Taylor had her best day of therapy yet - the portable DVD player with Baby Einstein playing works wonders to distract her. Susan, of course, continues to challenge us and told me to get rid of the baby movie and find a more challenging show for her to watch. I actually love this - she keeps pushing us and Taylor and it's a good thing. She was really pleased with Taylor's level of tone (continuing to weaken, which is good) - she looks much more relaxed as her arms are straightening and her hands are relaxing. We started working on sitting today - unlike the other therapist, we aren't just sitting her down (with support) and expecting her to do it on her own someday. Susan is working on Taylor working her ab muscles (which are weak) and helping her practice balancing by tilting her and getting her comfortable with transitional movements. It's very logical and it's exciting to start working on a functional skill.
Our trip to West Plains was wonderful - Taylor had a great time playing with my family and watching Lauren and Jacob, and her young cousins, Ethan and Ryan, play and laugh. She loves to watch other kids. The pictures above are her laughing outside while "flying" and cuddling with her Aunt Shawna. David was great at helping her practice her therapy exercises each day, so we don't think we lost too much ground while we were away.
A few highlights of our trip - Taylor had her first birthday celebration with my family and received some fun gifts - a beautiful clock for her room, fun piano toy, cute hat and matching booties, pretty pink dress, and a lovely diaper bag. We also saw lots of family members, including uncles, cousins, and my sister's and their families. Taylor had tons of cuddles and lots of love. I went to church with my grandma to hear our special family friend and pastor deliver a wonderful sermon about Jesus healing a woman of her "infirmity." His message resonated with me and again I fought back tears as I prayed for Taylor. It was a really special trip and we had a great time. The one bummer - Taylor got the stomach flu one evening and was under the weather the next day, but thankfully the illness passed quickly.
Tonight is an amazing night - last year about this time David and I left the house for the hospital. Taylor joined our family the next day. That's right - tomorrow is her first birthday. I can hardly believe how much has happened in the last year and how incomplete our family would feel without her. I'm mostly joyous to celebrate her special day, but it brings a touch of bittersweetness as it's another milestone that brings with it expectations and comparisons. Taylor will not be able to eat birthday cake (as our other kids did, because she can't eat solids yet), but we're hoping she enjoys playing in the icing. While delayed in certain areas from other kids her age, she certainly excels at the amount of joy she has brought her family in the last year. We love her dearly and pray that her next year brings lots of fun, laughter and enjoyment.
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