Stella's Heart: Summer Lovin

It's been too long! My Aunt Nancy (hi Nancy!) has kindly reminded me for the past month that we haven't had an update on our little Stella - and while no news is good news, we can always brag on her!

We've had an AWESOME Summer. We just wrapped up our second trip to the beach and I'm happy to report that Stella finally likes sand. Which is probably the most exciting milestone for us beach goers - but not as significant as the other major milestones she's reached in the last few months. Stella is walking/running/jumping/climbing - she is literally always on the go. We are pretty certain she thinks she's 3 years old like her siblings and so far there isn't much they can do that she can't (I still won't let her go off the diving board, I'm such a mean mom).

Just recently her vocabulary has exploded - her delay in speech was one of the neurologists major concerns back in February. Now she never shuts up! She loves to go thru the family roll call (Mommieee, Daddieeee, Ellieeee, Bubba!) and can string a few words together ("more water daddy!"). It's honestly amazing to think back to 6 months ago when she refused to TRY and walk or make a peep, and see this bubbly toddler we have on our hands!

Health wise she has done great, aside from a minor cut on her foot that landed us in the ER briefly last month (turns out when you are on blood thinners and cut off the bottom of your toe it takes a really really long time to stop bleeding). She has an appointment with the neuro-development clinic and our cardiologist in a couple weeks and we are all anxious to see how her heart is holding up since her last echo.

This Summer we have been really blessed to make so many new friends in our neighborhood. We go to a Craft Club every Monday afternoon, swim almost daily, stay up late and soak up as much as we can with our precious girl. All her therapists have been blown away by her progress and she has graduated from Nutrition and OT - we only see the physical therapist every other week now!

Ramping up into Fall our biggest worry will be illness. The twins start school in a couple of weeks (hallelujah!) and will certainly bring home new germs. Keeping her healthy and out of the ER is our number one prayer!

Thank you for checking in on us and loving Stella so wholeheartedly - I'll be back after August 17th with an update on her upcoming echo.