Summer!

Well, the Summer has started off great! Evynn LOVES to swim, we can hardly keep her away from the pool! With this being our first summer with Evy's implants, Kyle and I are constantly stressing about them while we're out, especially at the pool. I didn't mind her wearing them in the small pool in the backyard, but I'm not quite brave enough yet to let her wear them in the big pool! Evy's just too daring, and I'm afraid that she'll just dunk her head right under. I know that this whole process will get easier and we will eventually get a routine down, but for now, it's a little hard to relax at the pool. But...as you can see Evy seems to have no problem!

Right now Evy really doesn't mind if we take her ears off because she's just too busy, but I know that eventually she will want to play with her sister or other kids while swimming and will really want them on. I see how much fun she is having without them and often think about how much MORE fun she would have if she could hear everyone. It tends to break my heart at times, but then I look at my happy baby girl who wears a constant smile, and I realize that if she can put a smile on her face through her struggles, then so can I! Her strength can always get me through any feelings of guilt or sorrow. Her face can cheer anyone up! There is one positive thing about Evy not being able to hear though. On a recent trip to the lake, Evy was able to relax with me on a raft, regardless of the chaos. We took a nice, peaceful nap and didn't mind the noise one bit! :)

Evy's been very good about leaving her "ears" on, however... she has figured out that taking them off is the best way to get our attention. For example, Evy wanted something out of the fridge the other day and when we told her no, she took her ears off, and threw them at us. After that didn't get her what she wanted, she proceeded to lay herself out on the kitchen floor and throw a fit. I guess it is typical behavior for her age, but she is clever in the way that she uses her "ears" to get what she wants! What a stinker!

Evy's speech and language continues to amaze us! She's learning and understanding more and more words. Her teacher said Evy's attention span has gotten so much bigger, which means there is more listening and learning going on during her therapy sessions. There's still a ton that she cannot say, but she does recognize words when we say them. For example, she can't say "jump" yet, but when we say it, she knows what to do! She has also taken more of an interest in music and movies too! Evy's big sister Paityn had her first dance recital recently and Evy absolutely loved watching it! She was dancing and laughing and enjoyed it so much that I we have decided to enroll Evy in dance as well! Here is a little video we took of her enjoying the recital!

We all had so much fun and I'm glad that Evy was able to join in too!

On another note, my sister Lyndsey is an amazingly talented photographer and lucky for me, she is constantly taking pictures of my kids! Here's a few that I love :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their Summer as much as we have so far!!