Whitney's 2010 in Review

2010 was an amazing year of progress for Whitney. I was just looking back at all the milestones Whitney hit and all the adventures we've had. Whit started 2010 by showing us she could take the stairs all by herself. Then there was her worst tantrum ever where she had to get stitches in her eyebrow after hitting her head on a sharp toy. Lessons are sometimes tough to learn, but she doesn't hit her head on things when she's mad anymore, so that's progress.

In March, Whit started heading out to recess with the typical kids in her grade and loving it. This continues, by the way, and now the teacher's main concern is that Whit is having so much fun playing with the other kids that she might get careless and injure herself. That's a far cry from the little girl that used to rarely interact with the other kids during play time.

Then of course there were the continuing battles with ear infections and illness. Melanie and I really hope getting her tonsils out will help with Whit's overall health and ability to enjoy life.

In 2010, Whit lost her hearing aids and got a great new pair that she loves. She's back to wearing them full time as of last week since her recovery from surgery went well. In fact she's even been asking for them because she knows they help so much.

In late July, we hosted a ton of Whitney's friends at the annual 1p36 Deletion Support & Awareness Conference. It was great to see so many families and so many children like Whit who are making great progress. These children just don't care what limits doctors try to put on them. They surprise us with new accomplishments almost daily.

Then it was back to school and new adventures in first grade. Whitney learned to love being at school all day and she particularly loves school lunch.

In September, Whitney got a new baby sister. Baby Avery's arrival turned the world upside down for all of us but has been a lot of fun. Whitney loves to help out with all the baby chores. Especially patting Avery's back when it's time for a burp.

One of my very favorite of Whitney's 2010 accomplishments is her verbalizing. She now regularly says Uh-oh, uh-huh and my favorite Aaa-Eee. Which is her way of shouting, "Daddy!" I get this greeting a lot of nights when I get home from work. Whit knows it's an automatic hug from me. How can a dad resist?

It's been a great year of wonderful progress. I'm grateful that my little girl allows me along for the ride. She teaches me so many things about patience, persistence and determination. I can't wait to see what she teaches me in 2011. Happy New Year, everyone!