Happy odd-1st B-day

When I was pregnant with Hope (which was a huge surprise to begin with) I found out she was due in Feb 2010. That kinda sucked because all my kids are odd years, and truthfully thats how I remember their bdays. I have a 2003,2005, 2007, and now a 2010..sux! After a routine sonogram on December 28, 2009, I had a baby  3 hours later. So despite, the 3lb 12oz birth weight and the 2 weeks in the PNICU, I got my odd year!
So, on Hopes 1st b-day we made sugar cookies and decorated them. Hope just mastered feeding herself about a month ago, so she was ready to dig in!

Christmas morning

Christmas was nice. The kids had a good time. We got home late Christmas Eve and the kids just went to bed in their clothes. So they were fully dressed on Christmas morning. They all had so much fun. Of course, Hope just sat and smiled. Everyday is fun to her. The kids were showing her how awesome her presents were and she just grabbed their face and thought how awesome THEY were. It's amazing to see such pure love and joy. It's even more amazing to feel it, every single day. We are so so blessed. This has honestly been the best year of my life...so far...

Hope the runny nose reindeer

We couldn't resist the reindeer sleeper at Target. Seriously....Cutest reindeer EVER! I bet I took a hundred pictures of her in that thing!!!! My very favorite picture is a closeup her big sister took of her. It is the perfect picture..or WOULD have been, minus the snot!!!

We did get a few non-snotty pics during Parker's(big sis) Christmas musical at school. They love each other so much. Parker was so excited to see Hope watching her, She couldn't wait to show her off to all of her reindeer friends.

                                                                       Dang sun!!!

80's Chandler

One night I put Hope to bed with both her ponytails still in. The next morning I heard her talking and went in there to see her. She always gives me a huge smile that almost makes her fall over, and I always say in a cheerful voice "Good morning to you!:)" Well....I came in the other morning, and her ponytails had come out and when she heard me come in her room, she lifted up her head and I had to laugh. I said "Well, good morning to you 80's Chandler!" The first thing that came to my mind was Chandler bing off of Friends during the 80's flashbacks. Sooo....By day she's Hopie Dopie Doo , By night....80's Chandler!

Me and my shadow

Hope has recently discovered her shadow. The other day we were walking to the car after church and she   shot downward, I had to grab her real quick to catch her. I quickly realized she had seen her shadow, and she was goin for it! She is nearly impossible to hold on to when Im carrying her at that perfect time of day. She is pretty observant of the "little things."
Today I caught her with her shadow by the window. She would stare, and slowly move back and forth. She started to wave at it...Then hit it with the double wave. I bet she did this for an hour. It was adorable to watch.

Gotta love Benadryl!!

I am learning quickly all about the frequent colds due to the flat nasal bridge and the allergies that Hope suffers from. The allergies aren't  everyday or all day, just sporadically here and there. Today was one of those days. Thanks goodness it's not all day and thank goodness for Benadryl!

How did one year go by so fast???

  My lil Hopie Dopie Doo is almost 1 year old! This year flew by. We have been very blessed this year. I am so grateful to have a healthy little girl.  I have been one of the lucky ones, one of the few, that has a healthy DS child.  It is  a  blessing that I do not take for granted.

 We are also lucky to have such a great ECI (Early Childhood Intervention.) We live out in the country, but just so  happen to have an address in Collin County ......Soooo we get the perks of a large ECI in Collin County(McKinney.) We love Hopes therapists. She has a Physical Therapist and a Developemental Specialist that come every 2 weeks.  Hope is an amazing little girl. She is just right where she should be for a 2 mo premature infant WITHOUT Down Syndrome. Shes so determined, and catches on to things so fast. She just started crawling at 10.5 months! She has a smile from the time she wakes up, until she lays down for bed. She learned how to clap about a month ago and just claps the day away. She is still having a hard time feeding herself-but we're working on it!