Brighter days ahead

Things are looking up in the Galli-ringo household. First of all, daylight savings has done wonders for my evening mindset. It's so nice to see the sun still shining while I'm getting dinner ready. Now if only it would warm up enough to let the girls stay outside and play while I cook! We did have one afternoon in the 50s when we got outside for awhile before dinner, and it was amazing. I thought, "Oh, yeah, THIS is how it can be!" We were all energized by the change of scenery and fresh air. Being able to play in the yard opens up a whole other room to explore.

Along with the longer days and promise of warmer weather, Miss Hannah has been making some really solid strides lately. It's like she knows that it's time to try out some new tricks because Mama is getting down in the dumps. It always happens like this: I get in a funk that progress is so slow and seems like it will never happen. And then my girl turns up the volume and gets rolling. I'm wondering if, now that we're just over a month past her botax injections, she is experiencing some sort of "peak" in the treatment. Like maybe it's taken her this long to adjust to the new feeling of less tone and rebuild some strength/relearn some skills. Whatever it is, Hannah is doing great!

Specifically, she is pulling up in her crib again. She did this for a short stretch in the summer and then stopped doing it. She still naps in a crib in the guest bedroom (big girl beds with Isabelle for night time) and the other day I went in to check on her and found her standing up, banging on the window. The next day, same thing. She was quite proud of herself! In addition to pulling up, B opened up her walker wheels so they are in full swivel mode; we'd had them limited somewhat so she could have more control. Now that they are in full swivel, Hannah can pretty much get herself all the way around the house without getting stuck, which is such a great thing for her and for those of us that have to "unstick" her regularly. Also, the day that the girls and I went out in the yard to play, Hannah just took off across the grass in her walker, pulling it through the mud and still frozen snowy sections without hesitation. She was so excited to be outside and was moving around much more than she did this time last year. Finally, Hannah's transition skills are coming along really well. She can cruise all along the coffee table and even get from her walker to the table and around to the couch. She can get down off of a chair or a bench almost entirely on her own, she can pull up into her walker and she can walk up the stairs holding onto the railing with one hand and one of our hands with her other. Some of these skills are ones that she had been able to do for a short time but, like pulling up, stopped doing after a time and is now able to do again. Others are new skills.

In the pool (we go swimming in a warm water pool once a week), Hannah took a few steps to me today on her own and she is also putting her face in the water, blowing bubbles and jumping off a step into my arms.

All in all, Hannah is doing some amazing things and it comes at just the right time for my state of mind. I'm always impressed by her motivation and determination. I'm hoping these gains last past when the botax wears off because it is also doing great things for her self-confidence. I'm looking forward to more sunshiney days ahead!