At this time...

What a huge difference this year to last. This time last year we were heading to the hospital to have Mabel's hip surgery and casting. It was beyond a hard morning for us full of fear and nervousness and the unknown of caring for a spica cast. I remember exactly how I felt so scared and so unsure.

Fast forward a year. Mabel is walking and almost running and is a happy toddler. No one would ever know she spent three months in a body cast. I never could have seen this a year ago, I was just too upset, too scared. I have always been thankful that Mabel's condition of hip dysplasia is fixable, but at the time the news was so shocking and scary and the thought of the treatment seemed impossible. It has been a big year full of all the ups and downs between her surgery, casting and physical therapy, but look at where we are today! So worth it and through it all this past year she never stopped smiling!

All good...

I watch Mabel walk around the house and I can't believe the difference in the past few months. Life is normal now. We don't see a doctor for her hip until after her birthday...her second birthday! I can't believe it. When we went to the play center on Monday and I watched her walking around with other babies her age, you'd never know what she's been through with her hips. I can't even explain how that makes me feel.

So, I had been thinking about if I wanted to continue with Mabel's blog and if so how. I really want to print this out and call it a chapter in our lives so later on Mabel can see this process that she'll never remember. Maybe it will give her some insight into me as a person, not just her mother. So I think I'm ready to move on to another blog that is not hip centered - since now our lives don't revolve around Mabel's hip.

I wanted to keep this blog really centered on our hip dysplasia journey for anyone out there that needs some encouragement, so I promise to update on any hip and or mobility news on this blog, but for day to day non-hip news I started our new family blog: http://www.freetimeatfiveam.blogspot.com/

Both a sigh of relief and in some ways a little melancholy - even when moving on to better things I tend to get sentimental. As hard as the last year was, I wouldn't change one second of it - yes, even the spica cast parts! It was our story and it was perfect.

Check out our new blog!

Interview with a Mabel...

Here are a couple of videos of Mabel to share. One counting and the other her ABC's. She's a smart cookie!

Bye-Bye Roll...

The first physical evidence of Mabel's dislocated hip that we noticed last year was the asymmetrical rolls on her thigh...now finally almost exactly a year later that roll is gone! I've been waiting and waiting with baited breath for that roll to disappear, worrying that if it didn't that it meant the possibility of more treatments - but now it is gone and I can sigh a breath of relief.
Mabel is doing really great and we had a wonderful week again. I have to put up more video of her talking, her words are getting so good! We didn't do anything too exciting for the holiday weekend, just mostly stuff around the house. Saturday the first thing we did was head out and buy Zack...oh, I mean Mabel a new harmonica. Zack's...I mean Mabel's, old one kept coming apart so we needed to get a new one since Miss Mabel loves to play it. After that we checked out a kid's consignment shop - I got two brand name, brand new dresses for $12.00 total! Later on Zack's parents treated us to lunch. They got to see Mabel in full glory, including getting fussy before nap time. I have to say though we are lucky with her, she does very well in restaurants and actually likes the high chairs! It is such a treat that she can sit in the high chairs, back during the days of spica we sat her on our lap much like when she was too young for the high chair, now she gets excited when she sees "baby seat-seat" as she calls it. After Mabel's nap we headed out to spoil our dinner with ice-cream. We met up with Zack youngest sister and her boyfriend and they got to see Mabel play her harmonica. Zack's sister also treated Mabel to a stuffed cat that Mabel is now fondly calling "New Mineau" and sometimes "Little Mineau".

For our Sunday poor Zack had to work so Mabel and I visited my mother. She lives close to the beach so we decided to head down there - probably not the best idea on Labor Day weekend, but it worked out well after I freaked about my inability to parallel park (hey, Zack usually drives!). It was in the low 70's, my type of weather, but not beach going weather. Mabel didn't care as you can see from the picture. She played with her new pail and shovel that we got the day before - cute isn't it? I've been looking for something non-plastic! After the beach we found a great little play ground that Mabel loved. It was nice for my mother to really see Mabel in her playground glory. Mabel climbed the stairs, played with the steering wheels, refused to go down the slide and even would stand next to it pointing saying "No Mabel!" just in case she thought I'd ask again if she wanted to go down the slide. She also went across the "bridge" by herself. It was a little log bridge thing with a low handle. She would hold on to the handle and walk sideways across! She kept doing it over and over again. I couldn't be more proud. There was a little boy there that kept following Mabel, I guess he wanted to play with her. She didn't know what to do about that! Social interaction between one and two year-olds is pretty funny! Later on as Mabel napped I did yard work - I know fun, but it really is looking much better out there! Then Mabel surprised me by going to bed at 7:30! Yeah Mabel!

Labor day didn't exists in our home. At least for me. I decided to paint the garage doors and try to make our little garage look cuter. Mabel and Zack played and Mabel kept calling for me. I did the bulk of my work while she slept - it is hard doing stuff with a toddler standing next to you yelling "Mama done! All done!" She even pulled the nursing card! Zack was in the house with her making dinner when Mabel looked at me through the kitchen window telling me she needed to nurse. I said "Really? she said "Yeah." I went inside and sure enough she just wanted to play! Honestly it makes me happy she loves me that much. Again she fell asleep at 7:30! Nothing like having some free time after she goes to sleep...to do more stuff! Zack and I have been doing our landscaping in the cover of darkness after Mabel goes to bed at night - what the neighbors must think!

Keeping busy...

Mabel's walking is amazing - so amazing that she doesn't want to sit still! She's off around the house and sometimes she doesn't want my mother to follow her during the day! She often claims her baby doll has a dirty diaper so she can go into the other room for a baby wipe all by herself. She also has been really working on her vocabulary! My little walker is also a little talker. No one would really know it by just spending a minute with her - she needs to warm up to people, but around the house, wow! She's saying things like, "Mommy Mabel up stairs." "Baby Doll diaper dirty. Baby wipe!" "New ball down stairs." "Mommy zucchini bread, encore!" "Yummy Yummy Mabel's Tummy!" She's just putting words right together!

Yesterday Mabel and I had lots of errands to run. We had to stop at four stores all together and she did great. I remember when she was newborn through oh...eight months the thought of bringing her to the store was terrifying. I was never one of the those mothers that just brought my baby right out after birth - in my defence it was winter and she was a premie! And then once I started feeling confident that she wouldn't freak out in the store then she had to be in the spica cast and couldn't fit into the shopping cart or her stroller! Now, it is a breeze. She loves riding in the cart and pointing out the other babies. Our last stop was Target and we went down the baby doll isle (I'm a kid at heart too) plus I was scoping out clearance deals for Christmas. We walked by all those awful "baby alive" dolls that activate and start talking, crawling and playing peekaboo when we were leaving the isle and after that until we got home she kept saying "Baby Robot!" "Baby Robot Crawls!" Yes, my 20 month old has "robot" in her vocabulary thanks to Zack calling her pooh bear that sings "Robot Pooh". Now I was beyond impressed that she got the meaning for "robot" as something that is animated and then combined it with baby. Oh yeah, she talked about those robot babies all day!

