Changing of the Seasons

It's that time of year again. The rains are plenty, our ponds are full, and our trees have not only all changed but many have lost most of their leaves this past weekend. This picture is from last Friday, but one would be amazed to see a similar shot today. And our lives continue to change and evolve around here as well. Last Thursday I went in for a growth and anatomy scan of Lovebug. She looked great, but was a stubborn little gal and many measurements couldn't be attained. She also wouldn't let us get any nice pictures of her, except for this one little wave that she offered:
In the beginning of November, I return for a fetal echocardiogram to check out her heart as well as another growth and anatomy scan. Sylvia was born with no heart defects or abnormalities of any kind, and we are hopeful that Lovebug will be like her sister in this regard.
And speaking of Sylvia, our Little Pumpkin will be one year old this coming Saturday. She already got a dry run for a birthday party by attending the first birthday of a "friend" of hers this past Saturday. She had a great time and was excited by all the presents she saw. She was a little disappointed when she didn't get to open any of them, but I am sure this coming weekend will make up for that.
I have posted several pictures over the last year of Dave and Sylvia and I took another one yesterday. I cannot believe how much bigger Sylvia is in every shot. It won't be long and she'll be standing next to him for a picture of the two of them together. She is continuing to grow and develop in many ways. This past weekend we finally got her to successfully drink from a sippy. We have tried every type of sippy cup on the market, and we have used praise, trickery, and bribery to try and get her to use them. We have given her "drinking lessons" from a regular cup and Dave and I have been seen wandering around the house drinking from sippies ourselves. Finally, after four months of trying, she has taken several drinks from a cup with a built in straw. She seems to have begun to accept the sippy.

And as you can see from these above two pictures, she has also begun to climb. She loves to climb, in fact. Of course, she doesn't know how to get down from where she has climbed to yet so this has resulted in a couple of minor falls. One needs to live and learn, I suppose. In addition to her climbing she has figured out the child proof cupboards and can now hold the door open as far as she can with one hand and reach her other little arm inside the cupboard to retrieve whatever she finds of interest. She's not the only one in the household to do this, as we also have a cat who has had this figured out for months. Speaking of this cat, Sylvia will point at him and say, "Edder, Edder." ("Edgar, Edgar.")

Sylvia also returns to the eye doctor tomorrow. Originally we were going in for two concerns, but thankfully, one of them has cleared up on its own. She had a blocked tear duct for her first ten months of life and then suddenly, it disappeared. This is a huge blessing, as it would have meant surgery this month if it hadn't. The other reason for her visit is to look for retinal angiomas (eye tumors), which can present with her VHL. We are not expecting to find any, but an annual exam is recommended.

And finally, Dave has continued with his knitting. I now have him working on a scarf (see below). It may take him a year and a half to finish it at the rate he is going, but he seems to be enjoying it and I am quite impressed with his work thus far. I am, of course, knitting but as my projects are mostly gifts right now I will have to postpone showing off my work.