1st Hearing Birthday!

A month late but I did not want it to go unrecognized... Everly had her first hearing birthday!!! This may sound funny to most that are not in the deaf and hard of hearing world, however this is a big deal for Everly and our family. On April 21st last year, Everly's ears were born. Since then she has grown and developed by leaps and bounds. She amazes us every day with her progress.

At one year of hearing, Everly tests within the normal range for an almost 2-year-old. She has about 80 expressive words, several three and four word phrases, and she constantly babbles and uses jargon all day long. Some of her favorite phrases are "hold me mama" "sit down" "help me" "Brooks come!" And this girl cannot get enough singing. She will sing almost every song we introduce to her. So basically we are singing all day long in our household! This week she has been practicing her ABCs. It's pretty cute (and amazing) to hear a little deaf baby singing the ABCs!

We celebrated her 1st hearing birthday by swimming and eating cake!

It's A Crazy Life

Life just keeps happening before my eyes! Where does the time go!?!  I have been meaning to update you with Everly's incredible progress over the past months.

Every morning when I put Everly's implants on, I feel like I'm going to well up with tears. What a blessing it is for her to hear my voice, dad's voice, and Brooks' voice. This is something I hope I will never take for granted.  We have a song we sing every morning when her implants are turned on. Brooks is now bored of this song, however she insists that he participates. :)  It's one of those simple things that I am so grateful for. And it's a memory we will always have as a family.

We are so proud of Everly. She continues to progress and grow each week. It's amazing to see the immense changes that happen with toddlers when you're monitoring so closely.  Every new sound, new word, new understanding of a word, I write down and keep a running log.  I know that's not a typical thing mothers do however, it's quite amazing to keep a list of words that your deaf baby can say! I share this list with her therapists and they are happy with her progress as well. For example, this week she now says "row" for the song row row row your boat (thanks to grandma Marsha for singing that to her over and over). She also has her first three word combo. "Dada one more". Matt has a sweet tooth and is determined to pass that onto our children. He loves to give our kids sweets. And it prompted Everly to ask dad for one more jellybean. Whatever it takes...she said three words in a row. It's pretty amazing!

Everly has a strong personality. She's stubborn, relentless, and happy (most of the time). All of these traits will serve her well as she will need to learn to advocate for herself throughout life. It's our role as parents to help her use that stubbornness and determination in the right way. She is a stark contrast to our sweet, sensitive, and funny Brooks. Both of them keep us on our toes and complete our family with full hearts. ❤️

Here are some pictures from Christmas and the new year. ❤️

Merry Christmas from the Larson kids!

At swim lessons

Watching brother Brooks shred on his skis and snowboard

Climbing the amazing tree at John Tracy Clinic

Park fun

Everly wasn't too sure about Santa. She was grabbing me so tightly that she gave me a bruise on my arm! 

Making a mess inside

Making a mess outside

It was a quiet ride home but there were stickers everywhere!

With her friends at Friday Family School

She wants to be like her big brother

This girl loves hats and helmets. She doesn't even care that they knock off her implants

Christmas fun with family...

and cousins...

and great grandma.

another hat

another helmet 

Family fun in the snow

Playing in the car is her new favorite thing

So many cars! And that's not even half of them...

Art time 

Babbling Baby

As the holidays approach, I've been feeling very thankful for many things in my life. And Everly is at the top of the list! As of this week, she has been "hearing" for seven months. And this week her babbling, imitation, and expressive words have exploded. She has a few clear words: dada, mama, more, up, uh-oh, go. And she has several half words that will be full words very soon. For example, she says "oh" for open, "buuuhh" for Brooks, "neen up" for clean up. She has others but you get the idea. With each new sound, my heart explodes and I continue to be amazed that my deaf baby is hearing and speaking to me...

Last month, she had another mapping session with her audiologist. These sessions are long and boring. But she did amazing. Essentially they have to test and reprogram her implants. She has to sit in a sound booth and try to react to sounds (this didn't go very well). And then she has to sit on my lap in the small room for more than an hour with her implants hooked into the computer. I think most kids, or adults, wouldn't last that long. I was sure proud of her.  Luckily her next mapping session isn't for another six months.

It's been a special year for us and we are fortunate that life continues to be positive in so many ways. I wish everyone a happy holiday season! I'm thankful for each of you that support and follow along with Everly's journey. 

Everly loves to sweep!

Brooks and Everly love to play together

Loved the aquarium

Silly siblings

Riding the tractor at Tanaka Farms pumpkin patch

Everly wears her behind the ear processor for most of her therapy sessions. She's getting used to it!

Boo!

Brooks and Evvie are starting a harmonic band

With her friend Ruby at the John Tracy Clinic

Lots of cousin time in Arizona visiting GG 

Evvie LOVES her cousin Tahsa and tries to copy everything she does

Snuggling siblings

Everly threw her implant from a second story staircase. Luckily I found it. Can you spot it?

Busy kiddo

Watching the ponies with her buddy Tatum

Everly's first hunting trip. She wasn't too impressed :)

Helmet. Goggles.  Ready for ski season!!

Playing her baby grand piano many times a day.

Taking a break with Cooper during a walk at the Back Bay.

Halloween! 

No pants. No problem.

Everly loves playing with her babies. She rocks and feeds them. 

Fun outing at Zoomars petting zoo.

Feeding the guinea pigs. Gentle Everly! 

Typical bath time 

We play outside all the time. Thankful for our long driveway.

Calling for Brooks

Evvie started swim lessons. This is as far as she got the first time.  She usually loves the water but had some stranger danger issues with coach Dan...even though she watches Brooks swim with the same instructor every week.

Enjoying the empty beaches! Love were we live. 

There's just something about a deaf baby playing the piano :)