Sunday we went to the Zoo in the morning. Zack and I talked about the beach, it is the end of the season but honestly neither of us felt like it. We talked about the zoo before and thought Mabel wold like it and she LOVED it! She loves to people watch so the other people there were just as interesting to her as the animals. They had a butterfly exhibit and she loved seeing the flowers and butterflies fluttering around. Then the next love the lama - she loved the lama. The lama really put on a show for her too laying down and rolling in the dirt. After that it was all "Lama encore!" She saw lots of other animals and loved them all. After that we got ice cream (hey, its the weekend!) and headed home for a terrible nap. Poor Mabel couldn't sleep after all that excitement. If you asked her about he Zoo and what she saw she'd tell you "Lama lay down." She also would tell you "Big mineau!" the big cats and "Big Bear!" She is too cute!

Saturday was fun too! We went to Mabel's first real friend birthday party. Mabel's little playmate turned one on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and they had a nice party out in their back yard. Mabel ate yummy food, played with the balloons, counted the balloons, talked about the balloons and played on the swing set and in the grass. The birthday boy needed his nap around one and Mabel was done then too! I have to say that having a summer birthday is so much more fun than a winter birthday. My birthday is in the winter and my brother's in the summer. I remember hating that growing up! He had all these great birthdays at our camp where we could swim and mine? It would snow and I couldn't have friends over or I had to go to school. I'm afraid that Mabel too will have to endure that, I just hope our next child has a winter birthday too, that way neither can feel slighted. We have decided for Mabel's sake to have her "half birthday" celebration in June so she can at least have the summer birhday experience a little bit! Man I would have loved that!

It has been a crazy week, but aren't they all? Mabel also has taken to saying her full name! First middle and last. I know I go on, but she's a genius!

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes...

My little walker needed new shoes this week. Mabel's walking has only gotten better as well as her determination to walk every where and check out EVERYTHING. Not only is she a great walker, but she also seems to have gotten taller - or at the every least she's reaching more for stuff! She's now grabbing things on tables, counters and even unrolling the toilet paper. You name it she's checking it out. I think that her new found mobility and confidence that she can do it so well has lead her to be more interested in the stuff she now sees from her walking perspective. She's an amazing little thing. Lucky for us she does listen and follow direction really well. Needless-to-say, my mother is sleeping better after chasing her all day Tuesday through Friday, but ironically Mabel isn't going to bed any earlier, in fact she seems to want to push sleep off more!

So this past weekend we decided Mabel needs new shoes. Her size fours were getting small. It makes me laugh to think in April she was only a size two. Certainly walking does encourage the feet to grow! My little mobile Mabel now measures a size 5.5! I couldn't believe it. So we got some cute little sandals and sneakers. It makes me happy seeing those feet grow, but as a Mummy I do get teary thinking of her growing so fast. She's a true toddler - but always my baby!

We had a great week and weekend. Nothing too exciting, just fun. We took a Saturday ice cream trip - who doesn't love that? We also chose some perennial flowers for Mabel's Garden in the back yard. Mabel loved walking around the nursery pointing at things and smelling flowers. Zack likes to pick a flower for Mabel when he comes home so we got some daisies and black-eyed Susans for the back walk way as well as a hydrangea. We aren't gardeners but it looks nice. Next spring Mabel will love picking the flowers! Sunday as we left a store Mabel got a scare when I fell in the parking lot caring her! I tripped over a break in the hard-top and went right down, I did all I could to protect Mabel and she didn't even touch the ground. My knees on the other hand didn't fair so well and now Mabel is quick to talk about my "boo-boo knee." Poor little thing - poor me. I'm still shaken up thinking how she could have gotten hurt! She was fine until people ran over to us, then she cried, but she seemed fine shortly after. Me? Ouch I'm sore, it hasn't been a great weekend for me since on that same foot I stubbed my toe really bad Saturday night. I'm a mess...Better me than Mabel!

Yesterday Mabel and I went again to the indoor play center. She loves it there and I'm so proud of her. Her interaction is really good, she shares and she listens. She asks "please" when she wants something and watching her explore is so much fun for me. I think the play center is a great addition to our Monday routine on rainy days. We were hoping for the park, but this was better to be honest with you. Also, the talking is still going great. "Pineapple" and "Zucchini Bread" were added this weekend not only to her vocabulary but her diet! She is just too great! Every day is an adventure!

It is offical...

It finally happened...Mabel got the big OK that her walking is now normal! That's right NORMAL. Yesterday we had our weekly physical therapy session. Once I got Mabel's shoes off and put her on the mat and she started walking the doctor said, "Yes! She did it!!!" I couldn't be more proud. It was a session of mixed emotion as I realized that this has become quite a part of our routine, I mean Mabel loved going and really loved her doctor. Of course at the same time I couldn't be happier to have my Mabel walking like a normal toddler. Mabel showed off all her tricks, played, the doctor had her do some things to check her hips and flexibility and then she told us we were discharged...and cried. You know we've met a lot of people during this process of treatment and healing for Mabel's hip, some were wonderful, some were not so great, but by far her physical therapist I knew really did care about Mabel and wanted to make sure she would be OK. I'll be honest, I cried myself in the car on the drive home, poor Mabel probably had no clue what was going on, but she seemed fine with everything. She certainly knew that we were so proud of her progress and how far she has come. I think back to the first physical therapy session almost six months ago and I remember how Mabel could barely move her left leg, never mind hardly sit and now she's full blown walking normal with full movement of her hips, knees and feet. The doctor said the biggest worry she had for Mabel was knowing that as Mabel walks that is what will deepen her hip sockets as she grows, so she really wanted to make sure that everything was lined up and moving the way it should before she discharged her - and now everything is great! She said Mabel looks like a baby that has been walking for over three months! Lets just say that she certainly has been practicing!

So yes, Yeah Mabel!

I didn't know what to say to the doctor except thank you. I think I'll write her a letter really telling her how much we appreciate what she did for Mabel and make sure she knows how thankful we are that we had someone who really cared about Mabel's progress and Mabel in general.

Well...I've had people ask me when I was going to stop updating about Mabel's hip, when I was going to finally figure our hip journey is over. I don't know for sure. I started this particular blog as a combination of therapy for me and help for others and a journal that I could print for Mabel so in the future she can see what this time of her life was really like. You never know maybe she could have a baby with hip dysplasia and this could help her relate - or at the very least it would help her understand how strong she (and we) really are. Everyone has a story and I wanted to give Mabel a hard copy of a big part of hers. She won't remember this time so I needed to tell it to her. I tried my best to really document the hip news in our lives. I'll keep it current as changes or appointments come, but perhaps this may be the start of something new!

Our Thursday routine...

So we had our typically Thursday morning again, complete with the rushing around so we could leave the house by 7:50 to get to physical therapy. I was actually very excited to show the doctor how good Mabel has been walking. I also was very nervous that she may pick up on something wrong with it too.

