Oh yeah, I have a blog

Soooo it's been a really long time since I updated my blog.  The last time I posted, Finley was a newborn. She just turned ten months old yesterday and is constantly asking for the keys to the car almost an official toddler.  We have had a super busy last few months and it finally took a case of the stomach flu to slow my little family down enough for me to update this thing.  I am a perfectionist and it was bugging me that Finley's picture wasn't in the header of my blog (I know it was bothering you too, just admit it) and I wanted to be able to change it before I posted again.  So I stayed up late last night because my sleep schedule is all out of whack thanks to being sick, figured out how to do it, and now here we are.  

We are doing great--Patrick just wrapped up his CFP exam and I am still loving being home with Camden and Finley.  They keep growing up way too fast even though I've asked them to stop.  I thought I would do a little update on both of them since they are both SO different from the last time I posted in April. 

My two and a half year old (I can't believe he's almost 3) went to camp this summer at The Speech Garden Institute and absolutely loved it.  We found out in November of last year (I can't remember if I mentioned this in a previous post or not) that he had a mild delay in expressive speech and he's been in speech therapy once a week since then.  A few weeks after camp was over, we had him reevaluated and he tested out of needing services!  Now he won't stop talking!  We asked our geneticist this summer if speech issues are common in people with Hypo, but there isn't much research to substantiate a real answer.  I know I've mentioned this before, but one of the most frustrating things with a Hypo diagnosis is the fact that there is so little known about it compared to other types of dwarfism.  It's also frustrating that it is lumped together with achondroplasia even though there are many innate differences.  (Hypo parents, are your kids in speech therapy? What have you been told about speech?)

He started preschool in September and the first thing out of his mouth in the morning is "I have school today?!"  followed by "I'm hungry!!!" (such a guy).  He loves his teachers and his friends and has learned so much.  Every once in a while, he'll freak us out with something we had no idea he knew.  One day we were on our way to Target and he told me the days of the week and then corrected me on where I was turning (I was going a different way so I could run by the post office first).  

He has turned into quite the budding artist and is definitely left-handed like my mom.  He's used it pretty dominantly for a long time but it's the only hand he uses now.  

Here are a few of his latest masterpieces.  

My favorite part is how he traced around the tile using the grout as a guide.  Very inventive. This is just a sampling of the different artistic bases he works with--he also enjoys using the couch and his sister's tummy.  

Camden's personality is still one of my absolute favorite things about him.  He is so loving and sweet, but he also has a very witty and mischievous side that totally make me melt.  He love cars (his favorite is his gini--a yellow car that looks like a Lamborghini) and his tool set.  He eats pancakes every morning for breakfast and can climb on anything.  He loves his sister and has gotten really good at sharing with her (except for his gini).  They wrestle and pick at each other constantly and crack each other up all the time.  

Finley can hold her own with her brother and has become quite sassy (in a really cute way).  She started crawling when she was six months old and is thisclose to walking and gets into everything.  She LOVES shoes and will chase you down to try to get yours off of your feet.  Whenever anybody comes into our house, they have to take their shoes off and put them in our coat closet immediately before she can get to them.  

She does not have her mama (and brother's) fear of heights and loves swinging and and climbing.  I think we are going to have to worry more about her breaking bones or needing stitches when she gets older than we will with Camden.  She definitely has an adventurous side.  

She dances, claps, and bounces all day long and is such a happy baby.

She is not crazy about baby food and has been covering herself with food feeding herself for a while now.  Her favorite food right now is cheese.  

She has four teeth (her front tops and bottoms) and has started grinding them (it makes the most awful sound ever but her doctor said it sounds worse than it is) so we have been keeping pacis close by and popping them in her mouth whenever we hear her do it.  

Despite her bubbly and extroverted personality, she is going through a major stranger-danger phase right now.  She did not appreciate Santa this year.  

She does appreciate a good tiara and fairy wings though :)

So there you have it, an update after nine months.  I promise it won't be that long next time (I hope)!