Update on Leah ~ She's 3 now & all grown up!!

This picture was taken of Leah on her 3rd birthday this past January. We spent the day at Lion Country Safari with many of our closest friends. It was a fun day as Leah loves animals! Leah also had a birthday party at the park the Saturday prior to her big day.

Leah hasn't had a follow up yet, and we continue to pray over her head daily. It still definitely has a flat spot on her forehead, and though we think she is beautiful, I fear they will say at some point she will need another surgery. Cosmetically, we would not undergo for that reason...but we were told if she needs a surgery in the future that it would be to protect her brain. Also that we would not know until she is 4 or 5 yr old. Sometime soon I will have to make the appointment to follow up with Dr. Stelnicki...I'm just dreading it to be quite honest. I'm not sure we'll be getting good news.

On a bright note...Leah is a very smart and active preschooler now. She loves to ride her bike with training wheels and her tricycle. She loves to look at books, and play with her sisters. She loves playing outside, the water, baths, swimming, the beach, her shows like Dora, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and recently Curious George. She loves all the pets her daddy has acquired lately.

Leah seems so grown up!

I've been meaning to update for awhile now, especially to add a newer picture. Leah is now 22 months old. I can't believe how fast time is flying. The holidays will be especially exciting this year. I can't wait for her to see all the Christmas lights everywhere....oh yeah...she's going to love our tree!!  And probably try to tear it apart...haha.

I can hardly believe it is almost Thanksgiving. This is typically the weekend we take our tree and decor out of our shed so that we can decorate next weekend. How can this be?

So back to Leah....

She's running, climbing, and speaking more and more new words everyday. This week we've heard her start to say "mine!" Where did she pick that up? LOL!  And the "terrible twos" show up from time to time with Leah trying to demand what she wants.  Assert herself in this world...she's trying and we are trying to reign her in a bit.  But for the most part...she's lovable, a snuggler, I still can rock her....and she LOVES to be read to!!!  Everytime my mom comes over...she practically demands to be read to...tossing book after book into her lap. 

She can also say puppy, mommy, daddy, ball, bubble, hat, no, yeah, banky (for blanket), MeeMee (for NeeNee...Ken's mom), baby, eah (for Leah), beba (for Rebecca), ara (Sarah), sissy, pay (for play), hi, bye bye, B bir (for big bird), elmo, ernie, cookie, pizza, side (for outside) cupcake, nigh nigh (for night night), and many more I'm sure I can't think of at that moment.  But the cool thing is....we can communicate.  She definitely understands us, and we can pretty much figure out what she wants. 

She loves music, loves to dance & sing.  Loves when we sing with her.  Loves to eat!!!  Loves her "blanky" and thumb.  So adorable when sleepy....in goes her thumb as soon as she picks up her "banky."  Then she will walk and point to her crib.  LOL!  She really knows when she wants to sleep.  And thank goodness she still sleeps through the night.  We put her down at 7pm and she sleeps until 7am the next morning...it is a true blessing...especially since she is at such an active age.  Her sisters are a big help though.  And she sure loves it when they play with her!!  She loves playing outside on the patio...loves being outdoors.  She really liked the beach and boating this summer. 

She loves to watch these short 10 min nursery rhyme videos on our "on demand" channels which show little kids, animals and the rhymes are set to music, such as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and No More Monkey's Jumping on the bed...also likes to sing along with the ABC song, and a "rock rock" song I made up when I rock her.  She also loves elmo and Sesame Street.  And we are just introducing her to Bear in the Big Blue House....we have lots of VHS videos from when big sister Sarah was little and it was time to bring the "potty" video out.  Hope that happens sooner than later. 

Back near the end of July she finally got her helmet off FOR GOOD!!!! I can't even tell you how great it has been not to have to drive to Ft. Lauderdale EVER! I miss the time catching up with my mom on the drive down and back, but I do not miss the crazy traffic and the extra hectic-ness of our schedule due to driving down every 3 weeks.

Her hair is getting longer, still curly...and her screw has almost completely dissolved. The little bump on her right side of her head (pea sized) is a dissolving screw that is almost gone. I was told it was made of sugar molecules. She also has a dissolvable plate.

She goes back in late Feb/early March for a check up to see how her head is growing. It looks pretty good right now. There is one spot on her right side that still seems a little indented, but we are praying that God fills it in with all the right stuff. They have mentioned a 4% chance of a "touch up" surgery if it doesn't completely fill in like it should. We wouldn't know until she is at least 4 yrs old. I am praying that won't happen.

So here are a few new pics of Leah from this fall. Please continue to pray for her head to fill in with bone in all the right spots so she doesn't need another surgery. Thanks!!

