A mile in my shoes...: 2 years; 6 months

Yesterday my miracle of a baby girl turned 2! Never in my life would I have dreamed that having my family would be so darn difficult. But we have a big God that says anything is possible. And by His grace, we have been given the gift of our daughters.

We didn't plan a big party for Ellie this year. A few months ago, our mommy group had a group party for all the kiddos with winter birthdays and we all went to the local children's museum and had snacks and cupcakes. We had planned to do cake and singing at a small family gathering that had been previously planned with my side but that happened to be the weekend Ellie got the stomach flu, so that didn't happen. Two days before Ellie's birthday Eric had to take a trip to South Dakota for work. South Dakota + winter= blizzard. He got stuck there for an entire extra day and thus missed seeing Ellie on her birthday. We did Skype that morning but we missed him a lot over those three days. So Ellie's birthday has been a bit extended. We saw my dad on her birthday while I ran the treadmill, my mom and brother came over that night to do presents and sing and eat cupcakes. Today, with Eric home, we did presents, singing, and cupcakes again. Eric's parents also had some delays coming up and will now come tomorrow to do the whole routine again. So Ellie pretty much gets to feel special all week. Just how it should be :)

She had a 2 year check up today and only needed one shot, yay! She might be a picky eater but she is in the 42nd percentile for weight and now the 38th percentile for height. And she is now officially taller than her friend the storm trooper (whom she still gives hugs to before nap and bed times). She is getting so big so fast, my little baby is disappearing. She loves to talk and sing, build legos, color, plays with her baby dolls and play food, she adores puppies more than any other animal and spotting school buses on the road. She is a good little sleeper still and naps and goes to bed at pretty predictable times. She squeals with delight when she sees her friends and family and runs around in circles with excitement. She has gone on the potty a couple of times but does not seem quite ready to really start potty training so I'm tying not to push it. She continues to be a picky eater rejecting what is not familiar or has a different texture. Trying to be patient with this but it is hard. She does love peanut butter, pancakes, bacon, mac and cheese, alfredo noodles, peas, cheerios, any fruit, chicken nuggets, and french fries.

This Sunday (7th) will be 6 months since Alexandra went to be with Jesus. We don't talk with Ellie about her but she is never far from our thoughts. I still talk about her when the opportunity presents itself but we are doing ok. Still purging baby stuff and what left is not selling very well. Some will end up being given away, hopefully to a new mom in need. I'm still running. We are still anticipating an adoption in the next couple of years. We are healing. But there will always be a Lexie shaped hole in our family pictures.

So here are some of the highlights of Ellie's 2nd birthday: