Fabulous Fall

I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful our fall has been. We FINALLY moved in to our new house and we LOVE it! It is truly a dream come true and we could not be happier where we are. Kailee is doing so great, and is just blossoming so much.

She was a cat for Halloween and thought that passing out candy was the best part.

Expecting a boy is exciting for us. Now, if we could only agree on a name:)...

This past week, we went to Orange County to spend time with my family for the week. We had such a blast with friends and family that it was hard to leave today. Kailee loves her Grandma and Papa!

We took our first trip to Disneyland..it was AWESOME. Kailee had such a ball and loved every minute of the day. We will definitely be going back sooner then later.

I recently had parent/teacher conferences with Kailee's teachers. She is doing so well in class and is meeting all her goals for the year ALREADY. It's great to know how fast she is improving!!!

She is excited about her baby brother and asked about him EVERYDAY! She is going to be a great big sister.

We had a great Thanksgiving filled with lots of love. I hope you all had a fabulous one too.. much to be thankful for!

4 months later..

So I have REALLY decided to become diligent about posting now. I promise I will get better!!
4 months have gone by since my last post..and So much has changed! Jeff and I are expecting another baby in April! We are super excited and feel super blessed. Kailee says it's a "boy" every time we ask.. We will find out the sex in a few weeks!

We just bought a house in Ventura and are moving in TODAY. We are super excited and ready for home-ownership AGAIN. ( the right way)

Kailee is going to school 5 days a week. 3 at a deaf and hard of hearing pre-school, 2 at Ventura Missionary pre-school where I teach. I teach every morning and am having a blast.

Kailee's speech improvements and understanding of language has improved SO much I cannot even tell you! She is talking and listening and carrying on conversations. It's a true miracle to watch her everyday learn something new. We are so thrilled with her progress and all that she has accomplished through this struggle. She is still "behind" her age level, but truly doing fantastic. She gets speech therapy 3 times a week and we are working with her a lot at home to get those sounds:)

God is good and has been teaching and stretching us lately. It has been a hard year..but such a rich one. We are truly blessed!!!

I can hear whispers!!

We recently took a trip down to UCLA to have Kailee tested and to turn her new implant up a bit. To my surprise, Kailee tested that she heard LOWER then she ever had before! It was a pretty cool sight to see and I was VERY happy with those results. I really do think the second implant had something to do with her hearing those softer noises. She is doing fantastic, and is truly thriving more in these past weeks then she ever has! Its a blessing to watch and to be a part of.

Staring in August, Kailee will be going to pre-school 5 days a week! That's right..5 days! I am a little bitter sweet about that, but I know she will love it and do just great! 3 day she will be going to the deaf and hard of hearing school, and 2 days she will be going to a typically developing pre-school! I will be going back to work part time where I used to teach as well! Kailee will be coming with me 2 days a week, and I think that will be fun to be able to watch her interact and to be a part of her life in that way! We will now have to leave the house at 7:45am EVERY MORNING! This will be interesting! I'm sure we will get into the swing of it sooner then later.

I hope you are all well and healthy!

Blessings..

Word after Phrases

Phrases like " Airplane, right there!" is common around our house these days. In fact, Kailee is saying three word sentences ALL THE TIME!

"Mommy, juice please."

"No, Daddy do it!"

"Where's Elmo, and Abby, and Hairy"

" Watch Dora please"

"Daddy play basketball"

"Go outside now" ( that one is a little rude)

"Kailee potty, two treats?"

"Play at school"

....Just to give you some ideas

She is learning and changing with leaps and bounds and we are thrilled to be able to share her stories. To think, just a year ago she could only say 10 words!!! Wow, what God can do in a year!

She is officially potty trained!!! YEAH! she is still hesitant about going poop in the potty, but it's getting better! No pee accidents in over a week!! Yeah Kailee!

I met mom at the park the other day who had a six year old son with hearing aids on. I saw the boy right when I got to the park, and wanted to speak to his mom, but wasn't sure how appropriate that was. Well, God intervened anyways! She ended up seeing Kailee and coming up to me to say hi and to introduce herself. Her son was not a candidate for Cochlear implants when he was younger, but is doing pretty well with hearing aids. To listen to hear story and path she has taken with her son was almost IDENTICAL to our path with Kailee. The pain, and unknown, the blessings..etc. God put things into perspective for me, and I was glad to be a part of that journey with her. Her son's speech was beautiful, and he was such vibrant child. It was SO great to connect with someone that has gone through the same thing. Their family had just moved back into the area and she had a lot of questions about Dr.'s and school, etc. I hope and pray that we will stay in touch, and that I can help her in anyways she needs. We exchanged information, and I am hoping to get a play date soon.( She also has a daughter Kailee's age)

Last weekend we went to Jeff's Grandparents 66th wedding anniversary party!! Wow, 66 years! They were still so sweet to each other! There was live music and Kailee was mesmerized by the saxophone! Maybe a musician? Who knows?

