Happy 5th Birthday Rylee

I am sure I say this every year, but really is she already 5, I cannot believe it. This year has been an amazing year for our sweet girl, and it has been so fun, stressful, exciting, and several other emotions all thrown in there. To review the year I'm just going to start right after her birthday.

Shortly after Rylee's 4th birthday we discovered Rylee had a 65% hearing loss, VPI of her soft palate, and an astigmatism in both eyes. It was like one thing after another, and it was very troublesome for us as parents. You always want a perfect and healthy child, and while she was healthy and perfect to us, there were things that needed to be fixed. After a few tests and surgery in June, October and December she is doing amazing.

She was fitted for hearing aids in November, and absolutely loves them. They are seriously the most amazing technology for our family. One of the most memorable experiences in the last year was watching Rylee's doctor put her hearing aids in her ear and turn them on for the very first time. She was crying and scared as the doctor put her hearing aids in, but as soon as they clicked on her face lit up and she was amazed. It was so fun to see the expression on her face every time she heard a new sound. From the train going by, to the garbage disposal, car horns, airplanes and helicopters passing over, the blinker in the car ticking, and hundreds of other daily sounds that we take for granted every day but she had never heard in her lifetime. She has adjusted so well to having them, and loves them so much it is often a struggle to get her to even take them out to go to bed. While the surgeries did not fix her hearing they are hopeful another surgery a few years from now, will fix the hearing loss.

Her soft palate was fixed in December and it dramatically improved her ability to say words and sounds. She worked so hard the last year with her two speech therapists, Miss Courtney and Miss Rikell, and she is now speaking as well and even better than a lot of kids her age. She is very comfortable with speaking to other people, and her therapists are so surprised and proud of how well she did. She reached a point a month ago where her therapists told us she is so good there is nothing else for them to work on at this point, we were so proud of her!

She kept us busy in other ways this year too, playing her first season of soccer and going to another year of preschool. Soccer was quite entertaining to watch, but about mid season she finally started trying to kick the ball instead of just play with her friends! She absolutely loved her preschool teacher, Miss Bessy, this year and asks about her all the time. She has started to read sight words and knows all her sounds and can count to 40 by herself and 100 with some help.

She is one of the best big sisters a parent could ask for. While we are home she tends to pester Nolan a bit, but when they are at a sitters or playing at the park she is extremely protective of him and makes sure he has everything he needs.

Her personality develops more and more every day, and more and more she is becoming silly, sassy, independent, playful, and a little bossy! She has a nickname around here of Napoleon sometimes, but really she is a great little girls. She loves to tease Daddy and I, loves to be tickled, and ask questions!

Right now she loves Selena Gomez (we have tickets to her concert in September), playing outside and riding her bike, going to soccer practice, playing baby dolls, watching Good Luck Charlie, getting tickled by her Daddy, taking baths in the big tub, jumping off of things to show how big she is, wearing tutu skirts and dresses, flip flops, chocolate milk, playing with friends, and the list could go on and on, but those are the top things I can think of right now.

Rylee you mean the world to us. We are so proud of you over this last year. It has been amazing to watch you transform into a little girl and become so independent and strong. You are truly an amazing little girl and we love you so much! I cannot even remember what life was like without my silly little girl, I am so happy that she is a part of our family, and cannot wait to see what this year has in store for her and us!

Baby Rylee

1st Birthday

2 Years Old

3 Years Old

4 Years Old

Proofs of the pics we just did

Looking so grown up

A little bit of sass!