So as many people know, Brenna has suffered from developmental delays pretty much since her birth (probably more accurately since she was diagnosed with meningitis). Doctors have estimated those delays to be anywhere from 2-4 months behind. We have been concerned for some time about her ability to "catch-up" but had been reassured over and over that she would and we needed to stop comparing her to her same-aged peers.
At first we were struggling with her sitting, then crawling, then standing, and even being able to eat. Just recently has she begun eating various forms of food without issue. It's been a struggle to get her to "expand" her skills. The good thing is that she seems to be consistently delayed in most things. It's not necessarily one thing over another and eventually she does catch on. However, we are becoming more impatient as we see her peers continue to pass her up.
She has also struggled all her life with her sleep patterns. After 14 months of not sleeping through the night we finally decided to seek the help of a sleep specialist. I was always one of those parents that thought we had it figured out. Jacob was such a good sleeper and even though we were doing all the same things we were getting very different results.
Furthermore, at the same time we were referred to the sleep specialist we also decided to seek the advice of an ENT (ears, nose and throat specialist). Brenna has had repeat ear infections for some time now, and some required multiple sessions of antibiotics before going away. Given our history with Jacob and antibiotics we don't want to end up on a strong antibiotic consistently. We had also noticed she was snoring more than we were comfortable with.
After consulting with the sleep specialist and the ENT we discovered we were going to do things in phases. First, we began a regimented sleep plan. Next, we would consider doing a sleep study in January to determine if Brenna has any sort of Apnea. The results would likely be much more beneficial after she was 15 months old. However, if B gets any more ear infections she will be getting tubes placed in her ears (not that big of a deal). If it is determined she has apnea then she will also be getting her tonsils and adenoids removed.
The sleep plan has been a little difficult to implement as she has been sick several times since we began the plan just after Thanksgiving. Each time she is sick the plan starts over. It's been a slow process to say the least.
In terms of her physical development, Brenna is a little over 14 months old and is still not walking consistently. She is not strong enough to hold herself up for long periods of time it seems. Furthermore, her right side seems weaker than her left. We have begun classes at a local gym for toddlers hoping that will make a marked improvement without the need for PT. We will see in the near future if it will work... however, we are seeing some improvement.
I've never uploaded a video before so hopefully this works but here is a few of our little girls steps. As for everything else.. we will continue to wait impatiently and see!
One of my absolute FAVORITE pictures of 2011!! Aunt Nicki (and godmother) and Jacob! How cute are these two?!?!
The BIRTHDAY BOY!! Happy Birthday Daniel! Daniel and Jacob are 10 weeks apart. 
Here are the some of the girls from the neighborhood. This group is what we call the "court crew".. 
Brenna and Jacob enjoyed cutting pumpkins. Actually Jacob enjoyed it for about 5 minutes and generally Brenna couldn't have cared less. But oh well, she got in the picture so we know she was there. 
My cutie getting ready to go trick or treating!
Matt had to work late on Halloween so pictures are scarce. Here is a decent one of both kids. We didn't realize how "safe" Jacob's costume was until we saw the pictures.. there is no way you could have missed him!
Here is Jacob with baby Cameron on Halloween (most know but for those that don't, Cameron is our good friends and now neighbor's son and also just became our godson as well). We love baby Cameron around here. In fact, Jacob doesn't really get that he's not his brother. 