Two ears!!

Yesterday we got to witness Kailee's second implant being turned on. What a sight!

I did not think that she would react that much, or that it would be that big of a deal. But when she cried as she did with the left, I realized that she's NEVER really heard out of her right ear before. Even when she has her hearing aids, she never really got stimulation out of that ear.

She was scared and did not really know where the sounds was coming from. It only took a few minutes, and then she calmed down and got used to the sound. What a blessing it was to witness her hear AGAIN. We are so proud of our baby girl and for all the strides she has taken thus far in her life..AND SHE HAS NO IDEA HOW TOUGH SHE IS!!!

This second implant will basically give Kailee surround sound. She will be hearing like the rest of us!!

I cannot wait to see Kailee's progression these next few months.

SPUNKY

Monday was a long day to say the least..but Kailee came out of surgery with flying colors!! She was very tired and out of it right after surgery, and it pretty much took the entire day to come out of the anesthesia. Once she did, she was up and eating and wanted to go outside and ride her bike. (we didn't let her) She was a little off balance, so we didn't think that was a good idea:)

The Dr. said everything went great in surgery, and we are looking forward to the turn on date which will tell us HOW WELL everything works.

We are relieved it's over, and so thankful that she was safe. Kailee has to take it easy this week, but she is already running around and being herself! What a blessing!

Thank you for all your prayers...

I lo0k back at Kailee's journey in her short life, and it is already filled with so much hard stuff!! The beautiful thing about that is that it is already forming her into she is, and will be. I am filled with such joy about our little Kailee girl, and look forward to her future in Christ.

March 15th..

Monday is the day Kailee will receive her second implant. The surgery is scheduled for 8:30 am!! We ask that you continue to pray for the surgeons direction and for Kailee's safety. Please pray that she recovers quickly, and that she is back to her normal self soon.

We are ready for this to be over!!!

Before her 1st implant a year ago, Kailee could barely say 10 words, and could not understand much more. Today, I couldn't even count how many words she say because there are so many! She is understanding us more and more, and words can't describe how blessed we feel to live in this era where technology is able to help our daughter this much. Good thing there are smarter people out there then me!!!

We are blessed... I'll keep you updated!!!

March brings Faith...

As we approach Faith Hope's birthday this month. I am brought to tears often, realizing that she won't be with us this spring. Soon after the tears and sadness leave, joy fills my heart in realizing she is perfectly secure, and happy in Heaven with our Father.

As we remember Faith, and all that she brought to our lives in the short time she was with us, we are joyful and excited about the future of our family.

Kailee will be getting her second cochlear implant on March 15!! We are nervous, anxious, excited and scared all at once. I ask for prayers for us as the date approaches closer. I pray our nerves would release, and our strength, that only come from God would rise up and help us through the fear. Kailee had a TREMENDOUS recovery last time, and I know she will do great!

March will be a tough month..but we are continually reminded, watching Kailee grow; how amazing she is, and how blessed we are to have her in our lives!!!

We are potty training now, and it is going well. I am learning that I can't leave her side for more then 5 minutes or there will be pee on the ground:)

She is having fun and getting lots of "treats" after she goes. I need to figure out when you stop the treat thing...I think she will drag that one out for a while!!!

We thank you for your love, and ask for prayers moving forward this month.

I lost an aunt this week, and I am saddened so much by her sudden and un-timely death. Please pray for her daughters, her grand kids, her husband, and all who love her. She was a wonderful woman! She is with God now, enjoying eternity with him. PRAISE HIM!!!

May March bring you Faith in the future as well!

Utah..

Our trip to Utah was fairly successful. (This was three weeks ago)Jeff's team got invited out to Utah to play in a tournament. ( they came in second) So while it was fun with the team, and basketball was great, Kailee had the roughest week of her life!

She has been a bit "testy" lately. Not sleeping, throwing fit, taking her ear off when she is mad..etc!

I love her stubborn and determined attitude..or at least I know I will when she's older and can control her emotions:)

She wasn't too sure about the snow, but we definitely played in it!! She tried to make snow balls and ate it as she should! My parents drove out to hang out, and we saw my brother who we hadn't seen in a while. She really enjoyed her uncle! It was so nice to see him and spend time with him out there. I wish we had more time with him, but hopefully we will see him soon in Cali:)
I was so happy to experience snow with her for the first time, and to watch her face as she explored the new surroundings. Her phrase of the week was;" mamma, cold outside!"

When we came home to 70 degrees, she got off the plane and said "cold outside". I love it!

We are home and back in out routine, which I know she enjoys! She's sleeping better and is back to her fun self! Praise God!