This last day of January...

...I'm going through pictures from this past weekend when I took the kids to Aunt Karin and Uncle Doug's house to meet up with Sarah and Mike to celebrate Auntie's 26th birthday. Everyone had fun playing ball outside, watching fish in the man cave, eating Aunt K's delicious shrimp veggie stir-fry and birthday cake, and taking in a few family movies (Finding Nemo, Wall-E, and Toy Story 3). If only everyone lived a *little* closer, but I'll take it!

I am reminded of EA/TEF Awareness Month coming to a close as Collin barks his classic, croupy TEF cough because he has a little bit of a cold, which always manifests into a much bigger deal due to his anatomy. Whatever it is, Daddy is feeling the effects more (poor guy is on a diet of TheraFlu and soup). Besides complaining of a sore throat, rocking the raspy voice, and looking a bit tired, Collin seems to be doing fine. The nebulizer is ready to go, though! Olivia and I have escaped for the time being, as usual.

...,speaking of EA/TEF, Collin's NICU buddy is currently in MN recovering from surgery yesterday. I'm not sure what he had done exactly, but he has endured many complications from this condition that needed repair. His mom posted a sweet picture of him holding her hand tightly while he sleeps. I'm praying that he recovers quickly with little pain!

...I can't stop thinking about my friend from college. Her mother, in her early 50s, just went through surgery for breast cancer recently. She is doing well from what I've read on FB, despite all that comes with battling such a relentless disease....but also from what I've read, my 31-year-old friend (and mom of two little ones) just got some news that was not totally unexpected but devastating just the same. I don't know the details, but her mom said something about hoping all this would end with her and not be passed down. I can only surmise that my friend will be going through some difficult times herself because of that ugly C word. BUT, like her mom, she is such a strong woman and has an incredible support system. God, cancer really doesn't discriminate, does it? Doesn't matter if you are young, healthy, do everything right, etc. You just never know. Anyway, a phone call is in order because relying on social media for something like this is unacceptable. 

...Olivia is walking 75% of the time and getting pretty good. Sarah made the observation that she doesn't even put her arms up in the air for balance like most babies do in the early walking stages. Never has. She is rather circumspect about the whole thing and surveys the scene closely before taking off. Olivia is also quite the talker. She is constantly babbling with confidence. All the inflections, facial expressions, and gestures are there; she just needs to work on pronunciation and enunciation. :)  

Olivia's Lexicon as of 1/31/12 (14.75 months):

WORDS	ONOMATOPOEIA	INTERJECTIONS
Daddy	Mmm (for food)	(arms up for hooray!)
Mommy	Moo “boo” (cow)	Wee!
Brother “Dada” or “Bubba”	Ruff “ra-ra” (dog)
Ball “boh”	Hoo hoo (owl)
Balloon “ba-boo”	Oo oo oo (monkey)
Baby	Broom (car)
Hi	Tick tock “dee-da” (clock)
Broccoli “boppy!”	Mmm-ah (kiss)
Peas “bees”	Ho-ho-ho! (Santa)
Diaper “dye-dye”	vibrates lips for elephant
More “mo”	clicks tongue for horse
(tired bye-bye sign for sleep)	Ah-poo (snore)
I did it “I dee!”	Ba ba (sheep)
Potty “poppy”	Mah (cat’s meow)
Home “hum”	Ding dong “nee-naw” (bell)
Bye
Elmo “Mo-mo”
Pee-pee “bee-bee”
Eye
(circles index finger for fan)
Goodnight “ga-nigh”
T.V. “tee-dee”
Olivia “ya-ya”
From Auntie Sarah: Sissy, you have to add "moon" to O's lexicon. The other night she pointed at the crescent and said "moo!"		This month started with 5-7 steps between Mommy and Daddy and pushing a stroller across the room; now Miss O is walking all over the house, baby in tow. :)