Playing together...

Sometimes I just need to stop and take a moment to realize just how awesome both of my girls are. Having two 2 year olds can at times be pretty overwhelming, but also so rewarding. They are now able to play nicely with each other and can usually do so for 30 minute periods with only minor referring required.

This morning they pulled out dumped all the mega blocks over the floor and started building. I think it is interesting the novelty some of our old toys have for Sylvie now. She had no interest in playing with the mega blocks before (or the wooden stacking blocks either), but now that Mary likes then - watch out, Sylvie's in there like a dirty shirt!

It's still pretty cold outside (mostly due to the wind), but no fun sitting in the house all day long. So we bundle up and take little walks around the neighborhood. Sylvie insists on holding Mary's hand when we are out walking, and is trying to teach Mary to call out "Car Coming". She is also showing her Mei Mei where all the friendly neighborhood cats and dogs are to pet.

We have to keep reminding Sylvie that Mary can't do everything she can, like running for example. Mary is getting close to being able to run and jump up and down on two feet, but it can't come fast enough for her Jie Jie.

As you can see in the pictures Mary is back to her normal activities, but sleep is still an issue we are working on. She is still wakening several times a night crying, as well as during nap time. While she is easily consoled and lulled back into sleep, it is very exhausting for her and us parents. Poor Mary has circles under her eyes some days from the lack of consistent deep sleep. 

We saw the plastic surgeon again on Tuesday, and he said everything is healing nicely and to come back and see him again in two weeks. Mary can use her cleft bottle again, she can eat anything she would like (not just soft foods), and we can start brushing her teeth - yey! They are having us use steri strips to help pull Mary's lip together, and it also provides some protection against bumping and brushing against her lip. The surgeon still thought it would be another month or two before they will reattempt to repair Mary's cleft lip.