Second Birthday!

If you can believe it, Cailin turned 2 on Monday (9/14)! She had a great day that ended with a skinned knee after she fell pushing her "mower" on the sidewalk--but she bounced back incredibly quickly. We're having a small party for her with Lauren's family (and my Mom) this weekend, but of course she still has no concept of a birthday--or even really of presents...

We're thrilled to report that she's doing incredibly well. She continues to be a very happy little girl, and thankfully, a healthy one too! She's totally off oxygen--although we still have it on hand in case of a particularly nasty cold. She still isn't eating as well as Momma and Dada would like, but she is catching up on the height charts despite not yet registering on the weight charts for her actual age (as opposed to her "adjusted age" or how old she would be had she stayed in Momma's belly for 16 more weeks, which is no longer really considered now that she's two). Her doctors seemed relatively pleased with her growth, although they all would be thrilled with a bit more weight gain--and the healthy lung growth that goes with it.

She's starting to talk a bit, and she understands an incredible amount--much like a typical 2 year old I suppose. She is a bit behind the normal 2 year old for both speech and "gross motor skills"--she should be running and jumping by now and is doing neither yet. But a delay is to be expected, and we're certainly not complaining, or worrying.

We had a wonderful 2 week family vacation this summer which included Ellie (but not Kotie, the cat) for a week at the beach (we rented a dog-friendly house on the bay in New Jersey with some close friends), had some time at home (which included a great day trip to Dutch Wonderland), and finally enjoyed a long Labor Day weekend in the Finger Lakes of New York with some of Lauren's family.

Cailin has been taking swimming lessons all summer, but with something like 0% body fat, doesn't do so well in cold water--even with her adorable little wet suit. Despite rapidly turning blue, she LOVED the first day at the ocean (as you can see from the picture above!). Her enthusiasm for the ocean diminished with each passing day, but we still managed to have a ball. We tried taking her in the lake once, but that was far too cold. She didn't care though, as she loved the few days with her cousins, aunt, uncle and other friends. Ellie loved the lake more than anyone, swimming after balls for hours on end every day, shocking us with the amount of energy she has.

We spoke to the new first year class of medical students at Jefferson about Cailin's journey again last week, and it's really unbelievable to think back on those days in the NICU and contrast it with how well she's doing now. We are incredibly blessed.

Updated pictures are available here. There are a lot of them as it's been a long time since our last post! Speaking of which, we were preparing for the March for Babies when we last posted. We're thrilled to report that Team Cailin Hope raised over $3,500, so thank you for all those that donated and those that joined us for the walk. Unlike 2008, the weather this year was ideal. Lauren and Cailin were even featured on the local news (you can watch the video here), and we were invited to thank the crowd as part of the opening ceremonies, which was an honor.

Anyway, we hope you all had a wonderful summer!

Tim (and Lauren and Cailin)