Therapizing

Yup, we're just plugging along with therapy. We took a break for about 4 weeks to recover from surgery, but we are back in full force now! She is cruising and pulling up on everything. She still stands wider than normal but she is doing so GOOD. The new trick we are trying to master is going from one piece of furniture (or door) to another while actually letting go for a split second. This helps her learn how to adjust her body weight.

So I have a chair placed about 30 inches (or so) from the door and am using those clingy decals to get her to move back and forth. She doesn't quite trust her balance, but she is oh-so-close!

I had to put down my camera to help her the last bit of the way but she almost has it! Go baby girl! And oh my is she proud of herself! I love how she claps for herself whenever she does something good. LOL. Too cute! I also love that she is HAPPY to do this - in the past an activity like this would have been met with complete resistance. Like roll-around-on-the-floor temper tantrum resistance. What a change I can see in this girl! She even let Tricia, our wonderful PT, pick her up! Really?!?!

Oh happy baby girl, this proud mama is *SO* ready for you to walk! But I know you will do it in your own time, when you are ready :-) I would just prefer it be sooner rather than later. LOL.

We are also doing some major work on signing! She really doesn't talk, except for saying "owwwww" when something hurts (like her nose or her mouth - poor thing!). She also makes noises to get our attention and does this "ayayayayayayayayaya" thing when she's really excited about something. She claps and dances like a champ too. She understands most of what we say to her, but it's obviously so important that she be able to communicate with us as well. So we're doing a lot of sign and it's pretty cool. Her sign "vocabulary" consists of:

hi/bye (I think that counts!)

yes/no

milk

bedtime

play

all done

eat/hungry

more

help

blanket

bath

come here

napkin

wash hands

sorry

Those are all signs that she can actually use - she does them herself and understands when I do them also. Below are signs that I am working on ... she understands some of them but not all:

book

thank you

shoes

car

I love you

mama

dada

brother

sister

dog

coat

hat

please

scared

happy

train

stop

toothbrush

I need to add more to the "work on" list ... she is so smart and can pick up a new sign in just a few minutes if it's a "thing," although it takes longer if it's more of a concept. I am a little concerned that learning so much sign will make it easier for her to not talk when the time comes, but I'll deal with that down the road. For now, I am elated that she can communicate with us, and I think she is too!