Passing of time.......

Unbelieveable that it is almost July!! I am stunned that I haven't been here to update Leah's blog since her first birthday. I apologize for my neglect. Life has been FULL.....abundantly full.....a blessing! Leah is 17 months old, and a full fledged toddler. running, climbing, exploring and trying to command the english language. sometimes skipping or fighting naps. smiling, laughing and of course doing EVERYTHING her sisters do or just about die trying. Leah can go and go and go!! She'll hang out at the beach with us ALL day and never get cranky for lack of a nap. She loves dogs and balls. When she sees a dog its, "ruff ruff" over and over & louder and louder getting increasingly excited! Eating everything we eat and more than her share. This girl can EAT!

I have so much more to share, but we have an appt in Ft. Lauderdale today to get her helmet adjusted. On March 3rd we were given the choice to put Leah in a third (and last) helmet. A part of her forehead was still a bit flat. Not super noticeable, but there was still room for improvement. Helmets only being 60% covered by insurance are still not cheap, but her daddy did not hesitate. Leah hasn't minded it one bit even though she had a 3 month break from the helmet. Now she only has 3 weeks left in her helmet!! After 18 months of age the skull growth significantly slows down...so helmets do no good. WE ARE CELEBRATING THAT THIS IS LEAH'S LAST HELMET!!! YAY!

We continue to keep Leah's head growth in prayer. We are told a there is a 4% chance that at age 5 she would need another surgery (a "touch up" if the skull (bone) doesn't fill in in all the right places). We believe that God will continue to form and mold Leah's head correctly so that she will not need another surgery. It is amazing all she has been through & at times hard to believe we even traveled that road at all. So much has changed, so much time has passed....we are so grateful that we have a normal, healthy toddler to keep our life exciting!

Happy 1st Birthday Leah!!

Yesterday Leah turned one!!! I think I am still in a bit of shock...how can that be? It has been a long year for me (I think), but in some ways I am incredulous at all Leah has been through in such a "short" time!

We had a family celebration for her yesterday...it was great that her birthday actually fell on a Saturday. I spent the day prepping the food and picking up her cake and balloons. I bought some pink carnations and pink tulips and made a few nice arrangements for her party. The theme was pink!

When Leah woke from her nap she checked out the balloons...seemed to like them. After everyone arrived she spent the time showing off her walking skills & playing with the other kids. It was her first time to try cake, but she really wasn't too sure about it at all until we cut a small piece and broke it in pieces. Once she tasted the cake part (versus the icing) it was better received. She then ate 2 small slices (of her baby cake). Publix gives you a free small round cake for the baby's first birthday when you purchase their cake. We love Publix cakes...they are the best!

When we sang Happy Birthday to her she was a bit mesmerized by the whole thing....why would we all be standing there singing at her and staring at her!! She appeared to like it. She liked all her new gifts...I took a lot of pictures and hopefully I can get a slideshow made of them this week. Things have been so busy since my last post here with our van accident on Nov 12 (everyone is okay thankfully) and the holidays...plus we went away to visit Ken's family for 11 days (it was 2100 miles roundtrip by van) for Christmas. I hope to post more often now that things are starting to slow down (only a bit though!)

2009 has been a great year so far! We've had a visit from my brother and now my aunt is in town. We've had friends over for dinner and Wii, and plan on doing that more often. Off to bed as it is getting late.

Thanks again to all of you that have prayed for Leah over this last year!! It is hard for me to believe how far she has come. She had outgrown her last helmet and her craniofacial surgeon has given her a 2 month break from her helmet to concentrate on the torticollis therapy. He wants to re-evaluated in mid-February. I am really working hard with her at home to help improve her neck muscle (she has a slight head tilt due to a shortened, tight muscle). We are still driving to Fort Lauderdale every other week for her therapy. I am praying that her torticollis will start to improve so we can go less often & that another helmet won't be mentioned. I'll post pics as soon as I can...for those of you that are my friends on Facebook, I've posted some there.

Where has the time gone?

I knew it had been awhile since I had posted, but wow....almost a month, unbelievable! Leah has grown and changed so much in such a short time. She turned 9 months on the 17th. She is now attempting to walk...actually took her first step on Thursday! Let go, one step and then down on her bottom. But hey, it was still a first step. It happened at my mom's house as my mom and I were both watching!

