Update

Guess who's almost 2!? Jocelyn had her 2 year checkup a month early and for the first time since birth, she is no longer at the top of or off the charts in height and weight. She is finally slowing down, which has been apparent to us since she has been in the same size clothing since last fall pretty much. Looks like she'll be about an average height of 5'5 just like her momma.
Her doctor is very happy, as are we, that she hasn't had an ear infection in almost a year. We are extremely relieved that she appears to have outgrown them and won't have to get tubes. I hope we are right. I prepared her for this doctor's visit for a week. She has a history of screaming during the entire exam. Every night I explained to her that the doctor would feel her belly, tweet like a birdie while looking her ears, look at her eyes, etc. I even described the things we would see in his office. It has a nautical theme and she loves fish. I'm still amazed at how well this preparation worked! She was more than cooperative with everything the nurse and doctor did, even laying down for the shot when I told her it was going to hurt. Dr. Ransdell must have a note in Jocelyn's charts about how she usually is scared because kept telling me how impressed he was with how she did. He didn't even want to give her the shot at the end to ruin her good experience. We did the shot just to get it over with and she just cried a little bit. I was so proud. We won't have to go again for 6 months granted she doesn't get sick. The first of her 2 year molars has popped out too. She loves to brush her teeth and has somewhat of a fascination with taking medicine or putting medicine on her boo boos. This is very ironic since this is the same child who had to be held down and restrained by both her parents to be forced to take medicine when she was younger.



Jocelyn has gone from saying new words each day to saying new phrases each day. It is absolutely amazing. I must say, this is probably the most exciting time of development so far. I can't wait until Levon gets home to tell him the new things she says or the funny things she does. She gets up every morning and runs around the house saying, "Daddy, are you?" She looks for him then remembers and says, "Daddy work." She loves watching Barney and Sesame Street along with a few favorite movies such as Finding Nemo and Aristo Cats. We go to the library every week and check out new movies and books after storytime, which she really looks forward to. I sometimes feel like I should pinch myself because I feel so blessed that God gives us this time together. Jocelyn and I really wake up everyday and have something fun and exciting to do. We have lots of playdates with her friends, especially Mitchell who is 5 months older than her. We go swimming at least once a week, go to the splash park in Boonville, and other fun places. Jocelyn is even more obsessed with her 3 older cousins and she asks to see them everyday. We went 3 or 4 weeks without seeing them and she asked every day, never forgetting. I try to take her over there to see them when I can. Plus, aunt Brooke has been asking to watch her more lately. She can be trusted a little more now that she is older to wander throughout their house and go up and down the steps on her own. She climbs the boys' bunkbeds and Grace's loft, but yells for help to get down.

In July, she went to Vacation Bible School every night for a week. She LOVED it. It makes me so happy that she is outgoing and confident enough to look forward to things like that and just wave goodbye to mommy and daddy without any concern of being without us. We've been attending a new church that has a great children's program and she does great in her room.

She is becoming increasingly more interested in using the potty, even asking to wear underwear sometimes. The problem is that she never stays dry. She has all the signs of being ready to potty train, except the one that says kids should be able to stay dry for at least 2 hours at a time. She isn't there yet, and the doctor thinks I should wait a few more months. She's not even 2 yet, so I'm not in a hurry. I'm just glad that she understands how it all works and is not the least bit afraid to sit on the potty and try. We all get very excited and make a big fuss when she does go of course.

Jocelyn has a huge fascination with her dollhouse all of a sudden. She especially likes the little potty accessorie. I found a great dollhouse and furniture/people set at a garage sale for only $10 and she adores it. Recently, Grace handed down to her a great big dollhouse so she is thrilled with that. For awhile, she even insisted on going to sleep with as many little pieces that would fit cradled in her arms! She really looks enoys our jogs we've been taking every morning. We recently started taking the dogs one at a time because they are in dire need of some exercise. I look like I have my hands full running down the street pushing the stroller with one hand and leading a 100 + lb. dog with the other, but it's worth it.

We still have an EXTREMELY active girl on our hands. The number one comment I get from people, especially my mom and dad is "Does she EVER sit still?" The answer is no, but she knows her boundaries pretty well and it isn't as hard as it seems to keep track of her.

Levon and I often sit around in the evenings just talking about how special we think she is. We just love her so much, and are extremely proud. Life is good...praise God!