Life is Bliss - Lily's Cochlear Implant Journey

Made To Order

We eat out a lot. More than we should, but at least it gives Lily an opportunity to practice talking and listening in public. Today Lily ordered her entire meal as the waiter asked her what she wanted from the kid's menu, including main dish, side dish and drink (hot dog, pineapple, and chocolate milk no less). I love that she's a confident kid who asks for what she wants... and mostly gets it - just like her mother ;-)

Dreaming of Cake and Ice Cream

We got to celebrate our little friend Elena's third birthday at a Princess-Batman party last weekend.  It was great fun and Lily was able to try on the birthday girl's dress up clothes.  This cowgirl outfit was a hold over from Halloween, which apparently WalMart drastically reduces immediately following the holiday.  Who knew?  Lots of language opportunities with costumes!

The picture captures Lily's excitement perfectly for the outfit and the party.  Lily continues to talk non-stop especially when it is something she wants to do such asking the birthday girl's uncle to move so she could have his chair (he very generously changed seats), asking the birthday girl's Great Grandparents for the icing roses off their cake (they were all over this request) and singing the Kindermusik goodbye song as we left the party. 

Before we arrived, I was telling Lily that we would eat cake and ice cream at the party, but first she had to take a nap.  She responded, "Then I will dream about cake and ice cream."  Too fun!

Japanese Birthday Celebration

We were so happy to be able to celebrate Aunt Kelly's Birthday this year.  Here Lily is demonstrating how to use chopsticks at the Teppanyaki (Japanese grill) Restaurant.   These chopsticks were rubber banded together, but Lily preferred to eat with just one stick.  Fortunately, we were eating sticky rice.  

The japanese chef gave Lily lots of new experiences to think and talk about including throwing bowls into his hat, lighting a huge fire on the grill, cracking eggs with a spatula and blowing on a train whistle while pushing a steaming onion.   Some of these experiences are harder to explain "why" than others.

"Life's Too Short. Live It Up."

We had a good Chinese dinner with our friends Kam and Yvonne this evening. As you can see by the photo, Lily is living up to Kam's motto, "Life's Too Short. Live It Up."

OPA, OPA - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Lily had a great Irish feast tonight at out favorite Greek restaurant (Long story short, every year the best Irish food is served up at our friend George's greek restaurant for one night only). In addition to the usual boiled potatoes, cabbage and corned beef, a troop of Irish dancers entertains. Lily loved it. What a great day to celebrate. Here are a couple of pics below (and don't forget to see more photos at Lily's Latest Pics on the right side of the blog).

A Stop In The Distance

Lily and I took a trip to the grocery store yesterday to get a little ice cream for dessert. Lily loves the grocery store - so much to see, do, and talk about. We were in the frozen food aisle deciding which kind of chocolate ice cream to take home when Lily decided to do a little run down the aisle. There wasn't anybody around so I let her wander to the end of the relatively long aisle. When she got far enough away that I would have had to sprint to catch her, I called her name, then paused, then said "Lily, stop." She stopped, turned around, and ran back to me. 

When I think back to when we were first told that Lily couldn't hear, I had so many worries. How would she learn her name?  How would we keep her safe if we weren't by her side? Thankfully these worries were only just worries. Even in an open space, Muzak-playing grocery store I was able to communicate at a distance and have her respond. She's even started to say her own name - Nilnee. 

Now that we know the technology works, she'll have no excuses for not listening to her daddy. One can dream.