2013 here we come

2012 was a year full of surprises that's for sure. From not knowing whether we were having a boy or a girl to finding out about Elin's hearing loss we ran the gammit of emotions. We are ushering 2013 in with hope we  will gain some balance and normalcy in our lives once again.

The holidays were crazy and wonderful. Anya was fully "invested" in Christmas this year from wanting to be good for Santa to singing all sorts of Christmas carols. We had  four nights of celebration. First Myles's family Christmas at Kyra's house, next a Santa party (complete with a real live Santa) at my parents, our annual Christmas Eve cocktail party, and Christmas dinner at Scott and Natalie's. Phew- it was a whirlwind of food, drinks and presents and both girls were a bit exhausted by the end of it. Elin handled the noise of the parties well for a while but she would get aggravated after a few hours and need a quiet break from all the din.

She is wearing her hearing aids full time now and seems to be flourishing. She started blowing raspberries about a month ago which is apparently an important skill for speech development according to our Listen and Talk counselor Rebecca. As discussed before, we have an early intervention program counselor come to our house on a weekly basis and meet with us. We go over new sounds Elin is making, new developmental milestones, she tests and checks her hearing aids and she interacts with Elin. She has given us a few good books to read to Anya about hearing loss and hearing aids and she loves to read them.

Anya has gotten to go to Elin's audiologist two times now and is a good sport during the appointments. Anya has been asking to have her hearing checked since reading the books and going to the appointments so at the most recent one we tested her hearing. Both Myles and I were pretty confident that Anya has no hearing issues but it was still a little nerve racking none the less to watch her get tested and wait for the results. She is normal and has absolutely no hearing loss or hearing issue at all. Thank God! She loved playing the games and interacting with the audiologist.

Elin is working very hard at rolling over. If she's naked she can get from her back to her side no problem. Once she gets to her tummy she isn't a fan so she really isn't all that motivated to turn all the way over. Clothes seem to be a bit of hindrance on her ability so she just rocks side to side on her back when dressed. She has found her right hand and sucks on it constantly. Anya is a thumb sucker and Elin is quickly becoming one as well. Self soothing is just fine by me. We have been blindly locating spit out binkies in the dark for several months so an attached thumb will be a welcome tool. Elin is sleeping pretty well. We are getting her down between 8-9 pm and she usually wakes once around 4 or 5 am. Then she will sleep until 8-9 am.

Elin lights up when she hears or sees Anya. I can tell already that these two are going to have a very special bond and it warms my heart to see Anya pay so much attention to her sister. She loves her and enjoys playing with her by showing her toys and making music for her. We have Elin's 6 month appointment the end of January. I can't believe she is almost 6 months old. Second kids grow up so fast.