Mabel instantly started off by pointing out the new ball that was in the ball area. She also has taken to using "s" after words both for plural and possessives. I don't know why she focused on that detail but I think it is so cute. The other morning she pointed at my fork at breakfast and said "Mama's" and then hers "Mabel's" and of course "Papa's". She also will say cookies, babies for her two dolls and a books, stuff like that. I was impressed, but the doctor - she was blown away. She was also very happy with Mabel's walking, although (as I feared) she noticed that Mabel is pointing her left foot out as she steps. She also commented that Mabel may be flat footed? But then said it may just look that way because of her knee alignment so she can't tell for sure. So Mabel walked around holding two baby dolls, saying "Dolls", "Two Babies" and stuff like that and the doctor couldn't get over it. She keeps saying how smart Mabel is for her age and of course I think she's a genius, I mean what mother doesn't think that about her child, but the doctor said, "No, she is way ahead!". She said to me that with what she does she has to keep track of developmental skills as well as physical because with the kids she sees she needs to sometimes figure out if their physical problems are part of developmental set backs. She pulled out some books and looked through based on what Mabel was doing. She said that seeing Mabel identify red, green, yellow, purple and blue - by showing her the colored peg and saying the word was a 36 month skill. She then said using the possessive term and plural term is typically a 42-47 month skill. I thought she was going to die when I told her how Mabel makes her dolls say "Hi Mabel" in a high pitched voice...she was like "Pretend Play!" That's off the charts!

So yes, Mabel is gifted - but I knew that! I love hearing it. Seriously, Mabel is really smart and she always has had a focused personality even as a very young baby. I worry sometimes, I mean when she was younger she was never one of those babies that just sat there all goofy, drooling and laughing at their hands. She was always so serious and aware. She knows how to have fun, but I don't want her to over think things...like me!

Anyway, we had a great physical therapy session and go back next week. The doctor said it is just some tweaking of her walking. She put some kinesio tape on Mabel's leg to help encourage the foot to stay forward. It does seem to help. Mabel loves her tape, she gets it from time to time. The doctor puts band aids on it to hold it down and Mabel loves to point them out - this time it was "Finding Nemo" themed. So this week we just keep walking and the doctor will see how she looks next week. I guess the muscle group in the back of her left leg is still undeveloped and that is what is causing her to lock her knee and turn her foot out...that stupid spica cast. It has been six months and we are still working out the kinks! So we will keep going to our physical therapy sessions until everything looks good, I was a little disappointed we haven't graduated yet to "normal", but what is "normal anyway right? Honestly I'm fine with going back to our weekly visit, Mabel even likes going. I'm just so thankful we are in physical therapy, I would recommend it to anyone who's baby was in a spica cast - I guess the secret is to find a really good pediatric therapist too!

We hate going to the doctors...

As always it has been a exciting few days. Mabel broke out with a rash the last week in the creases of her elbows and knees. It looked like a little heat rash but when she started scratching it on Tuesday I called the doctor and brought her in on Wednesday. Mabel hates going to the doctors, especially her primary doctor since she remembers everything, especially shots. The nurse that escorted us to the room was the nurse that typically has the unfortunate task of giving Mabel her shots at her well baby check-ups and Mabel recognized her right away. She had the most serious look on her face as the nurse weighed her and tried to talk to her. When the nurse left the room Mabel turned and looked at me and actually said, "Oh no Mama!"

Well, after one look the doctor said eczema. Really? Is that possible, she was in a spica cast for 12 weeks and not even a slight rash! But it is and we got some medicated cream for it and she's much better. Man, I'm glad she never got a break out in that cast, that would have been awful! I guess it just has been so hot lately and with the humidity that is what did it. I count my blessings that Mabel's casting was from October through January and not in the heat of the summer! I feel for anyone who's baby is casted during the hot months, that adds a whole new element to the experience.

Mabel's free spirit has taken her to liking to "drive". This obsession started when we went to the beach a few weeks ago and I was changing Mabel in the car. I had to change her in the front seat and after she had her diaper on I handed her to Zack in the drivers seat so I could get her clothes together...so began the love to pretend to drive the car complete with the "vroom-vroom" sounds. I don't want to encourage this too much seeing as she gets older it may be dangerous her to think it is acceptable to climb into the drivers seat of the car and play with stuff. I vividly remember doing this as a kid and putting the car into neutral by accident. She knows that she needs to sit on Papa's lap so that is good. Now when ever I bring her somewhere and try to strap her in the car seat she just points at the steering wheel and says, "Papa Mabel. vroom-vroom. pleeezzzz?"

Those little legs...

Well, another week and we are still having a blast with the walking. I have to say, no complaints about having a toddling toddler. Everyone told me, "Wait till she walks - you'll wonder why you wanted it so bad!" but you know what, I love it! I love seeing her walk around and stand up by herself and walk with her dolls - everything. I guess if you don't have the prospective I do then having a mobile baby is another story, but this has been a long time coming and so welcomed of a transition.

We've had a great week all together. Everyday Mabel's walking skills get better and better and and she even started to dance yesterday! We had a picnic dinner on the back deck with the radio playing and Mabel just stood up and her little feet started moving and she was dancing and laughing so loud! She's just too funny. We took a couple really nice walks out around town in different stores, I love when Mabel proclaims "Own!" when she wants to walk, but it is a different shopping experience all together when she's lose. We are lucky that when out in public she really prefers to hold our hand so that makes life a lot easier. I can't wait for our Thursday physical therapy - the doctor will be so impressed! I have to say I'll be happy to have the physical therapy behind us even though I know Mabel does like it since to her it is just play time and I do like the doctor and all. Right now it almost feels like everything is normal, our lives don't revolve around Mabel's hips. We don't have another orthopedic appointment until December! Oh, the thought of no doctors...what a wonderful feeling!



So, one thing I learned about Mabel pretty early on is she doesn't perform for people or the camera. If she does something good luck trying to get her to do it for an audience or the camera - she just won't, but as soon as the camera is off or she's alone with us then she's back to talking or walking. Finally I've captured the illusive Mabel on camera actually walking. She won't do much performance as you can see, but still look at that walking! Also, just for the heck of it, the second video is of Mabel playing her harmonica and penny whistle and pretending to burp. She's a one man band!

The pitter patter of little feet...

It is amazing how much can happen for a 19 month old in two weeks. The last couple of weeks Mabel has gone from her wobbly step-step to her full fledged walking without holding on to anything from one end of the house to another. She still keeps her little hands up by her shoulders to steady herself, but now she can carry her baby doll or any toy and walk! Last week I was sweeping the floor and asked her to follow me, thinking that she would hold on to the wall and she just walked right behind me laughing as I pretended to run from her.

Well, also her new passion now besides walking is sweeping the floor - I guess I make it look like so much fun. Yes, I think the cleaning gene was passed down to Mabel - poor thing. She stands there with my broom and "sweeps" the kitchen, hall, even our back deck! She will see my broom and plead "broooommm! Mama broooommmm" She was so obsessed with sweeping the floors that my mother who watches her during the day made her a paper fan because it was so hot. She showed Mabel how to fan herself and when she gave it to her and said "fan", Mabel looked at it shook her head and said "No! Broom!" And from what my mother said she swept the whole house with that fan over the course of the day! So of course I got her a little broom and now we have "Mama's Broom" and "Mabel's Broom". Perfect.

