Pearl is sitting up so well these days!

Holding hands 🙂

Lyla love, love, loves the new pool in town!

We have been frequenting it to help beat the heat.

Our dear friends Mark & Karn had a healthy, beautiful baby girl! Her name is Maggie and she is a miracle, as they were told they wouldn’t be able to have children. God is good. 🙂

And here is Maggie’s big brother Nelson, wearing Joel’s glasses 🙂

Louella, Pearl, Lyla, and Vivianna (Grayson was sleeping)

Lyla went on the pony ride at the fair!

-Her 2 bottom teeth have come in so she chews on anything and everything she can get her hands on, including her toes!

-She loves to stick out her tongue and crack us up when she does it.

-She’s a very content baby and she smiles easily.

-She loves to play with her toys~her hands are always busy, busy.

-She’s very observant and notices everything going on around her~doesn’t miss a beat!

-She loves to be where all the action is!

-She’s still not a big fan of tummy time~she rolls right to her back as soon as possible.

-She’s also not a fan of rice cereal yet, but we’re working on that.

-She loves to make lots of squeaky sounds, and squeal when she’s excited or happy.

-She loves to play patty-cake and clap.

-She also loves tummy zerberts and daddy’s whisker tickles.

-She loves books and kicks her feet like crazy when we read because she’s excited. Hope she’s a reader some day!

-She’s getting very quick at pulling hair and pulling glasses off.

-She’s starting to enjoy dropping things just to hear the sound it makes.

-She’s starting to reach for mama when I put my arms out to her.

-She still loves her pacifier and her soft blankies.

-She looks a lot like her daddy and is very entertained by her big sis.

-I call her my little flea-flea because she’s still just little. 🙂

Love her to pieces.

And here’s a few pics from our summer so far…

Love.

My friend Tanya and her kids, Haley and Jack, came for a visit over the weekend. It was a scorcher of a weekend so it was perfect for lots of pool fun. 🙂

neighborhood “pool party” in our front yard 🙂

Lyla likes the pool even when there’s no water in it!

Fun with Joel

Boog & Dag (our nicknames for each other when we were tennis partners for many, many years!) 🙂

Cuties

Sitting up 🙂

Pearl loves napping on Daddy

At Beaver Creek–the spot where Joel and I got engaged

Grandma and her girls

Pearl’s first time in the johnny jump-up

Before I launch into some great news, here are a few cute pics and vids as of late…

Lyla and her cousin Ethan playing with the toys at Grandma & Grandpa’s house 🙂

Pearlie-girlie being smiley

Walking at Riverside (Lyla loves the fountain, and Pearl was intrigued by it too)

Pearl in the morning 🙂

Well, Lyla had a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday. Her doctors were stunned that she is walking independently, and amazed that she is talking and imitating so many words. Dr. Jedele told us that it just doesn’t happen–Trisomy 18 kids rarely survive, much less walk, and talk! She said it’s usually a big deal for them to be able to sit in a wheelchair. The part that brought tears for this mama was that Lyla’s doctor, for the first time, told us that she has no reason to doubt that Lyla will have a long, healthy life. God is so good to us. I am humbled by God’s grace, and give Him all the credit for the miracle of Lyla Jane. We were also pretty excited to hear that Lyla is most likely one of the healthiest Trisomy 18 kids in the entire country. God is so good to us. It is by His grace alone that Lyla is with us today and doing so, so well. Thank you for your prayers.

We sang this song in church on Sunday and it touched my heart. God’s grace has been given so freely and undeservedly. It is by His grace alone that we have been given the privilege to be the parents of two amazing girls. It is by His grace alone that we have been given the privilege of being called His children. We are forever grateful.

Grace Alone (by Scott Wesley Brown, Jeff Nelson)

Every promise we can make,

Every prayer and step of faith,

Every difference we can make,

Is only by His grace.

Every mountain we will climb,

Every ray of hope we shine,

Every blessing left behind,

Is only by His grace.

Grace alone Which God supplies.

Strength unknown He will provide.

Christ in us, our cornerstone,

We will go forth in grace alone.

Every soul we long to reach,

Every heart we hope to teach,

Everywhere we share His peace,

Is only by His grace.

Every loving word we say,

Every tear we wipe away,

Every sorrow turned to praise,

Is only by His grace.

first time in a swing 🙂

An answer to prayer on the National Day of Prayer! We give God the glory!!!

So here’s the story about Sea World…

My friend Tracie who lives in Orlando has season passes to Sea World and goes there pretty frequently with her two little ones. She heard that Sea World is really good about providing special experiences for kids with disabilities, so she contacted Sea World’s HR person and told her Lyla’s story. Because of Lyla’s Trisomy 18 we got 5 free passes into Sea World for our family and my parents (at $75 a pop, that was a very nice gift!) and Lyla got to have a special “behind the scenes” animal encounter with a penguin! It was such a great experience, and we are so thankful that Tracie paved the way for such a special day! She and her kids were with us all day and she helped guide us around the park too. 🙂 Lyla really did love all the animals there. She’s kind of an animal nut!

Penguin encounter–his name is Jules 🙂

His feathers were so neat

Also, thought I’d add a video that Joel took when he visited Silver Glenn Springs–so beautiful!