Happy Birthday Mikaila!

Wow! It's hard to believe it's been a year since we welcomed little Mikaila into this world some 12 weeks earlier than anticipated. If you will recall, although she arrived on March 24, her original due date was June 18. We received so many inquires as to Mikaila's status in the early moments that we decided to start this blog to serve as a mass communication mechanism. I believe this blog has served it's purpose faithfully with the only limiting factors being the talent, time and inclination of the writer.

We had a very small family get together on Saturday to celebrate the first anniversary of Mikaila's arrival. She received a ton of fun presents, many of which were related to the sun, sand and fun of the beach. You see, we are making a little (probably temporary) move to the Tampa/St. Pete area, in the Gulf Coast of Florida. Sorry to those that are hearing this now but we have been working through several opportunities, many of which are still in play so we wanted to keep our options open until we were forced to make a decision. Back on point....... She scored a ton of gear, from bathing suits to sun dresses, sandals and sun hats. She also received a blow up pool, floaties, shovels and pails..... Let's just say she did well. We'll add pictures before we hit the road for Florida tomorrow night. For the time being, we will be staying with her brother in St. Pete.

Today, we took Mikaila to see her doctor for her one year/9 months adjusted visit. As always, he was very pleased with her progress and noted that her growth curve, although uniquely hers, mirrors the slope of the normal curves. She posted a weight of 14 lbs 12 ounces and her length is well within the normal range. Two shots were administered to her leg. She was a real trooper but she has been very cranky this evening, likely a consequence of the shots. The vigor I referred to in the opening moments of the very first post has never waned.

Mikaila had her 9 month developmental assessment about week ago. In virtually every regard, Mikaila meets or exceeds her developmental milestones. She does lag a bit in one area; gross motor skills, manifested most obviously in Mikaila's inability to crawl. It seems that Mikaila is content to dive and roll for objects she desires, with little concern for how long it takes. She never feels compelled to expedite her quest by attempting to crawl. We are working on it and will work even harder now that we have a cool and cushy play mat, complements of cousins Chrissy, Jay and Elise.

I apologize for the brevity of this post but we are leaving tomorrow and I have yet to pack any clothes. I'll try to do a follow up post in the next week. Cheers.