So yes, Mabel is more mobile than ever and you know I love it. I love watching her walk around and stand on her own. I also love her running narrative of "own", "up", "down", "step". She's also talking up a storm. Not only does it seem like she will say at least ten new words a day, she's also putting words together at an amazing rate. She also has taken to making her toys "talk". The other day when we were trying to get Mabel to settle down for bed, which was a strange night because of some big passing thunderstorms, Mabel and I were cuddling on the couch. I often take her stuffed animals and hold them up and talk in a high pitched voice and say "Hi Mabel" or things like that. Well, Mabel picked up her stuffed cat and held her up and said "Hi Mabel" in a high pitched voice. I acted surprised and said "Mabel she can talk!". Mabel was laughing and then proceeded to make her stuffed cat say "Hi Papa, Hi Mama" and the more surprised I acted the more she pretended it was her cat talking. I thought this was pretty funny and in my humble opinion advanced for a 19 month old to have pretend play like that. She's so funny. That's her new think, she even makes our cats say "Hi Mabel"!

Well, I think it is safe to say we've had a great summer so far. This past weekend we took Mabel for a walk on one of the local Islands. To walk the whole island is about a mile, she walked about a third of it on her own. She kept pointing at the water and saying "big tubby!" and asking to go swim. She loves the water! Zack and I bought a little pull mouse toy for her first birthday and now that is walking she finally can use it, but keeps tripping up because she tries to watch it ask she walks so Zack was obsessed with getting her a corn popper toy - you know that fisher price thing that you push in front of you and the balls pop? So I checked (because of my hate for plastic) and healtytoys.org rate it as safe so we ventured out to *gasp* Toys'R'us and bought ourselves one. Mabel walked around the store "pop" "pop" she would announce as the balls popped. She can almost run with that thing!

So yes, I'm a happy Momma right now. Zack's a happy Papa and Mabel is a happy walking talking toddler. It is so good to see her moving like she wanted, you can see the joy in her face when she realizes what she's doing. She's come a long way. We are taking a two week break from physical therapy. The doctor is on vacation, but it worked out to be perfect timing since she wanted Mabel to walk for a couple of weeks with no therapy (you know once she got the hang of walking) to see how she does. Then we go back to make sure everything looks good, no limping or favoring the right side.

What a relief to see my little girl upright!

A walk on the beach...

Mabel walked a lot today! We visited my mother at her home for a change, Mabel probably thinks she lives in the car since she watches Mabel at our house and Mabel has only been out to her place a few times. At my mom's Mabel walked around unassisted more than I've ever seen. Maybe she was too interested in the new surrounds to notice that she wasn't holding our hands - or maybe it was the yellow ball my mom took out of the closet for her. She would throw the ball then walk over and pick it up and throw it again! She did great! Then after that we took Mabel to the beach to walk in the sand. Mabel walked, and ran with papa, and even put her feet in the water - well a wave touched her feet! She loved it! Originally we planned on making a morning of the beach, but the forecast said rain so we thought we'd just visit for a walk - good thing because about a half an hour after these pictures it poured!

Then off to the store after her nap and Mabel walked around Target! She held onto our hands and walked up and down the isles with us. I love seeing the smiles on people's faces as they passed us. They didn't even seem to mind that we were slowing traffic down!

I just can't explain the feeling I get when I hold Mabel's hand and she walks next to me with those tiny steps. Then to add the feeling I get when she's holding on to both mine and Zack's hand walking in between us, smiling the whole time - our little family!

Well, those little legs must have been tired by the end of the day because Miss Mabel was fussy and tired! We had a great day though - more practice tomorrow!

Oh No....

My Mabel always makes me laugh. Mabel loves to walk to me and Zack and yell "Oh Noooo!" as she threatens to tickle us. She gets so excited that she falls over laughing.

Walking is getting better, we had our physical therapy session yesterday and she made out very well. She walked almost across the room. I think she is still so unsure of herself and you know as I look at other babies feet, Mabel's feet are quite small in comparison for her age. She still wears a size 3 in some shoes! I see smaller babies and they have little stocky legs and they look so sturdy. Mabel has such long slender legs and tiny feet, no wonder she doesn't feel steady on her feet! Well, anyway, she is getting better. She's toddles around, but still prefers to crawl most of the time. I don't mind that at all, she's moving at her own pace and she will eventually prefer to walk, no rush. My mom said she won't walk at all during the day for her. If mom asks her "Mabel can you walk to the ottoman?" Mabel will nod yes, but then crawl and laugh. I guess my mom needs to be more specific!

So our physical therapist is very happy with Mabel's progress. Mabel still isn't rotating her hips naturally, she kind of swings her legs, so the doctor did a lot of stretches to try and loosen that up. It is such a process, I'm so reminding how much her surgery and casting has changed her body and her realization of what you body can do. The time she was in that cast and brace was such a formative time and she has to learn that she's able to do things, but she's very smart. The physical therapist keeps reminding me how smart she is! It makes me feel good to hear that she thinks Mabel is so wonderful - she also paid me a complement that meant a lot too, she said I have great parenting skills. She said that nine times out of ten she only hears parents tell their kids what they are doing wrong, but I'm always encouraging Mabel for what she does right. That made me feel good. Oh, and what made me feel equally good is that when my mom took this picture of Mabel, she told Mabel to smile because this picture is for Mummy...look at that face!

Hi Papa...

Zack called on his way home from work to say he'd be home in about 15 minutes. As usual I asked Mabel if she'd like to talk to Papa on the phone, typically that is less of a conversation and more of a struggle with Mabel pressing buttons, but today was different. I held the phone up to Mabel's ear and told her to say hi to Papa. She said "Hi Papa!" I could hear Zack talk to her so excited to actually hear her voice over the phone clearly talking. Then I told her to say love you. She said, "uve ooo" - well close enough for me and Zack! Then I told to see you at home and she said "Elmo". Well OK that was a tough one to repeat. Then I told her to say bye, she said "Bye Bye" and waved at the phone. Probably the highlight of Zack's month! A real conversation with Mabel. She's the best!

Lady of Leisure...

Holiday Weekend! I love the weekend, being with Zack and Mabel is the best - no matter what we do. Now, I didn't get a longer weekend for the holiday, it was my typical weekend, but it was still perfect.

The last week I've been working some extra hours at work, I'm still part time, but I'm working an extra hour a day...it is hard. It is only an hour, yes, but that hour I'm so aware I was spending with Mabel and now I'm not. It also throws off Mabel's night time by about an hour. Dinner is later, tubby is later and bed - yes that is later too. It is crazy how one little hour could change life so much!

So enough of my whining, I'm still a lucky Mummy that is able to work less than full time, but I just miss my baby! So that is exactly why I love the weekends. This weekend was no exception. We visited another beach and Mabel had a blast again. She played in the sand this time, I think the water was a bit too cold for her. There was a baby right next to us that was Mabel's age! That baby must have been 10 pounds bigger, sometimes I forget how much of a peanut Mabel is (she looks big to me!). The other baby was walking in and out of the water, Mabel wouldn't have any of that, but we did have a blast.

