks are kept in our house, and will ask for them. So, even though progress is slow, it is still progress.
We had a fun family birthday party for Elsie this weekend. It was a "Frozen" themed lunch, complete with "Troll balls", "Frozen hearts," and "Olaf noses", to name a few (meatballs, white chocolate-covered strawberries, and carrot sticks with dip). The blue slush recipe I got from Pinterest was a definite "Pinterest Fail"; in case anyone was wondering, frozen blue jello does not make a normal-textured slush. Besides the blue jello slush failure, the party was lots of fun! We decorated snowflake cookies and made snowmen with marshmallows. We loved having our family over to help us celebrate!
Elsie's two year Well-Child Check went well; our pediatrician continues to be very pleased with her progress. She's still just a smidge away from being on the weight chart, but with as many colds and coughs that she has had so far this winter, we are basically maintaining her weight right now and not gaining a ton, because of all the mucus-induced vomit. So hopefully, once we get over cold season, things will start picking up in the weight department. Elsie is right between 20 and 21 pounds, and is about 32 inches tall. We also had a check-up with the opthamologist a few days ago. Elsie is still slightly near-sighted, but not enough to warrant getting glasses again at this time. She'll go back again for another check-up in a year. Hooray!
You know, there's rarely a day that goes by that I don't watch this child in wonder, just with amazement at the obstacles that she has overcome. Our lives could be so, so different. She is truly such a blessing in our lives, and a constant reminder of the power of the priesthood, of faith and hope, and of miracles. We love you, Elsie! Happy second birthday!
