Hey....so guess what?

I can't hear again. Completely gone....nothing....nada. Even laying upside down is useless this time. I attempted a few days ago and Reese joined in of course but nothing...no relief.

Even more concerning this time is the complete lack of any significant hearing in my left ear vs. last time when I could hear something...faintly. So, this makes life interesting with a little girl that is learning to talk. Two year old jibberish becomes non-identifiable mumbles quickly. I'm sure Reese is tired of me saying, "what sweetie?" or "Huh?", "Say again...". Yeah, I'm tired of this mess. The Netti doesn't really provide relief and I take a cocktail of meds to clear my head to no avail. I think I need to jam something in there to stir things about but then I'd have to pick Kim up off the floor from the sight of something jobbed into my ear.

On to different things.....Reese updates.

This little girl is the copycat queen now. Everything you do....she'll do. If you say it with any amount of inflection....she'll catch it and repeat it. Having her say Hippopotamus back to you is hilarious. HIP-PPATOMOSAMUSES.....SES. It's good for hours of fun.

It's so much fun to communicate with her now. We don't just talk to her...she finally talks back and it's in context to the conversation which is amazing. She's pretty demanding though. I'm not sure where the bossi-ness comes from but she is a take charge kind of girl and wants things a certain way. We give her some leash with that to a degree but we make sure to reign her in before she gets too much attitude. We don't want a diva on our hands.

I think the best things that she's said is "I love you Mommy, or Daddy". Yeah, she may be repeating something but its the best thing in the world to have her say those words. Being a father seems more real right now. She needs me for things but she wants me to do things for her as well. She needs me to prep dinner for her but she wants me to rub her feet or scratch her back (believe me...she loves both). She needs Mommy to keep her safe but she wants Mommy to hold her when she's scared. Those needs are more real than ever but the fact that she wants to be near us or that she wants to spend time with us....is priceless. You can't get that from a dog or a cat. You can't find that kind of love just anywhere....it almost has to come from a child and what a gratifying feeling it is. I know it won't be like this forever and part of me wants to bottle this time to keep for a lifetime because she changes so much day to day.....but I guess each age or situation has it's rewards or pitfalls so we'll just keep moving forward.

She's growing up on us....she's not even two but it'll be four and then eight, and then sixteen......ugh. I wish she could stay small forever.