I feel such a sense of true relief now that Mabel can walk. I can't explain it, even though she isn't free walking all the time like babies her age are, I still feel so good knowing she can. Also every time we are having fun like this all I can realize is that we truly were that her surgery and her casting was in the winter. I remember people saying that to us when we started the process and it made me mad at the time thinking that it didn't matter what time of year it was, that our baby had to go through it at all was horrible, but it is so true that we did luck out there. Mabel didn't have to deal with the heat and we didn't have to miss out on this fun. It also gave Mabel the healing time she needed to really enjoy days like this. So much to be thankful for...even dumb luck timing.

On an amazing note, Sunday Mabel did the coolest thing. We were playing in the livingroom and sometimes I let Mabel endulge in watching Sesame Street videos on YouTube on our Ipod. Well, we watched Elmo use the potty, she thought it was great. About 10 minutes later she said "Pee Pee" and crawled off. We followed her and sure enought she went right to the toilet and patted the lid. I asked her if she needed to sit on the potty and she told me yes so we tried! She looked so tiny percariouly perched on the seat, but she sat there for a little bit then said she was done. She got down, refused to put her diaper back on and peed on the floor. "uh oh...pee pee." she said. But you know I was so proud of her, she had the idea, she knew she had to go and where she needed to try and do it! Its a start. My baby is growning up!

So Mabel and I finished off our Mabel and Mummy Monday with just hanging out at the house trying to beat the 90 degree heat. We did make a quick jont to the store to buy a potty seat - she of course picked out the one with Elmo all over it. I tried to convince her that she waned the simple bamboo one, but no Elmo. I guess I should have known if I brought her with me we'd end up with something like that! Oh well, that one can go upstairs. We had fun, lots of fun! But then again we always do!

A New Friend...

I obsess...maybe that is something you haven't noticed about me, but I do. I read and read about things and once you learn something you just can't un-learn it. I'm always reading about the safety of toys these days. The poisons that are in plastic...of I hate plastic! Do you know how hard it is to avoid plastic when you have a baby - I can't even explain how hard it is to find just simple play toys that aren't riddled with plastic or PVC or fire retardants...all of which are bad for little bodies. So I search online, healthytoys.org, The Good Guide, SafBaby - oh I have lists of sites for reference and my holy grail was a true baby doll for Mabel.

Mabel loves baby dolls. At physical therapy she plays with the baby dolls. At the in door play area she will carry one around (or should I say drag it) joyfully exclaiming "Baby Doll!". I cringe everytime I see her hug one of those things or kiss it knowing the crap that is in them from all my over obsessive research. So I've looked and we've tried fabric dolls, sure she likes them, but not like those plastic things. Finally I found one by a German doll company Kathe Kruse. Yes it is plastic, but it is the safest plastic rated that I could find. Not a cheep doll either, but it is worth the extra safety and from what I could find it is the safest I can get. I found one on EBay for less than half of retail (yeah me!) and she still had her tags on!

We go it in the mail and Mabel knew it was for her. At first I wanted to wait for Christmas or her birthday, but hey as Zack said no one ever asks what they got for their 2nd birthday or 3rd Christmas right? She doesn't care. So here is Mabel's baby doll.

I asked Mabel what she wants to name her. "Papa" she said. I said "Oh, you can't name her we already have a Papa in the family." She thinks and smiles, "Baby Doll." So it is our new member of the family. Mabel is a little Mummy.

Oh and for all those people who say, "its just a doll, it isn't like she's going to eat it!" well exhibit 'A'.

All is new with the world...

You know it is amazing how different you see the world when you have a baby you want to show it to. Zack and I hate swimming...well, I don't hate swimming as much as I don't like going into large bodies of water in fear of what is under the water. Zack's case is he really can't swim and also dislikes the water. But here we were Saturday all excited to take Mabel to the lake. Yes us...the lake...beach...sand...sun...swimming. We laugh thinking about this combination and us since this is not our idea of fun. We are not the outdoorsy kind of people. We put that all aside because of our growing excitement to show Mabel the water and swimming.

We found a great little beach only about 40 minutes from our house on a lake. I guess Zack had been there a few times as a kid. Mabel knew exactly what it was when she saw the lake - "Tubby" she said. We got our sun block on and walked her towards the water and she walked right in. She loved it! She went down the little kid slide they had she walked around in the water, on the beach, back in the water, pointed at the kids playing, she was so excited. WE were too. I'm so glad we could do that with her. So now Zack's looking up all the local beaches, apparently this is going to be one of our weekend things now. I'm happy to hear that because it really was fun. I loved swimming as a kid, but as I got older I got more aware of the yucky things in the water and that really sucked all the fun out of swimming. So we are kids again and loving it.

Oh, and Mabel couldn't have looked cuter in her little bathing suit!

So later that day we went to Zack's parents house for Mabel's cousin's 7th birthday party. Mabel enjoyed a little cake and ice cream...we're going to create a monster. I assure you we feed her a very nice balanced diet otherwise. At at home Mabel enjoyed her first big girl tubby. Yes, I was still having her sit in her baby tub...hey there was a toddler side for her to sit on. Well, she now has graduated to sitting in the tub and since we have a nice big cast iron claw foot tub it is like a swimming pool for her. She was so proud and excited!

Nothing to do now...

It has been a busy week for Miss Mabel. Monday we had her 18 month check up...complete with a shot (a surprise to both of us). Poor Mabel, but she did so well. Then yesterday we had her physical therapy just like I bragged about in my last post and today we had our follow up with the orthopedic surgeon.

So the visit went well. We had an x-ray and the doctor showed us her hip angles: 30 degrees on the right hip and 35 degrees on the left. Normal is 25 degrees. He said the angles are better than last check up, last month. This is the first time he's ever given us the angles, it didn't matter much before the cast since she had a dislocated hip and it wasn't something they could get the last x-ray since her left leg still wouldn't go straight out. So he seemed happy with her healing. He said that if the angles don't correct themselves over time then surgery would need to be done again to correct it, but that is rare and wouldn't happen for a couple of years...not that I felt better hearing that! But he seemed encouraged that we are going in the right direction in this hip dysplaisa journey. He also was happy to hear of the new walking skills!

Our reward for this good healing? We don't have to go back for another 6 months - right after Mabel's 2nd birthday I'd like to point out. Also no x-rays for another year...happy to hear that, although I love to see photographic evidence that her hip is in place I'm worried about all these x-rays and the radiation. So good news all around.

Oh, and the picture...Mabel enjoying some ice cream on a hot summer's day! Can you tell she loves it?

This calls for a certificate...

After a few days of practice Mabel's walking skills are getting better. She still has doubts that she can go more than about six steps, but she is getting good. The other flaw to Mabel's walking practice is she wants to walk between me and Zack, she'll walk to me then him then me than him...she gets so excited she starts falling over! Its OK though, we have tons of fun!

