Best friends

Mira and Amelia are enjoying each other so much lately! Amelia smiles every time Mira is around, and Mira does her best to make Amelia laugh. Sharing toys is something we are working on, but I can tell they will be best friends. It will be so cute to see how they interact at ages 3 and 6. Here's a cute photo of the girls from today:

Amelia's getting a new . . . hat?

We had Amelia's appointment with Gillette's today. Dr. Wood examined Amelia and, while he doesn't recommend the CranioCap to parents one way or the other, he did tell us that Amelia's head is flatter than most that he sees and that due to her age it was unlikely to resolve itself. Based on that information, and the fact that the doctor said insurance does cover it 95 percent of the time, we decided to go ahead with the cap.

So they took some digital pictures of Amelia's skull and will fit the helmet from that. It was nice that they didn't need to do a plaster mold, which was common up until a year ago. Just a camera that made an outline of her head. The cap will be ready in 2 weeks, so we have an appointment on Feb. 7 to have her fitted for it. She'll wear it 22-23 hours a day for 3-4 months. It seems like a lot, but kids get used to the cap very quickly. They say it just feels like a hockey helmet. Snug, but not tight. It will have a gap in the back for her head to grow into, and there is a hole in the top for ventilation.

We'll decorate it cute with stickers! I saw on a blog a little girl with the same cap and her mom had put stickers on it that said, "What helmet?" I'm looking for a similarly cute saying for Amelia's cap. Any suggestions?

In the end, she should have a nice round head on which to grow her hair! Thanks for all the concern. I think this will go well.

Michelle

Amelia update

Chris and I have been concerned about Amelia's flat head for awhile now, so today we took her to the pediatrician to see if he thought we should see a specialist about it. After examining her, the doctor gave us the number of a specialist with Gillette's Children's hospitals. We're guessing Amelia will be diagnosed with deformational plagiocephaly, which isn't as scary as it sounds. It's basically a flat head from lying in one position. We were hoping her head would round out after she started sitting up, but it hasn't quite as much as it should have. Most likely, Amelia will have to wear a CranioCap for a few months to round out her head. It's a painless helmet that helps the head become a rounder shape. We'll give more updates on Friday after her appointment.

Here's a link for more information (provided by Cousin Angie. Thanks, Angie!)
http://www.gillettechildrens.org/default.cfm?PID=1.3.6.4

Michelle

So pretty

Me: Mira, how did you get so pretty?
Mira: Because I look like you, Mommy.

Awww. What a sweet girl! (Okay, I confess I taught her to say that, but still, awwwww.)

Mira goes to gymnastics

Mira had her first gymnastics class tonight. She really enjoyed it! After 2 bathroom breaks and telling the instructor that she didn't want to do somersaults, she tackled the balance beam and the vault with confidence! She wants to go back tomorrow night, but alas, she'll have to wait until next week.






And here's a cute photo of Mira, Chesney, and Logan when Kelly and the kids came over this past weekend. We had a blast!

Amelia is on the move!

Amelia is on the verge of crawling! I've been looking forward to it for awhile, but now I'm not sure I'm quite ready! At least she waited until the Christmas tree was taken down. I figure we have a couple of weeks left until she gets really moving. Amelia is going to be a curious little one, into everything! Mira is already bemoaning the fact that Amelia can roll her way over to Mira's toys. Not a happy day for Mira when her baby sister gets faster.

Christmas at Grandma Adeline's

We had another Christmas a week ago at my Grandma Adeline's house. What a busy place! We counted and there were more than 60 people there this year! Grandma officially has 26 great-grandchildren now, thanks to the addition of Noah in December. And many, many of them were there. Lots of little kids running around the place, it was filled to bursting!

Santa came to Grandma's house this year, as he does every year. I remember when we were kids and we'd have to start singing right after dinner. It felt like we were singing for an hour or more before he finally arrived (which always coincidentally coincided with when the dinner dishes were finished!). Lately, the kids just need to knock out a couple of tunes before Santa comes (probably because now we use paper plates and there are fewer dishes!).

Amelia didn't cry on Santa's lap a mere week after she was terrified on his lap at my parent's house. I guess she considered them old friends at that point.

It was a great Christmas this year. Just one more on the 19th and our holidays will be complete. Then it's my birthday and Valentine's Day right after that. Love the holidays in the thick of winter to keep us out and about. Hope you are all well!

Michelle

A family photo:



Amelia and my aunt/Godmother Bonnie Kaye (Amelia gets her middle name from Aunt Bonnie as well as from her Grandma Diane):



Mira on Santa's lap. She has never cried on his lap!



Amelia remembering an old friend. No crying this week!