What kids really want?...

This child just received about 20 new toys for her birthday. I will just let the picture speak for itself. Every parent in the world has probably had the same experience. Gotta love a child entertained by the simple things in life.

Happy First Birthday!!!

What a crazy day! We got the food ready. Danielle helped me decorate the cake and got the house put back together from our remodeling. Whew! What a great night. We had about 45 people here and lots of kids. Kids = Chaos! Everyone showed up around 6pm and we ate delicious food. (Thanks for the help Heath and Jen) Then it was on to cake and ice cream. I was doubtful that she would eat it but...Well ,I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Pre party fun! Happy Birthday Laney!

Pre party fun! Laney got to play with Aunt Danielle and Grandma. She even went to the park with Grandma and Halle so mom could get the house and food together for the party tonight. Thanks to you both for helping out!

Movin' and Shakin'

This kid is all over the place. We often find her trying to tangle herself in the bumper in her crib. For some reason she thinks the blank outside is more entertaining than the inside with pictures. The other picture is of her standing. She can mostly stand on her own but we give her a little bracing and provide some pressure on her feet. She is not used to putting pressure on her feet and if you don't push down on her legs a bit she rolls her feet and stand on the side. Every day we are making a little progress.

Tonight Grandma is coming into town and Mom and Dad are going on a DATE! Not sure if we remember how but I am sure it will come back to us at dinner with friends and some live music!

Try to get back on track...

I am terrible and keeping up with this but my resolve is renewed. I am going to just have to write off the last month of updates and start new.

This month has been a crazy one. Laney has continued to receive physical therapy and is progressing by leaps and bounds. I will post video of her moving around as soon as I figure out how... She is crawling! Well, let me clarify she is scooting, most the time in reverse, but moving around all over the place none the less. Her balance is great and her flexibility is great, almost completely back to normal!

We recently put in the hardood floor in our living room. Tough on Laney till her balance kicked in but she is doing much better. She has smacked her head a few times but what kid hasn't. Her newest skill is standing. We are so proud of her. Just about 6 weeks ago she had zero muscle tone in her legs and could not handle any pressures to her feet, now she is standing with just a little help. Her therapist, Katie, is excited and impressed with her progress. We took her back to her orthopoedic surgeon for a couple of follow up appointments and her X rays look great. The bones in her hip are starting to take shape and you can see the progress in the density of her bones. Very exciting. We don't have to go back for 6 months.

We have been a little concerned because she isn't talking quite as much as we expected but everyone has told us the same thing, "kids do one thing at a time". With her preoccupation in dealing with her hip she is more worried about moving than talking and I think they are right. Just in the last week her vocalizations have increased a bit. In a twist of irony she has a follow up hearing test next week. Remember she had to go through the wringer with her hearing when we brought her home. She seems to hear just fine but it will be nice to see if that fluid in her ear has cleared up.

As you can see from the date of this post her first birthday is this week. It is a time of reflection for us. Alot of bittersweet memories and a great time to appreciate all we have been through and how grateful we are things worked out so well for us.