Happy Birthday, Dayna!

Today marks Dayna’s second birthday, but first with the Wilson family! We spent the morning with Papa and Nana Wood at the Omaha Children’s Museum, then ate a quasi-authentic Chinese lunch at P.F. Chang’s. Dayna is now sacked out napping from exhaustion after this morning’s excitement.

On Sunday, we had a ladybug party with three of Dayna’s friends, along with both sets of grandparents. “Stick the Spot on the Ladybug” was a great hit as a party game, and the ladybug hunt (think Easter Eggs) was a lot of fun as well. However, we think the “rainbow ice cream” was Dayna’s favorite part of the party.

Since our last update, Dayna celebrated her first St. Patrick’s Day as a proud “Irish” girl. She and her Daddy spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa Wilson. We also took a road trip to Chicago so Alaina could attend a professional conference. We enjoyed seeing friends and family in Chicago, (and Marion, Iowa coming and going) as well as eating our favorite spinach pizza at Edwardo's. Dayna did well in the car, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for the drive to Oregon this summer.

For Spring Break, Dayna and her Mommy flew to Oregon for a week and spent time with the Wood family. We had a great time playing with her cousins and seeing each of Dayna’s aunts and uncles. A highlight of the week was the further indoctrination of Dayna as an Oregon State Beavers fan during a day trip to Corvallis. She now proudly says, “Go Beavers…No Ducks!!”

Easter was also a fun time for the Wilsons. Dayna had a ball looking for Easter eggs and has now discovered the sheer joy that a marshmallow peep can bring to her day. Dan insisted on a yellow dress for her, and we must admit she looked quite sweet in her pretty dress on Easter Sunday.

While in Oregon, Dayna taught herself all of the colors. She can now walk into a quilt shop and tell you what color each of the fabrics are. She is also counting to ten by herself and can play “Name that Tune” on the piano. She is proving to be quite bright…it’s almost frightening! Our newest venture is getting ready for the big girl potty. She enjoys “pretending” to go potty, and we think the end of the school year will be the time to really work on potty training.

On the medical front, Dayna was approved for a prosthetic device to help her speech. Two weeks ago, she received her obturator, which is like a retainer. We now use denture adhesive daily for this device and stretch mark cream for her scar. How many two-year-olds do you know who need these things? Since receiving her obturator, we are excited to be hearing new sounds from her mouth (particularly the letters "B" and "P"). We're looking forward to what the near future brings as far as speech therapy goes.

It was one year ago tomorrow that we received our travel approval to go to China. We can’t believe how quickly this year has gone. In just a few weeks we will celebrate one year together. We are constantly amazed at how blessed our lives have become since we found each other. Thanks for indulging us with another post!

Blessings,
Dan, Alaina & Dayna

Cousin Ashleigh's outfit
Kiss me, I'm Irish-ish
Dayna coloring eggs
Dayna's Easter dress
Easter egg hunt
Just Chillin'
Stick the spot on the ladybug
Playing in my sandbox
Dancing with Grandpa
Dayna and Baby Alayna

5/1/2007