Hallelujah, I Love Her So: I Got 2 Tickets to Paradise

Tomorrow Lennon will be 2 years old... it is so hard to believe two years ago I was being admitted into the hospital after what I thought was essentially indigestion. Two years ago, I was asking friends to watch Van until we could get home to him. Two years ago, I was talking to the pediatric nurse about the "what-ifs" and possible complications for my yet-to-be-born baby... Seems like a lifetime ago! Yet, I still have anxiety every time we go into Rex Hospital. It is really crazy to think of how scary her start was when I look at her now!!

Over the last two years, Lennon has grown from a tiny, non-sleeping, bouncing-loving baby to a all-too-opinionated, funny, little version of me. She is talking more and more each day, arguing with her brother, and standing her ground. Lennon is now in a big girl bed, eating regular table foods, and experiencing all of the "firsts" any other 2 year old would be experiencing; including hearing the word "no" more and more! We survived not only a move into a new house, but a major remodel of said new house. We also added a new dog to the mix... we must be insane! It has been a bit hectic for the Yarbrough clan. I wanted to share a couple of our best memories from the last two years of life with Lennon...

First Durham Bulls Game

Last summer, we went through her final developmental evaluation. To say she passed with flying colors would be an understatement. Lennon not only passed, but she showed her true self :-) The intern performing the assessments was not prepared for what Lennon was about to dish out. Initially Lennon was placed in a high chair. She was asked to put puzzle pieces in their right place. Lennon half way did the task. The lady asked her to do it again... Lennon tossed the pieces off the edge of the high chair. The lady asked her a third time, at which point Lennon shook her head no and literally threw the pieces across the room. The senior psychologist came in when she could tell the intern was getting irritated. The senior psychologist gave Lennon a baby and a cup. She asked Lennon to give the baby a drink, to which Lennon responded, "bottle?" and held her hand out. Clearly, the child was confused as to why a baby would be drinking out of a grown up cup! Lennon scored at the top of her range for everything except receptive language... to which I argue she absolutely understood what was being asked of her, but said no :-)

I do what I want!

Last summer also lead us to our first beach trip. Lennon loved the beach! She ate tons of sand, loved to be buried, and loved to go out into the water. No fear of the water in this child! The highlight was listening to her sing "I'm the Map" at bedtime. Very sweet!

Yum!

Lennon is a bit of a ham... over the last two years, she has developed a deep love for dancing and singing. This makes me so happy! Twinkle, Twinkle is our favorite song, but she will dance to ANYTHING; commercials, TV, radio, or someone's phone ring tone. As long as there is music, she is happy.

Singing Twinkle, Twinkle at one of daddy's Duke Games

Lennon and Van love each other and play well together, generally speaking. Just today they were taking turns throwing a silly little ball down the stairs and running after it. They have started to play chase and Lennon loves to torment poor Van and Rosa. Van has been a great big brother and wants to spend time with Lennon. He and I have movie night, but recently he has been asking for Lennon to stay up and do movie night with us. Very sweet brother! However, they also cause mischief together too... Today, Lennon managed to convince her brother to "steal" her an apple while I was out of the room after being told no... I guess an apple is better than candy!

Poor Rosa!

I have apple-thieves in my house!

However much Lennon is growing to be a mini-me, she is definitely a daddy's girl! She will snuggle and watch football with dad, give him hugs and kisses, and really plays with him more. She loves to make him laugh and he is one of the few people who can truly make her giggle. They have an amazing bond with each other! I know this is probably going to cost me a lot of money in the long run ;-)

Loving Daddy at Hillridge Farms

I guess to wrap all this up, I will just post some great photos of the last couple of years... I keep thinking I should keep up with this blog better, but let's face it, with a full time job and 2 little ones at home, it is probably not going to happen too often :-)