Somebody is ONE!!!

Wow, what a weekend we have had! Sophie turned the big ONE on Saturday and we celebrated all weekend long. It was quite an extravaganza, complete with two parties, two cakes, never-ending presents, and tons of family and friends. I'd like to thank all of our friends and family that helped Sophie celebrate this weekend! She is a very special girl and lucky to have such great people in her life. Here are some pictures of the birthday madness:

I have been so busy planning the aforementioned parties, I have not had much time to blog lately. There is not too much to update, besides the fact that I now have a toddler on my hands! This last week has brought many emotions, most of them bittersweet because my baby is growing so fast and time is a blur. So much has happened in a year and it's hard to fathom everything we have gone through. At this time last year, I was a brand new mom - exhausted, nervous, yet full of bliss. I was on cloud nine with my tiny angel, but also worried about every little detail at the same time. Is she eating enough? Sleeping enough? Peeing enough? Oh god - does she look yellow?! ;) Also, I had another worry, a big one that I tried to keep locked away inside a little box in the back of my mind. Why did she fail her hearing screening? Why doesn't she startle? I spent what few spare minutes I had in those early days researching about the newborn hearing screening and hearing loss.

And here we are today. Sophie is deaf, but she can hear. She can understand speech and language and she is on her way to talking. How lucky are we??? :)

So, let's see... What is new with Sophie? She knows about 40-50 words now and is learning more everyday. She is my little sponge. Sometimes I can label an item only a handful of times to her and then she has it down. I know I've said it before, but it is really amazing to witness. She is also understanding and following simple directions such as, "Turn off the light," "Take off your shoe," and "Give Mommy your diaper." Sophie is continuing to babble and shriek A LOT and adding in more consonant sounds.  She has not started saying actual words yet and although I'm anxious, I understand that it isn't expected. As far as a language delay, there really isn't one. I think she may have a slight delay in expressive language, because an average 12 month old says a couple of words, but her therapist has been very reassuring. Sophie is actually advanced in receptive language (pretty cool considering she has only been hearing for 2.5 months) and we have been told that this is very important. It shows that she is understanding speech. Here are a couple videos I shot today of Sophie playing with her new toys. They also give you an idea of how she demonstrates that she understands directions and concepts.

Oh - and Sophie also took her first steps a few weeks ago! She is not full-on walking yet, though. I think she prefers to crawl because it is easier and she doesn't have to concentrate as hard. She is quite the speed crawler and will take a few steps here and there, whenever she is in the mood! ;)

Happy Birthday to my sweet Angel!!! I love you so much! XOXO