Snuggle Belly

I guess my belly is a great place to be:)

Klay is not ready to come out yet!!!!

I am patiently, but (not really patiently) waiting...

God's timing is perfect and only He knows what is best. Trusting in that, and getting through these next few days...

Waiting for Klay...

This past month has been so LONG it seems. We are anxiously waiting the arrival of Klay Jeffrey Staniland. I am BEYOND ready for this little guy to come out. I have cleaned literally everything in my house, I cannot clean anymore.

Kailee is super excited and is being a great "helper" in preparation for brother. What a blessing it is to carry a child, and I am trying to enjoy these last few days with him in my belly.

Last night I had a few hours of "false labor" which was super annoying. I really thought I was in labor..and then it just stopped. :(

I have had a few wonderful baby showers full of so much love, and I feel very blessed to have people in my life who support us in our journey of life.

We are currently in the middle of re-doing our backyard..here are some pics of the new fence. There is still a ways to go, but we are making progress.:)

Until baby boy comes.. I am off.

Life

Well, I clearly am not good at this "blog" stuff, but will do my best to keep up so Kailee can read this as she gets older.

December and January have flown by so fast. Jeff just finished his basketball season, and that just takes up time!:) It was a challenging season for him, but he has learned so much through it all.

Kailee is doing SO great! School is her favorite thing, and she LOVES going to see all her friends each day. We went to her audiologist at UCLA last month and Kailee tested hearing at a very low scale! ( like a whisper) So, with those results, we are so pleased!!

God is faithful in all circumstances, and watching my little miracle grow up is the biggest blessing I could ever ask for.

Baby boy is due soon:) We just finished painting the nursery, putting the crib up and getting things as "ready" as they can be for when he arrives. Kailee is so excited to have a baby brother. She talks about him daily and is getting a little inpatient waiting. She is going to be such a great big sister! I have a few baby showers coming up and am already feeling so honored by so many women in my life who love and adore my family.

We are so ready for him to get here! No name yet.. it's been quite the discussion in our house. I think we will just know when he come out to meet us.

I am feeling really good and plan to work up until I deliver. This pregnancy has been great and God has really taken away an fears of mine that were previously there! He is in control.

Until next time...

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?