Leah now has 3 teeth and 2 more coming in. OH...THE BIGGEST NEWS....SHE STARTED SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! I MEAN THIS IS HUGE!! She'd never gone more than 4 hrs or so at a time before now. Her first night was Sunday, October 5th; so it will be 3 weeks tomorrow. She hasn't missed a night! And when I say sleep through the night, she is now going 11-12 hrs every single night!! Woo Hoo!! I am still trying to catch up on my sleep. Trying to get myself to bed earlier to get the benefit of a longer night sleep. She gets up every morning around 7am, which is a bit early for me. I got used to getting up with her between 3-5am, and then she would sleep until 8am.

She can wave...she does it when you wave at her or if you tell her to wave. And it is a cute "royal princess" wave. If you clap your hands or tell her pattycake, she will clap her hands together. She also will pat, pat something when you tell her pat, pat. Really out of all 3 of my girls, she seems to be doing everything much earlier, EVERYTHING. And the way she is trying to walk, I would not be surprised if she gets efficient before her first birthday. She is that determined. She does not sit still for a second. She can crawl and get across the room quickly. She is always underfoot....wants to be right in the action. There are times I have been convinced that her first word was, "Hi." If I say it to her, many times she says it back. So cute!! And she just LOVES her daddy! If she hears his voice, she starts looking for him and smiles when she sees him.

She has now been in her helmet for almost 5 complete months (on the 28th). Her head looks beautiful (other than where she has a slight protrusion on the side of her forehead...a dissolvable screw is dissolving). It is common for it to stick out while doing that. She technically only has another month in the helmet (Nov 28 will be 6 complete months). But I think she will be done with her helmet when she outgrows this one. Which probably only makes it an extra 2-3 weeks at most. Her head is slowing in growth, which is normal. My prediction is by mid December, she'll be out. A third helmet has never been brought up, but hubby and I are both in agreement that if it is left up to us and we are given an option, we will not be going into another helmet. Her head is as close to perfect as you're going to get.

We will be continuing to do the therapy at home 5x times a day until she is 2 yrs old for her Torticollis. We are also headed back to see her neurosurgeon (Dr. Heger) on November 24th for a routine follow-up appt.

I'll post some new pictures as soon as I get a chance! She is getting so much hair, and it is getting curly! When Ken sees her without her helmet, he always tells her that he wouldn't be able to pick her out of a line-up. LOL! We are that used to her in the helmet! We also had her dedication at church on October 11th. What a joyful time, and we are SO glad we are able to celebrate Leah's life and thank God for all He has done for our family! Leah (like our other girls) has a special plan to her life. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Updated slideshow

I just added some new pictures to the slideshow below...pictures from the past 3.5 weeks. Leah is now 8 1/2 months old....I can't believe how fast time is flying! She is now ALL over the place. Perfecting her crawling and getting faster, pulling up ALL the time, practicing balancing herself (standing) without holding on etc.

In fact, at church last night they had to ask me her age. They were very surprised she was only 8 1/2 months. They move them up to the next room around 11 months. They were suggesting that she move up because that room is better equipped for babies that are moving. The room she is in is more for stationary babies they told me.

I'm going to wait....I'm not ready for her to move up. She's not ready either...that room is much more crowded (which means more germs!), and just because she is starting to move, I don't want her in there with babies that are skillful at walking and possibly clonking her on the head with toys. No....she's still a baby even if she is advancing a bit early. At this rate though she'll probably be walking sooner than later. It is becoming childproof central around here!

The new pictures I added: we took Leah swimming for the first time on Labor day. Don't know if being submersed startled her or if it was just too cold. But it took awhile for her to really enjoy herself. She just seemed unsure for awhile.

The last three photos were from yesterday...she pulls up on the coffee table (chest) all the time so I came up with the idea to cover it with a quilt. The chest has sharp corners, and also a metal latch in the front. So far this had been a great fix!! I knew those corner covers never stayed on with my other girls...plus this can be removed when we have people over. Now I am jumping up less to grab her and she has more freedom!

Did I share about the bottom tooth that popped in 3 weeks ago? We think the one next to it is coming in also.

GREAT NEWS.....Leah now only has to get her therapy every other week which means we can do away with the weekly drives to Ft. Lauderdale! We are back to every other week for therapy which can be done when we are there for the helmet adjustment appointments anyway! I still have to do the therapy with her 5 times a day here at home. But it will be nice to reclaim some of life back!! Those trips take up most of the day and we certainly have other things we'd rather be doing.

Leah also had yogurt for the first time this week. She really likes it and I mix fruit in with it.

Remember to leave us comments! Have a great week! I'll definately try to update here more often than I have been....things have just been super busy. We are preparing for Leah's dedication coming up in 2 weeks. We're definitely very excited about that.

Slideshow to go with new tune

Happy Leah!