4 years of pure joy!

Sweet girl how can it be that you are already turning 4 today?! You have taught us more about life and love in the past 4 years than we could have ever imagined! We wish you the happiest of Birthday's ever and we hope that this next year brings you nothing but pure joy and the most memorable of new beginnings as you begin such a fun stage in your life as you begin school!Happy Birthday to the sweetest, most loving little miracle we were blessed with....our daughter! We love you Danielle and hope you had a very special day today!

We are very blessed to have you as our girl!

It's Official!!!!

Thursday, December 22, 2011 we got the phone call that Danielle had been accepted for Open Enrollment into the Linn-Mar District. Since then we have had Registration and have been waiting for the letter stating she was good to go, officially! That letter finally came last week and we couldn't be more happy!!!! We are still waiting to hear which school she will be at, we did her it will either be Bowman Woods or Echo Hill, that notification will come the beginning of May! Until then we are making preparations for her to attend school and honestly, I'm getting a little sappy about it! It is very hard to believe that she is going to be 4, I just got rid of my double stroller today, and the thought of more than likely not having any more infants in the house really makes this mama sad :( But we know that Danielle is more than ready for school and the academic progress she has shown this year has been incredible! We are excited for this next big step for her!

This was a pretty exciting week for us! Not only did we get the long awaited letter from Linn-Mar, but we also got another long awaited piece of equipment for Danielle, another new chair! This chair is a little different than the one we have at home. It is more compact, lower to the ground welcoming play with her peers and it also does not have a tray. But this is perfect for Michelle's and we have been waiting and waiting since December for this to come, yesterday I picked it up and tomorrow we will deliver it to Michelle's for Danielle to use there! Hooray, we are so excited for her!

  Leg exercises with Daddy!

  And a little patty cake too!

She has been making enormous strides in therapy. She has shown that she knows her basic colors, she knows circle, square and triangle and she can also make a circle with a marker when we assist her at the elbow. She knows farm and zoo animals and has learned how to cut shapes too! It is so amazing to see, when given appropriate tools and therapists, all that Danielle knows! She is very cognitive for her age and is showing the level of a 2 1/2 yr old - beginning 3 year old for her Cognitive skills. This is SO exciting to see!
We continue PT, OT and Speech therapy every week and really look forward to our weekly visits to watch Danielle shine!

  Every PT Session starts with a good stretch! A must for Danielle's body!

  She continues to have lots of walking time at therapy! She even gives her baby rides....this day she was trying to give the baby kisses, or suck on her hand :)

  Danielle LOVES to swing! In fact at her OT sessions, when given choices she often chooses swinging as the first thing she wants to do!

  Standing is a new favorite. She fights and fights until you let her stand up, she needs support around the trunk but she has the rest of it! This girl LOVES to stand!

Each week we are amazed by her will to learn and fight for what she wants. We love this about her and her will to continue to amaze us teaches us so much about life and just goes to show that with hard work and perseverance you do pretty amazing things! We love watching her and continue each week to be excited for what she will show us next!~

New Year for New Things!

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
What a beautiful little girl you are
Growing up before our eyes
With Spirit and Courage that never sighs.

You have the will to do anything you can

Try this, try that, YES I WILL &
YES I CAN!!!

We love your little giggles & eyes so wide
Sweetie you give Mom & Dad a big sense of pride!
You hear your family & you're cranking your head to see
after a hello kiss your happy as a little bee who just found honey.

This year's going to be very exciting for you
We've started getting you ready because
just like your brother, soon, you're going to be in school too!

Where oh where does the time go,
this Mommy can't figure it out
but it doesn't matter
because we're reaching goals,
trying new things & you are so happy....
a big, warm, reassuring smile, is all I'm after.

Your courage is amazing, your body so strong
each week brings something new because
your flying thru everything we ask of you!

Keep being you, little girl so sweet
play time, bath time, therapy time, bonding time
no matter with what we fill the days,
we thank the lord, for you sweetie,
are our blessing in many ways.