Hiiiiiiieeeeeeeee.

This morning, bright and early, Cassidy and I walked into Dylan's room and were greeted with a smile, a wave, and a never before heard, "Hiiiiieeeee.".

I gasped and Cassidy, eyes wide, excitedly turned to me and said, "He said HI! He said HI!".

During dinner tonight, he started saying it again, so naturally I ran to grab my camera and caught some of it...



Love it. Love him.
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Lucky

I sometimes wonder...



who,





of the two, is luckier?



Is it him for having her?



Or rather, is it her



for having



him...

If you appreciate Signing Time...

I mean reallllly appreciate Signing Time,



then you can understand our excitement about this year's Buddy Walk.



This year, Rachel from Signing Time performed (with Hopkins, naturally) on stage prior to the walk.



Both Dylan and Cassidy have learned the majority of their signs by watching the Signing Time dvds. Seeing it all live...it was awesome, it really was.

Signing. Ah, it has had such an incredible impact on our lives. It is Dylan's primary means of communicating. I am guessing that at two years of age, he now has close to 80 signs. If he hadn't been taught to sign, we would be missing out on what makes Dylan, Dylan. So much of his personality is understood through signing.

Rachel from Signing Time has two children. One child is deaf and one child has both Cerebral Palsy as well as Spina Bifida. She understands. She knows.

And we just love her.

(Despite what it looks like, both kids really were excited, trust me. I think there was some confusion as to why she was there as a real live person. Tonight at dinner Cassidy asked me if Rachel fell out of the TV and if that was why she was at the Buddy Walk...).


Another magical Buddy Walk experienced. So different from last year, and even more from the year before...

Onward we go.

My best girl...

is FOUR years old today!



Happy Birthday you sweet, spunky, silly, spirited, sensitive Little One.

I love you and am so very proud of YOU!

Today

Thank you, Little One.



Thank you for being you.




For you have given your ol' mama



something to smile about today.



Thank you for reminding me that in this life, we do have a choice...and I choose to be like you. To believe. To trust. To see the good. To be happy.

To smile.

To smile...to always try and smile.

September

She peeks her head into the computer screen and tentatively looks around. She swallows. There is a familiar face there, maybe two. They are waiting. She clears her throat, takes a deep breath, and begins to type...

~


September has brought change into our home, into our lives. Into our hearts. When I am able to gather my wits, when I am able to muster the courage that I am currently lacking, when I am feeling braver, I will attempt to explain. But for now...this:


Dylan has grown into a toddler this September, I feel like. I hang out with this little one just about every minute of every single day and yet I see it - change. He is growing, he is learning, he is absolutely thriving.

He had surgery in the beginning of the month for tubes



and has since then been on a mission to excel.


Cassidy has begun preschool this September and while she likes it well enough, I have a pretty strong inkling who was more excited on that very first day...



Dylan has been making progress by leaps and bounds with eating. We are down from 9 jars of baby food a day to ONE (or 2, but still!). He eats real food (albeit gluten free) for most of his snacks and meals which makes this mama's heart very happy. Oh, I can not tell you how satisfied I will feel when I can stride directly past the baby food isle at the grocery store without so much as a second glance. (Although knowing me, I will stop, look longingly at the millions of jars and say, "Awwwww baby food! Remember when...")...




He has started making many more sounds and has even begun trying to imitate spoken words. His signing is crazy - I don't have any idea how many he knows, but I am pretty sure it's more than either Cassidy or I know...

Cassidy has been her usual busy self, fully enjoying the beginning of our New England Fall.







Cassidy understands that there have been changes. It has not always been easy for her and knowing that hurts my heart. But she is smart, she is strong, and she is very much loved. I have much faith in my best girl...

In September, more pieces have come together for Dylan in the mobility department. One day, I looked over at him and just as if he's done it a million times before, he began to crawl across the room. I am talking crawling - real crawling - belly off the floor and everything.

He has been pulling to stand more and has started slowly cruising along various surfaces of our house.

He has perfected "The Funny Face" while standing. Now that is an accomplishment in and of itself if you ask me.





As each day passes, I feel like his personality becomes more and more lovable. I do not know quite how to explain my feelings for this little guy, but I can say that one look into those sweet blue eyes makes my own eyes blurry with tears.



One look makes me thank my lucky stars that he is here with me.