StAnDiNg!!

Ayla is S-T-A-N-D-I-N-G!!

All by her little self....*almost*....but she's doing it!

Note in the video below how proud the tinkers-bean is of herself and her standing! and how she pushed Ryan's hands away when he tries to steady her...haa haa!

It was suggested that Ayla may not have proper ankle strength (and her brace isn't arriving until March) that we place her in supportive tennis shoes. Once Ayla had her shoes on, she wanted to stand and ALL BY HERSELF.

She also began showing off and walking one-handed with Ryan- she has NEVER done that before! Go Ayla! It won't be long before she is walking around the house and we cannot wait.

The video below is Ayla showcasing her "one-handed-walking" skills and pushing her stroller. We enjoy watching those priceless facial expressions.

She is proud of herself (as she should be!)

 CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO OF AYLA WALKING ONE-HANDED

CLICK HERE TO WATCH AYLA PUSHING HER STROLLER

Getting off and onto her rocking horse unassisted!

Peanut has the most adorable giggle. In the video below she is laughing (and sometimes silently) at Ryan "slurping" his smoothie. Silly girl!

  

 Yep- she is playing with nail clippers.

Ayla has quite the fascination with items that have moving parts- she studies and plays with them rather intently. The tongue sticking out is an indication of her close curiosity.

 Making MESSES!

She discovered that the drawers to her dresser open. Needless to say, she takes great delight in emptying said drawers and removing ALL of her feeding bags and throwing them onto the floor along with the other misc. medical supplies.

Hours of endless entertainment....

Honestly, our closet has never been such a disaster! Kudo's to Ayla....she can destroy it in no time!

Isn't playing in dirty laundry and taking the clothes off the hangers such fun? Oh the joys of being two.....

Love me a balloon!

What's new in Ayla-Land:

• STANDING!
• Wearing supportive tennis shoes
• Walking along the furniture more confidently while wearing shoes
• Being a "tornado" and leaving small to giant-sized messes wherever she goes...literally!
• Not sleeping (we believe she's on strike)
• Waking up every hour on the hour during the night (sleep, oh sleep...where art thou?)
• Teething and drooling *lots of drool*
• New feeding therapy technique involving cheetos and chocolate covered pretzels. It's junk but hey- if she'll attempt to eat it she can have WHATEVER she wants!!  

2-Year Status Update

Happy Valentines Day, Ayla!

To celebrate this special day you received:

• a 2-year follow-up check from your pediatrician
• shots (booo!!)
• a new diet plan
• hugs and kisses!

Ayla's two-year stats are:

Weight: 24 pounds

Height: 31.5 Inches

 Such a Happy Girl playing with her balloon!

 Sad Face....look at that bottom lip!

This is the facial expression issued when we tell her, "NO."

 "Smile for the camera!"

Mom's little Valentine...she is most sweet and beautiful!

Tinkers-Bean has a new "diet plan" in efforts to encourage her oral eating. This plan consists of:

• A decrease in the rate of her daily tube feeds- she is now eating over a 30 minute span (was at 40 minutes) and thus far, has not gagged or retched with the increase of speed (a gooood sign!)
• A decrease in the night feeding quantity- she eats on a slow drip from 9pm - 3am  (instead of 9pm - 10am). This was done in an effort to test if she will feel "hungry" in the mornings after waking. Does she register appetite and recognize hunger? Will she be more inclined to eat or taste foods and drinks?  Not sure....only time will tell!
• Offering more aggressive eating therapies including group feeding therapies with children her age. This will begin next month as RSV is rampant this season and we don't want to expose her to that nastiness.

With Ayla's oral aversion we have been unable to access inside her mouth to brush her teeth or rub her gums and thus, she has build-up on her cute yellow teeth. Her teeth are already yellow and brittle due to the heavy quantities of antibiotics and medications she was on during the NICU. She is scheduled for a visit to a Pediatric Dentist in May for a cleaning and sealing. Of course, this will be done while she is 'sleeping'...otherwise, there is NO WAY you would get inside her mouth.

Ayla also has allergies (along with super-sensitive skin...which is what happens when a babies skin must finish forming outside of the womb) and we have been keeping a list of medications and known foods she is allergic too. In order for a complete overview of her allergens she needs see a specialist. Next month, Ayla is visiting a Pediatric Allergist for blood work and skin testing. 

Up next: testing a new lotion and body wash! We have trialed almost every possible lotion and wash in the market to find ones that don't irritate Ayla's soft skin and provide adequate moisture. She's like a cool puzzle with lots of moving parts; an adorable, happy, healthy, feisty puzzle which we love!

It's such a blessing to see where she began to where she is today...she is our 'Amazing Ayla'!   

~ Two-Year BIRTHDAY ~

On Saturday Ayla celebrated her TWO-YEAR-BIRTHday!!

Many amazing events have transpired within the past 2 years and we are grateful and blessed for the miracle this little girl is in our lives!

To celebrate this momentous occasion (because really, you're only 2 once) we baked a giant cupcake and watched Ayla demolish and destroy the chocolaty goodness. It was awesome. and entertaining. and made us laugh!

Enjoy the video link below;

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

Tinkers-Bean made quite the mess dismantling her cake but the entertainment value was PRICELESS!! She was hysterically funny and enjoyed the attention.

