Elena SHARED

I was feeding Elena dinner tonight (leftovers from lunch).  At some point I handed her a french fry.  She bit the fry in half, then very deliberately took the other half and set it on the floor and pushed it towards the dog.  The dog ate it.

This is HUGE for her.  We have never seen her share anything before.  She knows that if she is finished with her plate the dog gets her leftovers, but she normally keeps the dog at arm's length away while she is eating because she doesn't want him to eat her food.  In this case though, she continued to ward off the dog and ate quite a bit more (she wasn't through eating).  It was also a french fry - a food she likes. 

For her to share food is completely unexpected.

Also tonight she gave Juliana some nice pats and even hugged her several times of her own volition.

This was also completely unexpected.

It was nice to see her sweet side coming out and her be nice to her sister for a change.

Bubbles!!

Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles!

Juliana's Birthday

We first met Juliana on April 1st, 2011.

It was very much like holding a doll.  She didn't really interact much.  Her back moved as a single stiff piece (we learned later that this is typical of "crib babies").  She had no head control.  We could cuddle her and snuggle her but it was clear that she was not used to being held for long periods of time.  While there were other children in her wing, she was alone in her room with three other empty cribs.  Later we discovered that her onesie (singular) was much too short for her, thus drawing her legs up like a frog to the point that she was unable to extend her legs all the way even when wearing nothing.  The staff fed her very quickly and most of the bottle ended up on her towel. 

When we were getting the medical reports so that we could leave the country, a sour-faced doctor proclaimed that Juliana would probably die in a few weeks.  "Even if she lives - what kind of life will she have?  She has Down Syndrome!"

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Against the backdrop of all that negativity, we are thrilled to celebrate our daughter's first birthday.  Juliana is an extremely content little girl.  Her heart  surgeries are past, she sits up by herself, she scoots to the things she wants, she babbles nonstop, she loves to be held, she loves to pull (and try to eat) her mommy's hair.  We see both girls becoming more and alive with each passing day.

 We had roughly 30 people show up for her party and celebrate with us.  It is truly something deserving of celebration and thanksgiving!

We can't have a blog update just with Juliana pics....  Elena like cell phones very much.

Juliana took some prompting to know what to do with the cake.

The whole point of a first birthday is to let the baby smear herself in brightly colored icing.

Juliana liked playing in the icing like it was a craft project.

Elena needed no coaching on what to do her cupcake.

NOW she understands what to do

Juliana got a cake... everybody else got cupcakes.

Such a sweet face!

Juliana received many nice presents.  There were toys and clothes and above all..... lots of crinkly paper!!!

Bath Fun

Elena is helping shampoo her hair

Bath time!

The girls like to eat, hence the girls get at least one bath a day. 

Elena is very close to walking - she takes little steps and is loving it.  Elena is getting more social by the day and loves to be with her parents.  She is starting to cry when we leave her at school or the church nursery, which is a good thing.  She snuggles and cuddles more now and is actually sitting still long enough to read books.  She likes sitting with us at the table and can feed herself very well with a big-girl spoon.

Juliana is scooting all over the place but not actually crawling yet.  Juliana can now raise herself into a sitting position and can sit for about 30 minutes without support. 

Wedding

My cousin Jeremy had a wedding.  It was outdoors and a bit hot, but it was a short wedding.  Kelly got to go *dancing*, which was was the highlight of the evening for her.

Elena with her aunt Helen

"I will smite you!!!"      Aaaah!!! Who gave the baby a sword?!?!?    Really - it is just the wedding program / fan on edge to the camera.....  

aunt Helen, Juliana, and aunt Meg

Ezra and Elena dancing

Helen and Elena dancing.  Elena likes to spin around fast.

Kelly and Juliana

Juliana at school

Since I have good photography skills, Juliana's teacher had me take pictures of all the children in Juliana's room today so that she could use them for "who came to school today" and other activities.  Here is Juliana's picture. 

Back to school....

I am sorry it has been almost a month since the last update.  Life has been hectic, but fun.

The girls started going to school last week.  Kelly and I work at the same place and we can take the girls with us - if we want to check in on them they are just down the hall.  Both girls seem to like it and aren't showing separation anxiety.

I saw one of the girl's passport photo the other day.  I was taken aback - when you are with them every day it is easy to lose track of how far they have come in a short while.

We have played several times in Ezra's parent's neighborhood pool.  Elena has learned that she can't swim yet and can't breathe underwater.  She is loves being in the pool but clings very tightly to her parents (which is a good thing).

We are starting to feed Juliana more cereals and are starting her on vegetables.  Yes, we did get some carrots in her mouth.

The ever-so-rare-both-girls-in-the-same-picture-having-fun shot.

Elena is almost fully recovered from her cleft-palate surgery.  She isn't allowed to eat hard foods yet, but is otherwise on a normal diet.  She has figured out how to use the TV remote control.  She also loves to grab objects, hold them to her ear, and babble non-stop (i.e. using a cell phone).

Juliana is so close to crawling she can taste it.  She can get to objects she wants by rolling over.  She can also bow up like a banana and paddle vigorously with her arms to drag herself where she wants to go.  She hasn't figured out arms and legs at the same time.

One of Elena's teachers at school likes to put her hair in pigtails.  We think she looks super cute!