So, this morning Mabel had her first physical therapy session since the big steps were taken on Saturday. We were sooooo excited to show off our skills. Mabel promised she'd show the physical therapist what she could do and just in case Zack met us there so if she would only do it between us at least the doctor could see. Mabel held up her promise and walked to her doctor. Oh, it was so exciting and I thought the doctor was going to cry! She gave Mabel a certificate for walking. Mabel was so excited she said "Woooowwww!" I think it was the gold sticker that really got her! So Zack was able to sit in on most of this session which was a treat for both him and Mabel since he has had to work the last several weeks. Mabel had to show Papa all the cool stuff she does at her physical therapy.

Yes, the physical therapist agrees this a turning point. Mabel's stride looks good and she said that from the looks of her steps she could walk across the room but probably doesn't realize it yet. So we are going back next week and we'll see how things go. The doctor wants to see her walk and then we'll take some time off a week or so and go back to make sure she isn't developing anything like a limp. Also the doctor couldn't believe Mabel was already putting two words together at her age. She looked it up in her books and wanted to point out that is a 21 month milestone...I know, Mabel's so advanced!

Yay Mabel!!!

Finally, the "big" day has arrived! Mabel took her first steps! We just got her PJ's on after her tubby when Zack stood her up and then...she walked! She first took two steps towards Zack. We both saw it and couldn't believe it! We tried again, then she took three steps! I cried, Zack cried and Mabel laughed with delight. Then we grabbed the camera and captured this video. Oh, Mabel is so proud of herself and we couldn't be more proud of her. This is such a huge symbol of how far we've come in this crazy hip dysplaisa journey and you can tell Mabel felt it too. We kept practicing I'll have you know and she has taken about 6-7 steps in a row! Oh, tomorrow is going to be fun as we practice our new walking skills.

So yes, we are very happy here. This is the best Father's Day present Mabel could have given Zack! That little girl is always full of surprises!

Oh funny girl...

The sad reality is there are a lot of little things I'm sure with time I'll forget about Mabel's babyhood, as sad as that thought is, there is just too much to remember. I hope I never forget the funny, strange and silly things she tends to do. Like for example her sleeping...this past Saturday we had a wedding to go to and *gasp* it was at 5pm and *gasp* we wouldn't be home to put Mabel to bed. Now, I realize that many parents do successfully go out like grown-ups and their kids fair well, but we aren't like everyone else and our baby isn't fine with stuff like that. So needless to say Mabel did OK, but she did not got to bed until 9:15 after we rushed home early from the wedding to specifically put her to bed. So fast forward to Tuesday night. Mabel just didn't do well with that one night off schedule and she would not go to bed Sunday or Monday night without a fight. Tuesday she really really fought. She sat there in her crib, sitting up in the corner holding onto the crib rails falling asleep and when she started to fall over she'd shake her head and say "no..no.." I've never seen anything like it before, I mean she's done lots of stuff trying to stay wake but holding on to the crib like that? She's so funny. Then Friday night...she didn't cry, she didn't hold on to the crib, but she did lay there looking at me through the crib rails and she slowly reached her arm through and touched me saying "tickle tickle" and then laughed. She's a funny girl and we are very sleepy parents...sleepy but happy.

Oh, the picture...this is Mabel's camera "smile". It appears in the picture she's screaming but I assure you not even a tiny peep is escaping her mouth she's smiling! Yes, she's sitting in her book bin, again silly girl and look at those curls! I hope I remember every second and if not...well it is a good thing I'm writing it down!

A lot can happen in a year...

I never really truly understood how much a year can bring change until I had Mabel. It really does put things in perspective. Yesterday morning when I was getting Mabel dressed she saw this little polka-dot dress in her closet and gave me the "ooooohhhhh...." that makes me know she has chosen what she wants to wear. It was one of my favorite little outfits from last year. A sweet little green onsie with a little dress that fits over it...surely that wouldn't still fit! Well it did, a bit shorter, but over all still looked so cute. We paired it up with a pair of orange pants and viola, or "Ta-Da" as Mabel says, a perfect little outfit.

After seeing her in that all I could picture was her last year at this time in that same outfit. So here is a picture of Mabel last year at the end of May. I never really thought of Mabel as bald, but looking at the pictures I realize she was! She's still Mabel though, still giving me that "Really? You're taking another picture?" look. I'm excited that she's able to wear a lot of the cute little clothes we have from last year. I guess she's a peanut, she still wears cloths that say 6 months! But she was always tiny since she was a month early, we just kept thinking she would one day get huge and last year bought lots of 9 month clothes for the summer that I guess luckily still fit!

Last year at this time I had NO idea of what we would be going through in the fall in winter with Mabel's hip dysplasia. I really had no clue what life was bring our way. I'm happy with the progress that Mabel is making and hope soon to report that she is taking her first steps...my fear? She does it when I'm at work!!! I'm not so secretly scared to miss that very important moment, and with all the work I've put into helping her with her physical therapy...well it would be really hard for me to miss that! You can't plan these things, right?

Anyway...look at Miss Mabel, more hair, much taller, so much stronger and I never thought it was possible but even cuter! Poor little thing has a cold (as do I), but still photographs very well I must say! I can honestly say from the beginning with Mabel every second I get to spend with her is the best time of my life...she is so much fun and makes me smile no matter what - even through the hard stuff!

28 Seconds!

Mabel's has been doing great, but still no hints of walking unassisted. She just seems to want to wait for when she can do it right I guess. I'm trying to not over think this (too much). I mean she likes to walk, she will walk around the house holding on to our hands, sometimes she'll do it holding on with one hand. She loves to walk with her cart too, but still no attempts to do it alone. Outside all she wants to do is walk around holding my hands, but she has the death grip on my fingers. The physical therapist doesn't hold on to her hands when she walks, she leans Mabel against her legs and holds Mabel's chest to give her the feeling of stability, I try doing that, but I'm taller than the doctor and it is pretty uncomfortable to do, and honestly not as fun as holding Mabel's hands - I love having her standing next to me like that. The exciting news is this week she stood up alone without holding onto anything for 28 seconds! That's a new world record you know! She can't get up to standing from the floor without pulling herself up on something, but she will stand for a few seconds here and there, but gets so excited about her accomplishment that she starts to laugh and falls over. This 28 seconds is a huge deal and even she knew it. I can tell she is so proud of herself when she realizes what she is doing. Maybe soon she'll just be able to balance there enough she'll feel confident to try a step! The 28 seconds hasn't happened again, she's still averaging about 12 seconds, but she can do it and I think she remembers that.

On a not so fun note Zack has a cold and it looks like we are all getting one now...oh no!

Check out the picture of Mabel enjoying fresh cherries! She loves her fruit...and cookies, I made the mistake of making a little batch of "baby cookies" for her. I hardly put sugar in them, but oh boy...every other word out of that little girls mouth now is "Cookie!"

Memorial Day Weekend...

