midnight rambling

I sit here at midnight, Kaelyn's been asleep since before I got home and Aria just went down after a quality snuggle/nurse session. I realize the girls are growing so fast! There will come a time when Aria wont be sleeping in a crib. Heck, she's already outgrown the bassinet sized crib in our room and migrated her way into the "big girl room"! There will come a day when she wont need to nurse and snuggle up before snoozing the night away. I wont get to see her milk-drunk smiles first thing in the morning. It makes me sad, but at the same time, both girls are learning and growing and its so much fun to see how they develop into their own amazing little people. Aria is more and more mobile every day and is beginning to show a little temper and independence too! And Kaelyn? She is an amazing and caring little girl. Just last week us girls were all cuddled up for a pre-lunch nap since I was fighting off a migraine and i wake up to the foot rest pulled up and a blanket pulled up over us. Kaelyn figured out that she could pull up the foot rest by pulling up on it and she didn't need to have the strength to use the arm-lever. She is always doing things to be kind and sweet. Coming up and giving a quick hug or rubbing your back. She'll catch me on a bad day and tell me "Momma's pretty." Or telling me my hair is soft. or yelling out "Love you Momma!" as I leave for work. Or the fact that no matter how sleepy she is, when I come in to lay Aria in her crib, she makes a smooch sound and waits for a goodnight kiss. So, as much as I am so sad that they are growing up, that one day they wont fit into my lap for a story or a hug, I am so happy to watch them learn and grow and I can't wait to see what they become! I can't wait to see the friends they surround themselves with, all of the ways they will grow and learn and further develop their personalities and quirks, likes and dislikes. Most of all, I can't wait till they wake up tomorrow for another day of cuddles and smooches and fun times and "hold still" from yo gabba gabba.

Thanks for reading, thanks for caring, and thanks for letting me share my family with you. For hearing my struggles and triumphs and bearing witness to them all. All our love, Mommy and the Girls.

another belated post.

I truly do mean to update more, really I do. But life with 2 little girls and a busy family tends to get in the way and the next thing I know its been a couple months!

I never mentioned in my last post that I had Kaelyn's thyroid results before we even got home! (*Reminder, we WALKED home due to my car being in the shop. yeah. LOADS of fun. Both girls got poked in some fashion and there was much screaming on the way. Thank goodness its less than half a mile.) But I digress. Her thyroid levels are NORMAL.  Yep. Just like all of the other tests they do because of her partial duplication, this one was also normal. But not knowing exactly what on the chromosome affects what in a duplication, they can't really tell us what to expect. Also mentioned her 2nd bday being lady bug themed but never mentioned that her 3rd bday was ELMO themed. Elmo invites, Elmo cake (I made it) and an Elmo shirt for the party girl!

Kaelyn is now in Tumbling for Toddlers classes on Thursday nights. It's been great for her confidence and her balance, although she still doesn't jump. I'll be honest when I say it's been hard. lol. She's never been in a structured style class and the "wait your turn" concept is something we are working on. We are improving though. She also needs to learn fear. You cannot simply go up to a class mate and hug them. Especially when they are on the rope swing. And headed in your direction. lol. We have gained some skills and I swear i saw her jump (with both feet off of the floor) the other day but have not been able to get her to duplicate it.

In other news, the girls very much enjoyed going down to the lake for fireworks. Aria did well considering she is only 8 months and never heard fire works before. Little sweetie slept right through them! We had friends over during the day to grill out food, play some games and then we all met up for fireworks. Had a LOT of fun and Kaelyn even got to go in a bouncy house. I strongly suggest against it if your toddler isn't bold and sassy cuz she ended up getting bounced all over the house on her butt by the older kids. But she still had fun and didn't want to get out when they were closing them down.

Aria is an army crawler now, much to Kaelyn and Odin's dismay. She crawls after Kaelyn's toys and Odin's tail. Loads of fun watching her chase them. She is so very close to regular crawling. She is also a big fan of cheerios. LOVES cheerios. You shake the box and smiles. I wish I could hug the person who invented cheerios. Big time lifesaver at this house sometimes.

In other news last night I had a friend request on facebook from someone that i assumed was some sort of relation due to the last name but she actually had read this blog and has a daughter with the same diagnosis! I'm now up to 2 other people besides Kaelyn with a partial trisomy of the 21st chromosome! And all girls. It's amazing that technology and being able to connect so immediately online with people has allowed me to talk to these 2 mommies. So HELLO to Erica and Lisa!! (And both of your little girls!!!) Kaelyn sends some "mooches" to her new-found buddies! Hope everyone has a great day.

Hug your babies!!

Lara and the girls.