Two for two

Nora tried out sweet potatoes for dinner tonight. Personally, I can't stand sweet potatoes. If I want something sweet and starchy I'd rather have a cookie, but both girls seem to really like them. (Addy was on a sweet potato kick last week and ate sweet potato+apple+white bean every day.)

Thinning the herd

Since Addy has been doing so awesome with the walker, I went ahead and returned the gait trainer to the therapy center today. Tomorrow is her wheelchair evaluation appointment, which I'm really excited about. She's pretty much outgrown the stander, but I would like to wait until we have the wheelchair before we give up the stander (especially while she's working on building up her strength in her legs, we really need an alternative to the walker that she can use to get around when she wants to).

Anything she can do I can do better

Nora has a teething ring. Addy thinks she needs a teething ring.

Addy eats big kid food off a plate. Nora thinks she needs to eat big kid food off a plate.

Nora makes painful, happy squealing sounds. Addy thinks she needs to make painful, happy squealing sounds.

Addy has started walking. Nora thinks she needs to start walking.

Not to be outdone by her big sister

Nora has decided that she does not care to sit (which she could do if she would just keep her legs bent at the hip) and she does not care to crawl (which she's still a little young to really master). She would rather stand. I've joked about both girls being solid walkers this coming fall, but I was kind of hoping we could ease into it, one kid at a time.

Look at me go!

Addy traded in her gait trainer for a light-weight walker this week--yahoo!



I love that she's so excited about walking, and I super love that she's able to do so well with the walker. It's lighter-weight than the gait trainer so it's easier to take it outside (which she now wants to do about 500 times a day!)

Another first

I mixed up some apple juice with rice cereal for Nora for the first time today (she's had milk with cereal, but not juice until today). I sat in the recliner with my knees bent and her propped up against my legs. She sat up and leaned over the bowl the whole time, smacking her lips, grabbing the side of the bowl, chewing on the edge of the bowl, trying to grab the spoon, etc. Based on the fact that she got very mad when it was done, I'd say she liked it!

Even more walking progress

Addy is getting even better with using the gait trainer for walking. We have it set so that the swivel is locked and all wheels can only go forward, but Addy is starting to be able to control the forward motion of the frame with her arms now (we had been doing that part for her so she could concentrate on the standing and stepping part). She has a tendency to try taking too big of a step a lot of the time--big surprise there--so she still needs some help, but she's getting more independent with it. Yay!

Thar be dragons in our midst

Addy is not really a big breakfast eater. She'll drink juice and eat a few Cheerios or a couple of bites of toast, but not really a lot of food goes in first thing in the morning. We were trying to convince her to eat (any of) her toast this morning so I asked her if she wanted to sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on it to turn it into Dragon Toast. Then we asked if she wanted to eat her Dragon Toast so she could be a dragon when she grows up. (She did.) After breakfast I was brushing her hair and asked if she wanted 1 pony tail or 2. "I want two. Two dragon tails, Mommy."

More walking updates

Addy had physical therapy this morning and did so good with it, showing off how well she can stand and step with her new KAFOs. I mentioned to the therapist that Addy seems to prefer not to use the gait trainer with the KAFOs, so she's going to bring a lighter-weight walker to Addy's next appointment for her to try out.

We're also looking forward to getting to try out some wheelchairs later this month. Walking is still our goal, but it will be a long time (if ever) before she'll be strong enough to do long distances (like, say, an afternoon of shopping at the mall or a full day of school), so we're going with a plan of walking as much as is comfortable and practical and use a wheelchair so she can be independently mobile the rest of the time. Getting started now means getting the learning curve started before she starts preschool.

New braces, big and small

We picked up Addy's new KAFOs recently:


Quite the marvels of engineering, are they not? The two biggest down sides: it takes more than 10 minutes to get them on, strapped up, and shoes on; and the hinges are very easy to get your fingers pinched in (and quite painful when you do!) The second point is more of a problem for the grown-ups than for Addy, but she is very curious about them and wants to check them out when she isn't wearing them. So far we're using them along with the gait trainer a little, but Addy really prefers to stand at the patio doors and play with the jungle window clings that we have or to stand at the bookshelf and pull every single book off and dump it on the floor beside her.


We also picked up her new AFOs recently:


I'm not totally digging them. They're pretty much the same style as the previous ones (which none of us really cared for), but this time they're a little wider since they have the big, bulky buckles at the ankle. At least she is able to wear them and they don't seem to make red marks.