Harlie is now a WALKER!!

Well, I can officially say that Harlie is walking. Every day she walks more and more. Another huge milestone achieved. And right before her 2nd birthday! I can't tell you how thrilled we are. And what a difference a little confidence has done for her! She is playing like a typical toddler and it is wonderful to watch! We don't even bring the walker in the house anymore. Although I still use it for distances, as she can only do short ones now. But, I know that will change quickly!

Here is a video (shocker) of her walking at the mall this past weekend. Another thing she's learned is how to give a kiss (something the jaw surgery has helped). I know it is hard to hear (the water fountain is right behind me so the camera picked up the sound), but Tom asked her to give him a kiss. She is just the sweetest thing ever!

Oh, and the other day she wanted her sunglasses, but they were just out of her reach. So, she made up her own sign! I couldn't believe it. She pointed at the sunglasses and then tapped her fingers to her temples. That's not the sign, but it is close enough and it really doesn't matter as long as I know what she's saying anyway. And I clearly understood her. She just amazes me!

Today we had feeding therapy with Beth. Harlie did great! Beth said that she swallowed a couple of times. But most important is how she's letting us do more and more and how she's biting down on her chew "toys" and moving her tongue all around. So, now I can see that what felt like not making progress, is actually, well... making progress. What a difference that makes to my spirit and my new enthusiasm for working with her feeding!

I can't believe how great everything is going. Oh! And she has been wearing her PMV (speaking valve) a lot the last few days. In fact, she wore it practically the whole time during her feeding session today (1 hour). And there is a little plastic hook that wraps around the trach so if she takes off the PMV it hangs there instead of falling on the floor. So, I put that on and for a couple of hours she kept on putting it on herself and clapping. Clearly, we're big clappers in this house - you know, all that positive reinforcement stuff. Anyway, I was trying to get her to make sounds (other than the sound you've heard before) and she actually said "mama!" Now, she wasn't looking at me, or calling me and I don't think she realized that she even said it. But, the fact that she did is all that matters. And I'm not exaggerating or making that up. My Mom and Dad were there and they heard her, too.

Beth said that she will start to learn the same way a baby learns they can make sound. So, it will be a learning process, but one that we are REALLY looking forward to. And I think I can relax a little. I think she's made it perfectly clear that she will accomplish her goals when she's good and ready and somehow it seems to all work out. And that she can do that in one instant. Meaning that one day she wouldn't walk if her life depended on it, and the next day, she took off.

I will have to get Tom to take a new photo of my belly. It is very big and I think I can officially say that I am ready to have this baby! Well, that's it for now.

Take care,

Christy