{alligator: JellyCat // dress: Tea Collection // leggings: Cat & Jack}
{And the outtake! What a ham! This is what happens when I say “Say cheese, Daph!”}
{two & a half years} It feels like a lifetime ago that Daphne turned two. Maybe it’s just the summer that makes kids grow so much, but Daphne seems SO much bigger and older than she was in March. I can’t even believe it.
Daphne is the sweetest kid ever but is also a firecracker! She is so funny and constantly chatters, telling all of these stories about what she’s done or doing, or talking with her dolls or stuffies. She has these great baby cheeks still which, coupled with her friendliness and sweet personality, garners so. much. attention. when we are out. Seriously, every place we go with Daphne, someone comments on how cute she is.
Okay, so here’s the update on Daphne’s arthritis. The TL;DR/short version is she had arthritis in her elbow (in January/February/March) but doesn’t anymore, and if it doesn’t come back, it was a reactive arthritis, and if it does come back, it might be JIA.
We have continued to see the pediatric rheumatology team at Seattle Children’s every three months for check-ups. Daphne’s elbow has gotten progressively better which is awesome. She had an eye doctor appointment in July with a pediatric ophthalmologist to check and make sure there was no swelling in her eyes which is a risk with JIA. She did SO well with the eye appointment and it was amazing to see her do eye exams at her age. The doctors also checked to make sure she didn’t need glasses and she doesn’t! So, all good on the eye front. We won’t have to go back to the eye doctor unless JIA shows up again.
Daphne saw the rheumatologist again last month and everything looked good. The doctor did a full examination of her joints and was really on the fence about doing an MRI. Daphne hasn’t had an MRI yet, even though it is the best choice for seeing inflammation in a joint, but it requires complete sedation in a toddler. We all decided an MRI wasn’t necessary since it seems like Daphne’s elbow is getting better – there’s no obvious swelling and it isn’t causing her pain.
After the doctor, we headed over to OT. We were able to see the same OT which was great, and Daphne really just plays during her appointments. There were measurements taken on her elbow to check on her range, and she had gained almost 20 degrees in her elbow extension with the goal being 180. The OT was really impressed with her progress, even though Daphne’s arm/elbow still doesn’t hang as straight or loose as her left arm.
So, again, we are in a waiting game. We are really, really hoping, obviously, that this was a one-time thing. But, she will continue to see a rheumatologist (quarterly) for the foreseeable future. After everything Daphne’s been thru with the exams and x-rays and blood draws, I am just so, so thankful for our proximity to Seattle Children’s Hospital. We have such amazing access to a medical community and there are so many families who travel hours and hours from their homes to see pediatric rheumatologists.
At the end of our trip to Boise (at the end of June) we left Eloise with my parents (for Grammie camp) and brought home Daphne. And the next morning we started potty training. It was something I knew she was ready for (physically and emotionally) but since we still had pre-school pick-up and drop-off logistics, and swim lessons, and school year life happening before then, I knew I wasn’t ready to dive into potty training. It worked out so well that Eloise was with my parents and we could focus 100% of our attention on Daphne over those first few days. I used the book/method “Oh Crap!” and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT to any parent or caretaker that wants or needs to potty train a child. It worked well for Eloise and worked even better for Daphne.
By the end of that very first day of (naked) potty training, she was getting it. She had very few accidents (and still doesn’t have many) and was eager to be on the potty. Daniel Tiger also has a potty book and a TV show about using the potty which has been tremendously helpful. Daphne still wears diapers at nap time and nighttime since I’m not ready to commit to nighttime training, yet. It took some time with Eloise and within a few months, she told us she was done with diapers at nighttime. Daphne doesn’t mind using a toilet in public (though she does NOT like the loud flushing or hand dryers) but I also keep this portable potty in the trunk of the car and throw it in my bag if I think we will need a potty on-the-go (like at the beach or where there isn’t a potty available or easy to access) and it can be used as a stand-alone potty (with a bag) or as a potty seat on top of a big toilet.
