Milestones

Just like that, our sweet Hallie is TWO! 

This little girl is such a joy to us. She loves to talk, sing, make herself and others laugh, and do things independently.  She's a great sleeper and eater, and enjoys cuddling when she's sleepy.  She can be a stinker when she wants something she knows she shouldn't have. Discipline seems to roll right off her back and it sometimes takes getting in trouble two or three times before she decides to stop.  She still takes a solid nap during the day and sleeps through the night almost without fail. Her vocabulary has exploded in the past six months and we love hearing her thoughts.

The weekend before her birthday, we had a big family party to celebrate all the summer birthdays, including Hallie's. On her actual birthday, we went to an indoor bounce house and had a blast. She had the best time trying to keep up with Emma!

 They also had a toddler-specific area where she got to play with a kitchen, cars, and other baby toys.

Grandma and Grandpa Jester made the drive from Williamsburg to spend her birthday with us.

We celebrated with a brownie cake that night. Emma helped Hallie blow out the candles. And tried to "help" open and play with all Hallie's new presents, too. Heh!

In other milestone news, Emma started Kindergarten!

Meeting her awesome new teacher, Mrs. Boyce. 

 Emma was SO excited on her first day back at school! She really missed it over the summer!

It made me sad to realize that she'd be in school five days a week this year, so I took a day off from work and the two of us spent a special day together the day before Kindergarten began. 

We spent a fun morning at the beach

 Then I took her shopping for a "Scruff-a-Luv" toy that she'd been asking for. It was the perfect day.

Another huge milestone we're celebrating is Emma's recent post-operation check up!  A couple of weeks before school started, she had an ultrasound and a visit with her urologist who said that Emma's kidneys, bladder, and ureters look amazing since her emergency surgery last summer! She took Emma off her daily antibiotic and said that she doesn't think she'll need any more surgeries! We will visit the urologist again in two years as long as Emma remains healthy during that time.  We could not be more grateful for Emma's healing and such a wonderful report. It's still sinking in that her long medical journey may be over! Our God is gracious and powerful!