Birthday Bliss

Eleanora turned two a couple of weeks ago.  She loved all the attention, the candles, and the presents.  Her favorite song is now, "Happy Birthday" which is sung several hundred times each day.  "Happy Birthday!" is also her favorite toast during our morning ritual of "coffee" (milk in a coffee mug for Miss E) and breakfast.  

We kept the birthday festivities pretty low-key this year, with just family meeting at the park for cupcakes and playtime.  Uncle Rich, Aunt Sissy, and Mimi joined us for a fun afternoon in the sun.  Samuel joined the celebration by napping the afternoon away in the sling.

The park has a splash pad area with fountains and all kinds of water squirting everywhere.  Eleanora loves-loves-loves the water!

Every meal included birthday candles and singing - from pancakes for breakfast, to her PB&J for lunch.

Eleanora is still obsessed with Samuel and can't get enough of him, although jealousy has popped up now and then.  She gets frustrated with me that I can't give her my full attention all the time, but never seems to get mad at Samuel.  She loves to pat his back when he's crying and say, "Poor baby Sa-ee, it's ok."

As for Samuel, he continues to grow and gain strength.  He weighs over 10 pounds now (yay!) and has graduated from wearing preemie and newborn clothes to 0-3 months.  Because he failed the hearing screen in the hospital, he had a special sleep test done to measure his brain waves while hearing different tones.  The test showed his hearing to be within the normal range, which is wonderful news.  I wasn't too worried since he definitely reacts to loud noises, especially those coming from his big sister!  Samuel also had an appointment with the pediatric neurologist who was pleased with his latest head ultrasound.  The bleeding has resolved, but there is still some fluid in the brain.  We want this to either become less or stay the same, not increase.  He also had a full neurological evaluation revealing he is on track for his gestational age.  We will go to the neurologist again in December after another head ultrasound to keep an eye on everything.  We are still treading water in regards to nursing, after another meeting with the lactation consultant and occupational therapist.  They recommended pressing on for another few weeks to see if he's made any progress (so far, nothing) and then evaluating at that point the best course of action for the future.  

Samuel is a sweet, sweet boy who loves to nuzzle up in the crook of my neck, and sleeps best laying next to me in bed.  He is tracking movement (mostly big sister), and can pick up his head and turn it from side to side.  He is such a snuggle bug!