And for the most recent update: Daphne is done with pacifiers! Daph has used a paci since she was a newborn and even once she found her thumb, her preference was always a pacifier. In the past year or so, we have really limited her pacifier use to sleeping time (or when she is really upset) though both her dentist and her pediatrician told us the (new) recommendation for stopping pacifier use was age three. It wasn’t actually bad for her to have a pacifier because even if she lost it in her bed at night, she would just suck her thumb instead (rather than us have to go find it in the dark in the middle of the night like we had to do with Eloise). And then at Daphne’s last dentist appointment the dentist mentioned that we may want to wait to take her pacifier away until Daphne got all of her two year molars. Just a few weeks ago Aaron noticed that her top molars had finally made their way in, and we decided to just go for it. We know she will suck her thumb, but it’s nice to have one less thing. Daphne has really been wanting an umbrella since Eloise got one for Christmas, so I told her she could have one in exchange for her pacifiers. We had her put her pacifiers in a jar one nap time over a weekend and then told her they were going bye-bye. She cried that first nap time and bedtime, and then just asked about them a few times, but that was it. Oh, and she LOVES her new umbrella!
Daphne starts pre-school on Thursday and (I think) she’s pretty excited. She’ll be with the same two Teachers she had last year (when she went for a half year) who she adores, plus she will go to the library for story time once a week again. Hooray! Daph will just be going on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, but if there’s a Monday/Wednesday spot that opens up, we are going to sign her up for that.
Daphne still naps in the afternoons starting around 1 pm which is such a blessing and a curse. She needs the sleep, clocking in about 14 hours in total between her nap time and overnight sleep. It’s nice for me to have a “break” in the afternoon after lunchtime but it will also be nice to actually be able to schedule things for the afternoon once she drops this nap! Because I am pretty protective of her naptime (and don’t intentionally schedule things at this time unless I have to) she does pretty well on the occasion that she has to skip a nap. I suspect she will drop her afternoon nap before Eloise did, but for now I am crossing my fingers she continues it!
And here’s Daphne’s first rendition of “Things Daphne Says”:
“Go on” is a filler work/phrase for anything.
When you ask her a question, she starts: “Uh huh.”
When playing the game Guess Who, she says “I spy that one!” And points to a person on the card.
She (always) says “Oh my goodness!”
When she wants you to do something, she will look at you and say “Promise?”
She frequently says “Got it, got it, got it” when you tell her something.
Once when she pooped in the potty she said “Mama, there’s a baby poop, a mama poop, and a papa poop!”
“My excited!” means “I’m excited!”
Mama: “Daphne, you can’t eat that sucker right now. You can have it later.” Daphne: “It’s later!”
When she has a question about something or needs help, she says “How this works?”
“I need a bath! My toes are dirty [and she shows me] and my nose. And there’s food in my hair!”
We’ve been eating a lot of s’mores because SUMMER and she calls marshmallows mushrooms.
{weight} 32 pounds, 35.7 inches tall at wellness check-up.
{hair} blackish brown.
{teeth} four bottom teeth, top four teeth, four molars, four canines, four two year molars.
{eyes} dark grey/brown.
{clothes} 3T.
{diapers} POTTY TRAINED! And only wearing diapers at nap and bedtime.
{likes} singing, dancing, babies, any type of
accessory (hat, bag or purse, bracelet, necklace), Albee the Alligator,
an old remote that she holds up to her ear like a phone, watching and
chasing the Roomba, picking her nose, eating, bath time with Eloise,
watching big kids or babies, chewing on anything, sitting in her
highchair, banging on her tray, staring at her quilt (from Amanda),
rattles, riding in the car (usually), Eloise, Sadie, lights, paci, being
bounced, being tickled, talking, her Lovie.
{dislikes}
seeing some type of food on a plate that she doesn’t have, having gas,
lying down flat, being hungry or tired, having her face or nose wiped
off, sunscreen put on her face.
{nicknames} Daph, Daph Daph, Daphers, Bug, Daphne Doo, Daph-a-doo, Love, Lovebug.
And here’s Eloise’s two & a half year update!
Happy Half Birthday, Daphne girl!
M
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