So far we've had a great Memorial Day Weekend. Zack and I were married on Memorial Day 2003 so we have made a tradition of having our "Anniversary Weekend". Of course since Mabel was born she has been part of the fun and this year is no exception.

We started our weekend by picking up a little swing set for the backyard. Mabel has loved going to the park so much that it was getting hectic some days trying to get there before work so I thought having a little swing set in the backyard would give us the option of staying home on days that a jont to the park wouldn't work out for me. We of course will still go to the park as much as we can! Zack and I assembled it on Friday and the look on Mabel's face on Saturday morning was priceless! Mabel's new passion is climbing everything. Stairs, Ladders, furniture...everything - check her out on the ladder of her new slide!

After a ton of fun and pictures on her new swing set, we then went to a local animal park that has rescued wild animals. Mabel had such a blast looking at the deer, raccoons, turkeys, bears and all the other animals - she also loved to baby watch as there were tons of other babies in strollers and walking around. Her favorite animal? This bear cut-out. She thought it was the funniest thing ever (as you can see)! We then took an amazing nap, yes WE, and continued our day by going out for dinner. Mabel was a dream and showed off her new assisted walking skills to everyone we knew. She wooed the restaurant staff and got a hat and balloon. The best part? She fell asleep a little after 7:15!

So after such an amazing Saturday we had a perfect Sunday too. Of course we enjoyed our swing in the morning. We then had breakfast with Zack parents - Mabel again was so good at the restaurant. After breakfast we decided to checkout a new park and spent some time there. Again, Mabel took a record breaking nap - I got to take a little one myself! We in the afternoon went to the store since Mabel broke my last pair of sunglasses and headed to a Memorial Day party (even though it was Sunday). It was a very nice party, there was a 8 month old and a 16 month old there - yet all three girls were roughly the same size, Mabel was smaller than the 16 month old. Of course the "is she walking" question was thrown around at us and this time I answered right away, "No, and this is why..." You know what, it doesn't matter she isn't walking on her own, the walking 16 month old baby couldn't stand up unassisted and never crawled - why is walking seen as the ultimate physical skill right? We then headed home after Mabel made it clear she was done with the party and pulled out the grill and Zack grilled up our dinner. Yum. Mabel got to try corn on the cob for the first time. And then yes, she fell asleep at 7:20!

Let's see what Monday has planned for us!

Very impressed...

As Mabel has decided to wake up around 5:30 the last couple of weeks...oh and not fall asleep until about 8:30, I have not had much time to myself to update my blog - or do much of anything else for that matter. Today is no exception!

With that said, Mabel's progress is wonderful. Her physical therapy session yesterday went very well and the therapist was quite impressed with her change over the past week. Mabel's new attempts of standing on her own have grown to about 10 seconds of free standing before she gets so excited that she starts laughing and falls over. She will let go of what she is using to support herself and throw her hands above her head and start smiling! The longest was just Wednesday when I got home from work, I was on the floor with her and she tried to stand up from the floor and grabbed on to me and just stood there - smiling. Not only is it the cutest thing I've ever seen, but it is also so impressive since she is becoming more daring. She also will forget that she isn't holding on to furniture sometimes as she plays standing up, so I think it is only a matter of time before her balance is perfected.

Walking is Mabel's new passion. At home she wants to use her walker (best purchase I've made in a long time!) or hold on to furniture. At the park she demands to walk every where. Most times she can manage if I hold one hand, it is slow moving, but she is able to walk in the grass or from the swings to the slide that way. Other times I hold both of her hands and she walks in front of me - she sometimes "runs" when we do this. It is both weird and amazing to see her upright so often, I just know when she gets this walking down there will be no stopping her!

She's Trying...

Mabel is really trying to stand. The want is there, but the legs are still not too sure. While on the floor in the crawling position she will put her bum in the air and push up with her hands to try and stand, but falls right back down on her bum. But she tries and that is the first step. Zack and I were soooooo excited to see her do that the other day. She always looks so proud and we probably do too! She doesn't attempt it much, but she does occasionally get the gumption up to try here and there. She is cruising more during the day and also cruising one handed. I think she wants to make sure she can do this before she tries. Practice makes perfect!

Monday when we went to the park we met a 18 month old little girl who didn't really walk either! The little girl could stand and take one step, but was trying to crawl around instead - that made me so happy! Mabel was so excited when she saw the baby stand up and step, but she was even more excited when she saw her crawl! So Mabel played on the toddler area again in the park. She climbed both up and down the stairs this time and I allowed her to get a little dirty. Hey, that's big for me! She also loved playing on the toddler "climbing wall". It is a slightly inclined bumpy "slide" thing. She actually could climb pretty well. Her physical therapist will be so excited!

Last Thursday at her physical therapy session I told the physical therapist how the ortho said she didn't need to come anymore. I told her I trust he knows what he is talking about regarding Mabel's hip, but I didn't feel comfortable stopping PT yet. She agreed with me. She said that he's looking at one thing, and that is true. He wanted us to go to PT to improve Mabel's hip flexibility, but there is so much more that Mabel needs. Our physical therapist said that he looks at one thing, she's looking at the big picture. The game plan is to continue to go until Mabel can walk, then we'll go back to make sure she isn't developing a limp or strange gate. That's is a stellar plan if you ask me. The physical therapy has really helped her a lot and she's still turning her left foot in and her knee out as she tries to stand, I don't want all this hard work fixing her hip to be undone by her having an issue that will cause knee or hip problems when she's older due to her learning to walk in a modified way. Her body was in a cast for three very fundamental months of her physical development. Her body loss tone and muscle. She developed modified ways of crawling and rolling and she relied on her upper body much more than she would have. Her body doesn't know these things so she is continuing to do things in a slightly modified way, we are teaching her body to unlearn some of these modified things now. I think physical therapy is the best things we ever did in this process, I would recommend it to anyone going through life after the spica.

Mother's Day...

Thanks to Zack and Mabel, I had a wonderful Mother's Day. Zack organized a lovely Mother's Day brunch with our Mothers. He is such an amazing cook it felt like we were in a five star restaurant with the spread he made! I'll be honest at first I was annoyed on Saturday that I was cleaning the house for Mother's Day - not that I don't normally clean on Saturday night, it just rubbed me the wrong way since I had a tough day with Mabel's teething, etc., but Mother's Day was a dream.

This past year has been a roller coaster! I'm so glad we made it through and are continuing to get past Mabel's life revolving around her hip. Gone are the seeing the orthopedic every two weeks, gone are the constant x-rays, braces and cast. With that said I still have the fears and worry, but that will probably be here for a while...

So as you can see from the picture Mabel had a great Mother's Day too. Of our attempts of Mummy and Mabel pictures this is not only my favorite, but this is the best - yes we are in our PJ's and Mabel did not want to sit still and smile, but she was being so silly and making me laugh! She's always good at making me laugh.

Happy Mother's Day to me! Every day I'm thankful to be Mabel's Mum!

Down!...

