Jordan was so big tonight… She loved trick or treating. At first she didn’t even want to walk up to the houses. Then she realized she had a chance to ask for candy and suddenly she understood. She tried really hard to say “trick or treat”… it sounded kind of like “twickah.” Then she had to hold onto her new candy until right before she walked up to the next door. THEN she’d put it in her basket.

She wouldn’t let me walk up to the door with her… She wouldn’t let me hold her much. She wanted to do this on her own. I think back to Cam’s second Halloween — he was three months younger than Jordan is now and he demanded I carry him door to door. (He also had an undetected ear infection)

Anyway. Jordan was amazing. She’s so big. She’s so independent. I’ll get a picture or ten up soon.

I know this picture is blurry… But I love it. Jordan was about to tackle me. I took the kids to work. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but work is near a cow pasture. (yeah) As we drove in, Jordan started yelling: “MOO! MOO! MOO!” She was really excited. So after we were done with the newsroom, we played outside looking at the cows. Then we (Cam and Jordan and I) tussled out on the lawn. The cows were freaked out.

Anyway. It was a sweet little time with the kids… It was cool out, but not cold. The sun was just starting to set and no one was outside except us… And the cows.

Is it possible… Can Jordan be THIS close to 2 years old? It’s stunning to see what a little girl she’s turning into. She has more and more words. Heck she even has two and three word sentences. She’s also a much more emotional and demanding little person. When she wants something, she’ll scream it. Then I look at her and ask her to say it calmer and with less volume. Usually she will say it in a less ear-bleeding tone.

Jordan is still attached to her Mommy… She will grab my leg or beg me to carry her. But she’s also happy to sit in her room and read through piles and piles of books. I’ve seen her “read” the books… But if her brother offers to read a book to her: “NO!” That word is heavily used in her world. My favorite is when she says no, but she’s nodding yes.

Miss Jordan is getting stronger with her new shoe inserts and she’s starting to relax with her newest prosthetic. We’re finding new ways to get her to reach up more with her prosthetic and she’s finding more ways to use it to carry items.

Baby dolls are still a big deal to Jordan. She loves putting them to sleep. Her new way to stall from going to bed is placing babies in different spots in her room and putting them to sleep. She lays them down and rubs their bellies. Sometimes she finds a blanket to place on top of the babies so they will stay warm. Jordan’s blanket is officially named “Lamby.” When Jordan asks for it, she will say “Ahh-Mee” or “Mee-Mee.” Sometimes she says it three or four times for me to notice that she’s asking for her blanket. I’m catching on. She’s training me.

Food is still a strange thing with Jordan. On days when her teeth are obviously hurting, she will tend to not eat much at all. If she does eat, she’ll end up spitting out the food. The only comfort food I’ve found for her is cheese-based food: Cheeze-its, Mac and cheese, slices of cheese. But the strange thing is on moments when she doesn’t feel good, even cheese can’t be a guarantee that she’ll eat. Then suddenly, green beans or peas make her happy. You just never know. So I’m continuing to try and keep our food varied and I’m doing everything I can to not get her into an eating rut.

On the whole, this has been a great month for Miss Jordan. She’s growing stronger, more opinionated and she’s starting to try my patience in a good way… She’s strong-willed in a cute way. At least I can still call it cute. She’s also starting to find ways to use that “cute” to avoid things like going to bed or getting into the car. She doesn’t want to be directed, she wants to CHOOSE to move from one place to another. It’s amazing.

I put Jordan in her costume for the first time today — She wasn’t too thrilled to be wrapped around by the body of a ladybug. But dang she looks cute. We had a neighborhood Halloween party… It’s the third in a row and it’s just the coolest thing. I don’t know everyone’s name in our neighborhood, but I know everyone is really cool. The kids got to run around. Jordan got to be cute and Cam got to play with A LOT of boys. There are a lot of boys in the neighborhood!

Anyway. We had a quiet weekend — Not as much outside time as I would have liked (hiking or biking). But I did take a really great nap today.

We have another busy week ahead of us. Jordan’s going to have to skip her class party to go to Cam’s. I doubt that will be a big deal to her. Next year, we probably won’t be able to get away with that.

We had another meeting with the physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor that’s worked with us since Jordan was three months old. I’ve used him as a back-up source… And extra eye on Jordan’s care so we can be sure that she’s developing and getting the proper care.

Today we arrived to show off her growing use of her prosthetic, her amazing muscle tone at the base of her little arm and her greatly improving skill of walking — her shoe inserts are really helping steady and straighten her walking.

He was so pleased with her progress that we don’t need to come back… Unless I find a need to meet up with him.

