Saturday, August 4, 2012

Happy 3rd Birthday Rachel & Haley!!!

Our sweet precious miracle survivors are 3 years old!!!  They both have come a long way since their extremely early arrival.  They have beat odds.  They have gone through so much in their 3 years of life, but they are happy!  They are living life and Thomas and I are so grateful that they are here with us.  They bring so much joy, love and happiness to our family.  They remind us every day of how blessed we are.  Happy Birthday sweet beautiful girls!  We love you so much!  

Rachel and Haley
Rachel and Haley
Haley and Rachel
Haley and Rachel

Rachel and Haley continue to make developmental progress on their own time frame.  They continue to get occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy almost daily to aid in their progress.  

RachelAt 3 years old, Rachel weighs 29lbs, 10oz (40%ile) and is 36.5 inches tall (30%ile).  Rachel is average size for her age.  She has caught up on the growth curve.  Rachel has made a lot of developmental progress the past 6 months.  She is doing more age appropriate play.  She is a visual learner.  She observes things in detail and will follow what she sees.  She likes to explore and learn new things.  It's still a challenge to get Rachel to wear her hearing aids.  Since she does not wear them consistently she is not saying any words.  We are still working on the sign language with her.  Rachel is still not eating foods by mouth.  She continues to chew foods, but spits them out.  She will drink a little amount of water.  Learning to eat will be a long challenge for her, but with time she will learn it.  Rachel has a determined personality and will not give up.  She also loves attention from people and enjoys learning from others.  Rachel is full of life and gets excited easily.  She is our beautiful princess.

Rachel
Rachel
Rachel


Haley:  At 3 years old, Haley weighs 23lbs and is 32 inches tall.  Haley is still not on the growth chart for weight or height, though she is following along her own growth curve.  She will just be a petite girl.  Even though she is small, she is a strong girl.  Haley is not afraid of most things despite her vision impairment.  She is doing so well at getting around and learning to use the small amount of vision she has.  Haley loves to play with her toys.  Haley continues to love to jump/bounce and climb on things.  She climbs on her toys and the furniture with ease.  Haley also likes to explore and she explores using her hands.  Haley is not saying any words though she wears her hearing aids well.  Haley likes attention from others as well, but she may have to warm up to people she doesn't know.  She loves to be picked up and held as well as hugs.  Haley is our sweet little girl. 

Haley
Haley
Haley

11 comments:

  1. Happy birthday to your beautiful little girls!! They have come so far since their birth and sound like they are two very special girls. I hope they have a fantastic birthday.

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  2. Happy 3rd Birthday Rachel and Haley!! Have a lovely day - you are such special and blessed little girls who have brought such joy to your family and friends. Enjoy being three xxx

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  3. The health and happiness these beautiful girls share is a wonderful testament to God's perfect love. Happy Birthday sweet Rachel and Hailey!

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  4. happy Birthday beautiful miracle girls. I always love reading your progress. God is good

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  5. Happy birthday to two amazing little miracles! What neat girls they are growing up to be! I've loved seeing all their updates. I've been following your blog since it began.

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  6. Happy Birthday to Haley and Rachel! These are some beautiful photgrpahs. The girls are very expressive with their smiles and gestures. They are catching up just fine. I like the way you accept that their paths may not be the 'norm' but is perfect for them. They are lucky to have been born to your family.

    (My two kids were below 0% for weight for ages- now, both at least 30% as older teenagers! You just never know)

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  7. Happy birthday Haley and Rachel! Amanda and Thomas, thank you for sharing for all these years. Have a special day and another blessed year!

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  8. Your daughters are absolutely beautiful! I hope you had a wonderful time celebrating their birthday. I have followed your blog for awhile now, but never commented. I had a personal question for you that I was hoping you wouldn't mind answering for me, but I can't seem to find your e-mail address. Mine is wishhopethinkpray@gmail.com. Looking forward to hearing from you, thanks!
    http://alwayswishhopethinkpray.blogspot.com/

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  9. Happy Birthday to your precious girls. I love your blog and have followed it ever since I read your story in the NYT. You are both amazing parents and you inspire me to be a better parent to my own children. I am looking forward to watching your girls grow up :)

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  10. Happy Birthday Rachel and Haley! You are such beautiful little miracles!

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