A New Face

Earlier this week I came across this picture on Anthony's phone.

I love this picture! What a pretty girl. It's getting harder and harder to picture her that way though. I have 'before' pictures of Abby throughout the house, but I don't look at them much anymore. They just look like some other kid to me now. I guess I am just used to seeing her new face. Sometimes I actually have to tell myself that she really WAS that way once - that she hasn't ALWAYS been like this.

Abby has been working on a new skill the last few weeks. She has been trying to stand up from her bed. There is nothing for her to push off from with her hands, so she has to rely completely on leg strength, and that is a lot harder. Well, last week she finally did it! And now that she has figured it out, she wants to do it all day long. So funny! Except for when she does it while there is no one there to catch her, and she ends up falling on her face...

Do you like all of the padding on her bed?? I never knew a bed could be such a hazard.

We spent a few days with Anthony's parents this week for the 4th of July. Abby spent most of that time climbing the stairs. She would have done it all day long if we had the patience to sit there with her... It's kinda crazy to watch her do it. She looks so good!

I made some strawberry shortcake for our 4th of July dessert, and Abby loved it. She is eating a very big variety of food now. Some of the things she can eat are: macaroni and cheese, ravioli, enchiladas, quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches (nuked after grilling, so it is soft, not crunchy), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, banana bread, brownies, very tender chicken & ground beef, steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peas), watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberries, oatmeal, chewy chocolate chip cookies, and lots of other non-crunchy foods. We even gave her some ice cream the other day....that's actually a big NO-NO, and we will probably get in trouble by her feeding therapist, but she had no problems with it. She's not supposed have it because if she doesn't swallow it fast enough it will melt in her mouth and turn into a thin liquid, and she is not supposed to have thin liquids yet. But she was really hot after being outside and we thought it would be a good way to cool her down. Who doesn't want to cool down with ice cream?? We wouldn't have done it if we didn't think she would be successful with it. Good job Abby.

For some reason, Abby will not wear shoes anymore. So if you see us out in public and she is barefoot, please don't judge us. We are learning to pick our battles. Until she starts walking and can get rid of her chair, it really isn't that big of a deal if she doesn't wear her shoes.