So for the past couple of weeks Mabel's favorite word (besides Mama & Papa) is Down! She says it with such gusto that you can't help but respect it, she knows she mobile and she wants to move. The problem is she can't walk and when she's excited she only wants to crawl, no cruising, so in certain situations she can't get down. The park for example, it is shredded wood chips and god knows what else, plus some very excited running little ones - Mabel just points and pleads down whenever we are there. I wish I could let her explore and wander, but I can't. I try to explain to her that when she's able to walk she can get down, but I also don't want her to think that she's being punished. She watches in amazement as other babies toddle around, pointing and saying "baby".

In the interim Mabel has perfected climbing stairs and pretty much anything. She loves to climb, she will create stairs out of objects to have an excuse to climb! I tried letting her climb on the toddler structures at the playground, but she kept picking up every bit of wood chip that was on it saying "uh-oh" and handing it to me, it took her about 10 minutes to get up to the landing and it was only five steps! What can I say, she's a neat freak like her Mum! Luckily it was early in the morning so Mabel and I were the only ones there.

Since Mabel needs a place that she can really move around and explore outside of home we went to an indoor play area here in town on Sunday. Zack's parents brought Mabel's cousin Issac, Mabel keeps talking about him - well she keeps saying Issac. It was amazing for her (Issac had a great time too!), she got to go anywhere, touch everything and crawl as far as the eye can see. At a crucial point I realized we were so excited to get out of the house that we actually forgot the diaper bag, I know parenting 101! Zack scooted home and got it, Mabel stayed for like two hours, she couldn't have been happier and she took a power nap that afternoon. It was great to see her enjoy herself like that. So these days Mabel lives for the playgrounds. She asks for the swing by saying "sweeee" and swaying back and forth. She is also attempting to stand. On the bed Sunday she would straighten her legs and push herself up to stand. She loved it! Yesterday we practiced standing, she laughs and giggles when I let go and she freestands for a second or two.

Now, not to focus on this, but Mabel was the only crawler at the play area we visited. Well, there was a 10 month old who was crawling, but he would walk if his mom held his hand. I'm not comparing, just noting. Mabel can do what ever she needs to do to get around and I'm confident that she won't be 3 and still crawling, but it is annoying when someone asks her age and realizes she's 17 months, I can see a puzzled almost judging look on their face. I want to say I don't care, but I do sorta care, I don't want people to think there is "something wrong" with her. The mom of the 10 month old noticed Mabel talking and was surprised and commented. She asked Mabel's age and I told her, you could tell she thought Mabel was closer to her sons age. I know, I know, to heck with what people think. Mabel is smart and wonderful and has come a long, long way with her mobility. I guess sometimes I wonder if I need to mention her surgery and casting to put into context the non-walking...but then again I don't want that to define who Mabel is.

"Normal" Hip...

Mabel's check up with the orthopedic surgeon went great. He said that he's very happy with Mabel's improvement and that her hip appears normal. We just have to go back in two months! Yeah, he even said we probably won't have to come back for a few months after that. How exciting. I[m still chronically afraid that her hip will dislocate again, I guess I'll live with that fear for a long time, but I think that is normal. He said that she doesn't need to go back to PT, but I think we'll keep her in until she at a point to walk. It can't hurt right?

See the picture? This is Mabel's new game with Papa before bath time. She lays in her bean bag chair and Zack covers her with toys. She just lays there still, hiding... she loves it!

In Memory of Lucy...

On April 30th, we awoke to find our beloved cat Lucy had passed during the night. This was a very sudden and shocking discovery since Lucy was only two years old. Zack and I woke up at my typical time to get ready since Mabel had an early morning appointment. Zack discovered Lucy in the living room, laying on the floor. He knew that wasn't her normal sleeping spot. This has been very hard for us, it appears that she had a hidden heart problem. We are all very sad at the loss of Lucy, we had always pictured Mabel and Lucy growing up together since they were always such buds. Lucy seemed to fancy herself as Mabel's Mummy, always attentive and watching over her since birth. Mabel aways got a laugh when she would discover Lucy hiding under the furniture or racing through the room.

Lucy will forever be missed and Mabel will learn of her wonderful life through story.

Another great weekend!

Oh, Tuesdays are a bummer. I hate having to go back to work for the week, but we did have a stellar weekend!

Saturday when I got home from work Mabel was sleeping and Zack filled me in on how the two of them had a great day of playing and visiting with Zack parents. It is nice that Mabel and Papa have their day too, even though it is every other week. We all enjoyed a nice walk around the neighborhood together. Mabel loves when Papa comes on our walks!

Sunday we decided to check out the playground not too far from our house. Mabel had a blast in the swings. Look how little she looks in the swing! She just couldn't decide and kept asking to try another. I guess she wanted to see if they were all the same. My mom speaks to her in french during the day, so she says more in french. It is pretty cute. So she points at everything and says "encore". Very sweet. I had to explain that to our physical therapist since Mabel kept saying it. So she tried all the swings and loved the slide. It is a bit hard since she can't walk and I know she really wanted to crawl around, but she did great. We saw ducks - she quacked! We sat down by the river watching the birds too. All very fun stuff. It is great seeing her do stuff like this, I keep remembering when she was in the spica and couldn't fit into anything. I do wish she were able to walk, seeing all those babies her age and younger than her being able to really enjoy the playground broke my heart a bit as she watched pointing saying baby all excited seeing them climb on the toddler area, but she'll get there too.

Monday Mabel and I had to hit the store so afterwards she and I enjoyed the park again since it was so nice out. She wanted to stay in the swing and point at all the other babies. She stayed in there for 45 minutes! She was starting to fall asleep! She did not want to go for a stroller walk at all, just swing. We headed home and ate lunch then she enjoyed an amazing nap. We had a great day of playing on the floor afterwards and laughing. She's so much fun!

Well, back to work today! This weekend we are hoping to try out an indoor playground that is in the area. I think she'll love that since she'll be free to crawl around and climb things and yes they have swings!

Another week...

Well, it has been another great week. Mabel is really trying to stand - actually she allows us to help her stand. If we hold her hips and tell her to get ready she can free stand with out holding on to anything for about three seconds. She really doesn't want us to help her "walk" much since she realizes that she can get there herself and so much quicker if she crawls. That's OK though, I know she'll get it soon.

Her physical therapy went well this week. She tolerated lots and lots of stretching and walking and standing. She wasn't allowed to crawl this week, only be upright and she did great. It seems like she's really locking her knees so we have to work on that and she still isn't really using her hips. It will come in time, her physical therapist said she just has to learn to trust her body and that her left leg is a strong as the right. She's a smart cookie so I know she'll get it!

Overall I'm happy with her progress every week. I think she really is learning well and she is now taking risks with her standing and stepping. She can use her little walking cart without assistance! Her physical therapist said she'd like to see her until she can walk since that is where she should be at. I'm fine with that - plus Mabel loves going there since there are tons of toys!

Oh, yes, the picture. Mabel playing banjo with papa. She's so funny and loves making music! She always uses her piano that Santa brought, her xylophone and drums. Actually everything to Mabel is a drum! She also dances if you say "dance" or if she hears any music of any kind. She'll even dance to the blender or food processor! That funny girl!