To me, that’s a great relief. It means we are on the right track. The doctor commended me on working hard and getting Jordan everything she needs. He was impressed with her muscle tone in her back and he agreed that we need to keep working on Jordan’s little arm’s strength to help lift her prosthetic up high. He thought the idea of getting Jordan swimming was a good idea. Just holding onto her big arm and getting her to splash with her little arm would be strength-building.

SO hopefully I won’t need to visit with him unless we need his help in getting healthcare approval for a device or any type of procedure that Jordan might need. So far, that isn’t a concern. Who knows what will happen next year when we have a new healthcare plan. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for that.

Jordan loved going to the football game this weekend. We were trying to get Jordan to say the second half of the M-I-Z-Z-O-U chant. She kind of says “Oh-Eww”

She is getting better with her words. Tonight she called Dudley dog “Dudley” instead of Bubba. She wanted more bread, she said “more bread.” I still can’t get her to say Cameron’s name — Now he’s kind of named “Bruddah.”

I love watching her grow. I have a hard time accepting how grown up she is though. The little tantrums and the conversations where I know she understands me… They’re all signs of her turning into a little person. Wow.

Almost 22 months old. Unbelievable.

Anyway, we have a TON of alumni in town and I’m having a blast hanging out with them and showing the girl and boy off to some of them. We’re attending the football game this afternoon… Hopefully we’ll bump into more grads that way.

Other than Homecoming and showing off the kids, life is pretty good. It’s slowly turning into Fall. Jordan loves checking out the leaves on the ground. She’s very picky about which ones she likes… So that makes our trips home from walking Cam to school take a lot longer. But I love watching her enjoyment of nature, so I’ll let her pick through the leaf piles to find one that makes her smile. She’s starting to catch onto colors, by the way. Red and yellow are easily identified by her… And it makes me very proud.

Jordan surprises us. Every once and a while, when you least expect it… She does something amazing. We were all playing in the playground at Cam’s school this afternoon when Jordan climbed up and just slid down the slide TWICE. No need to sit on my lap. She just DID it. I love it.

I’m so tired. I’d go on and on about the girl, but I’m running out of energy. But here’s the summary about what’s going on with her:

She’s almost 2.

The tantrums come and go. Her moods and needs are more dramatic. She’s starting to create rules and needs and we are all supposed to follow those rules — except we don’t know what the rules are. Cam did the same thing. Tonight I had to put her to bed when she started screaming at the dinner table for “more cheese!” She ate all of the mac and cheese and wanted MORE!! She was so upset that she tried to dump the rest of her dinner all over the table and floor. Randy and I were able to put a stop to that before it got too messy. But man was it murder getting the girl dressed and put down for sleep. She was ANGRY. The highs and lows with her are just a bit more exaggerated this week. I’m hoping this will pass… Hopefully when her final three teeth poke through.

Something’s going on with the girl. She slept poorly last night. She wouldn’t eat today… only mushy stuff. Anything the crunched ended up getting spit out. Of course some mushy stuff wasn’t right so she threw it. She cried a lot at school. Her nose it runny. She has a cough. It’s just a mess.

Poor baby.

Jordan made herself even more known at church today. She screamed her way right out of the service and into the nursery. It was ugly… And kind of funny at the same time. It was so loud that I was given some recognition as I returned to the service after dropping Jordan off. Aren’t kids fun. Some of the parents thanked us for helping them feel better about their embarrassing moments with their kids during church services.

Jordan really needed a nap after church.

After the kid naps, we (Cam, Jordan and I) went out to a state park just outside our town and went on a mega hike. Jordan was awesome as we trekked all over the place. She oooohed and ahhhed over the beautiful blue sky, danced along to my silly hiking songs and said she thought things were pretty when I asked. After a couple of hours of hiking, she and Cam had a blast eating ice cream and playing at a local playground. Jordan tried climbing up a rock wall and fell on her face. She’s pushing her limits. I’m proud of her for that — But it’s hard to step back and watch sometimes. I have a hard time knowing when I should jump in. I should let her take risks, but I don’t want to see her get seriously hurt. She did go down a couple of slides on my lap.

By the time we got home, she was EXHAUSTED. A little bit of food and she was done. The funny thing is how her going to be process is changing. She’s more demanding. She wants more books, more ways to delay the sleep process. I’m holding true to the bath, PJ’s, one book, lullaby, sleep process. No matter what, she cries for a minute when I leave the room. A minute is nothing… But for most of her life, she hasn’t cried at all. I’m sure it’s another sign she’s growing up… But man, I hate hearing her cry!