Haley celebrated her 2nd birthday in Kentucky. First we had a cookout with Papaw and Grandma Kappes and all of Haley's aunts, uncles and cousins on that side of the family (except Aunt Kally, a brilliant and beautiful senior at BYU this year). Haley was sick and slept through most of her party. We had to awaken her to prop her behind her cake for pictures. She really didn't even notice the "Dora" cake Kelsee made her. We were frustrated that she was sick again in Kentucky and felt so bad that she missed her party and the fun she would have had with her cousins.

A few days later a healthier Haley had a party with her Purdy family at a park in Lexington. Aunt Tanya, all five cousins and Grandma Dee were there. We had a fun day blowing bubbles, eating and playing at the park. Haley loved being with her cousins and had fun watching them be silly! They were all so sweet to her. Haley loves big kids so her cousins were lots of fun! Tanya's kids looked great and seem to be adjusting well to their new living arrangements. It was a relief to see them and know that they are well. We love them and worry so much about them. We know Heavenly Father is watching over them.

We flew home to Seattle in the middle of Hurricane Jeanne so that was quite the adventure! Unfortunately we flew into Atlanta on a small plane which meant we had to face the "elements" to get to our gate at the terminal. We were completely drenched (yep, to the skin) by the time we reached the door. Everything in our bags (including checked luggage) was soaked. It was a (long and exciting) day to remember!

As if two parties weren't enough, we celebrated her birthday with some friends in town after we got back. Haley's favorite birthday present this year: A $1 box of crayons.

Haley started back to school in September at Kindering Center and loves it! There are 12 children in her class and 5-6 adults. She gets plenty of attention (especially important since she seems to be soooo neglected and attention-starved at home)! All of the children are 2-3 years old; some have developmental delays, some are there as role models. Of course, they're all beyond adorable and Haley loves to see her friends twice a week. It's a fun few hours for our socialite!

She's receiving speech and physical therapy in class. She's also receiving weekly PT outside of class and is doing very well. Her PT thinks her fine motor skills are at age level now. The focus is really on those problematic gross motor and balance issues. She's making progress, slowly but surely. We've been going to a fantastic park in Bellevue and she's really motivated to climb the stairs there so that she can slide. Weeeeee!

She continues to amaze us with her great development and adorable personality. We feel incredibly blessed. How did we end up with the cutest kid in the world??

Haley has a follow-up appointment with her pediatric ophthalmologist in November to see how she's doing with the glasses. We're hoping that her strabismus is still mild enough to not require surgical intervention. She's doing an okay job wearing her glasses and we have seen some real progress in fine motor and cognitive areas since she got them. Fingers crossed.

We saw some other specialists at Children's Hospital a few weeks ago. Our main concern is Haley's trouble upon awakening. She seems to be getting headaches when she sits up or stands up. She's irritable, wants to be held (not at all like our girl), lays her head on the floor. She probably has Slit Ventricle Syndrome due to her hydrocephalus. We discussed it with her neurosurgeon and he said that they could replace the shunt in hopes that it would fix the problem. NO THANKS! We're continuing to watch it but don't want surgery unless it becomes absolutely necessary. At this point, it isn't. Please keep her in your prayers. Her shunt malfunction last year started like this and progressively got worse, unbeknownst to us. We're obviously hoping it won't come down to yet another surgery but we hate seeing her in misery every few days. It's a tough situation with no clear-cut answers.

Haley was a big girl at her 2-year checkup with her pediatrician. She weighed 28 pounds and was 34 inches tall! After they sneaked us through the back door, she was also diagnosed with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease! At least we know why she'd been sick the week before in Kentucky!! She developed a bacterial infection on top of that so she was a rashy mess for a while but is back to her sweet, smooth-skinned, non-canker sore self! Ahhh, the joy of childhood diseases! At least she was a nice girl in Kentucky: she earned an A+ in sharing. Two of her cousins and Aunt Kristin got sick, too!

We're gearing up for Halloween (a super cute bunny named Haley will be appearing for a limited time at our house) and our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch! We can't wait to see if she'll pick her own pumpkin this year. Or at least act a tiny bit interested…

The past two weekends we've gone hiking. Haley really enjoys the trees and water (that's Mama's girl). We're hoping to throw in a few camping trips to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather. It seems we get beautiful weekdays and rainy weekends so we've been rained out a few times already. This is Kelsee's favorite time of the year. Bring on the pumpkin, cider and leaves!

The most exciting news around here is that Kelsee's sisters-in-law are both expecting BOYS! Yes, you heard us right! BOYS!! After five granddaughters, we're all extremely excited to buy some cute boy stuff! Danielle and Kolby are expecting their son in late November or early December and Kirby and Kristin are expecting their son in mid February.

We're hoping to adopt again this year which would be amazingly exciting. Haley says she's not sharing the limelight with any crying babies but she doesn't get a very big vote in our house. Well, except when it comes to which books to read, crayons to use, songs to sing, shows to watch, food to eat. I might even let her choose a Presidential candidate. That's one way to decide!

We hope you're all having a great Autumn! Drop us a line and let us know how you are!