The twinge

"The twinge"- you know the one- when you're looking through other people's FB pictures and you see a little girl or boy eating with utensils at the ripe old age of one- and you almost comment on it- and say something like, "Oh, that's great! Look at him/her- already eating with a fork/spoon!" But you stop yourself because you realize that most kids are eating with utensils at that age. And then you realize how quickly time has flown and your daughter will be 3 in a few weeks and she still can't feed herself with a spoon. That twinge? Yup. That's the one.

And on the flip side you feel guilty about feeling sorry for yourself about your daughter not eating with utensils yet because at least she can eat. And even though she has to wear those not-so-attractive walking shoes with the $800 orthotics she can walk. So suck it up girlfriend. It's time to be thankful.

It's Terrific Tuesday and I have so many reasons to be thankful.

Lila is walking so well with her new walking shoes/orthotics combo. She has such good balance, she rarely falls over, and she walks a lot without getting tired. It's very exciting. She tries to run and it's so cute. She even tries to jump- and when she does she ends up only moving the top half of her body. It's hilarious. And after she's finished moving from the waist up she's so proud of herself because she thinks she's jumping. : )

Lila's sensory issues are getting so much better. She's only had 8 OT sessions so far but she's making great strides. I seriously have tears in my eyes at every appointment because I'm so excited about her progress. She swings on all of the therapy swings now, and in the beginning she wouldn't even come near them. She actually crawled through a moving barrel 2 weeks ago. She stands barefoot on a scratchy uneven platform and throws bean bags into a plastic bucket while maintaining her balance almost independently. It's amazing and I'm so thankful for Kelly, our wonderful and patient OT.

Lila's talking up a storm. You really have to watch what you say because she tries to repeat everything. She sings along with her videos and remembers a lot of the words in her books. She can say her ABC's and count to 13. When she wants to. She tends to be a little shy sometimes and it can be a bit frustrating because I feel like it looks as if I'm embellishing her accomplishments. But really, she can. I have witnesses. : )

All in all, Miss Lila is doing well. And I can't begin to measure the joy that she brings into our lives. Her smile lights up the room. Every time I come into a room she says "Hi Mama!" even if she saw me just a few moments before. (She does this to everyone in the family) She is full of hugs and kisses. She is so persistent- she never gives up. Sometimes I wonder if we're motivating her or if she's motivating us. I guess it's a little bit of both. I'm so thankful for her determination. I'm so thankful for her life.

That twinge? It doesn't stay around for long.

Proud to be her mama~

Linda