Be warned: there is a plethora of adorable 'Birthday-Girl-Photos' below!

*Don't let the mess around the mouth fool you: peanut refused to even attempt to taste....silly girl has no idea what she's missing (yet)! *

 Ayla is triumphant- 
"Mission Accomplished: CAKE DESTROYED!!"

 Now it's time for bath.....

Checking out her cool present from dad.
Ryan built this beautiful rocking horse- such talent! 

 What is most fun: wrapping paper or presents?
Ayla's vote: wrapping paper!

In the video below, Tinkers-Bean was acting very silly; chasing her balloon, doing the "crab-walk" (that is new) and jibbering;

Click here to watch the video

 A visit to wish Zoey a Happy Birthday!
Ayla wasn't in a happy mood to visit her sister- wonder why? She was sad the entire time!

"Yumm...balloon...tastes gooood...." 

A better picture of the rocking horse.
Ayla can now climb on (well, sorta) and off this gorgeous beast.

Two Years have passed...there really are no words other than we are blessed and so very grateful Ayla has remained safe and *relatively* healthy. She is a modern miracle; she lives, breathes, has sight and hearing and is SMART- senses that the Neurologists cautioned us she may not have due to her extreme prematurity and prolonged sickness. She proved them wrong.

10 surgeries later, countless procedures, tons of prayers and keeping her as "quarantined" as possible, she is now two and healthy and strong and GROWING!

Ayla- today is the littlest you'll ever be!   

Ayla- 2 Year Birthday Cake Bash! Part 1

TP Bandit & Braces

When Ayla was inside the NICU and times were critical, we'd often whisper softly to her inside the incubator. Quietly encouraging, singing, reading and telling her of all the neat and fun adventures she would have if she would be brave and continue to grow 'big & strong'.

 This is one of the activities we couldn't wait for....

the Miss Ayla to do stuff like this:

Now we understand why she was soooo quiet- should have known: when Ayla is quiet, mischief is afoot!

This was a new roll of toilet paper....though no longer after Ayla finished with it. This girl loves to shred.

 This is another favorite haunt of Tinkers-Bean: the diaper basket!

It contains such neat gadgets such as baby nail clippers, skin tape, butt-paste and lotion. Such fascinating treasures!

In other news; Bubbles! GIANT bubbles!

This activity occupied Ayla for many minutes- and fun to watch! She had a blast touching the bubbles and watching them spatter on the floor.

Peanut was evaluated by an Orthopedic Specialist and it was recommended she wear a brace on her left ankle/foot to realign the muscles and correct her foot posture. She will be receiving the brace in a week and is to wear it with sturdy shoes during the day. 

Her left foot has always turned outwards when she walks and this will hopefully, correct the foot so she doesn't develop osteoporosis in her ankle. Ayla will wear the brace for the next 2-3 years and then require inserts for her shoes. Considering this was to be expected, we are pleased it is a mild case.

Two more days and our baby will be TWO YEARS OLD!!! How blessed we are!

Knees, please

Ayla has been showing-off many new skills recently- it's as if a 'turbo' button has been pushed and off she goes!

It's a wonderful and wild thing that our tinkers-bean will be two-years-old on Saturday!

Her recent mad-skills consist of:

• occasional crab-walking
• go-go-gadget-arms (she can reach just about anything she sets her mind upon)
• getting onto her knees and bouncing 
• wrestling with pillows
• an unholy attraction to anything shiny or crinkly
• jibbering (impossible to capture on camera)
• discovering new cabinets, cubby-holes and buttons
• playing with the lamps and cords
• drinking from a water bottle (with help, of course)
• teething (ginormous molars coming in) and I'm blaming her runny/stuffy nose on this as it's been ongoing for over 2 weeks
• playing with her tongue- grabbing it with her fingers and constantly sticking it out
• 'writing' on her palm. We are trying to teach her basic sign-language and she likes for us to take her pointer finger and 'draw' with it on her palms
• G-R-O-W-I-N-G....she is now becoming a toddler and our baby is fading away

The video below is of a new toy called the "Bumble Ball" which is basically a ball that jiggles and bounces. Ayla wasn't quite sure about this strange, noisy toy and still isn't.....

 The tongue- this is her expression when she's trying to figure something out.....like how to turn this crazy, jiggling ball off!

 Ayla has the lamp cord and is banging it against the lamp stem- so amusing! Note the open-mouth-silent-scream expression.

 Her excited, silly face (one of many)

 Loving some shiny, fun tin foil!

This provided several minutes of entertainment for both Ayla and us!

 Bouncing on her knees! Sooooo close to walking!

Wrestling and pushing around the pillows.

She'll drag the pillows from off the couch and proceed to toss them around the living room.

This little peanut brings such joy and happiness- her personality radiates beautifully!

On Thursday she'll be evaluated for possible ankle-braces to assist in walking. Her weekly therapies of OT/PT, speech and eating continue and there is progress- although she continues on her "no-food" strike. Anytime we get close to her mouth with a bite she shoves it away and clamps her mouth closed. However, she likes to take sips of non-thickened water (and she knows the difference) from a water bottle. She is smart, seriously smart.