Birthday Gift

Hearing GiGi say this was the best gift I could ever receive!!!  She loves everything about birthdays (the Happy Birthday song is one of her all-time favorites), so all day yesterday she said - Happy Birthday Mommy!!!

Hard to Say Goodbye

In less than 3 years, Gianna has been blessed with some amazing therapists, teachers and friends.  She has grown so attached to some of them, and saying "Goodbye" is never easy.  I've written a little before about how special Ms. Leah is.  She has been her teacher in the toddler room, the teacher who first taught her to say "water" which really started GiGi's talking, the teacher who GiGi wakes up every single morning and asks about ("I see Leah today?").  Since GiGi has been on summer break for the past two weeks, she doesn't realize that when she returns to school on Monday, Ms. Leah won't be there.  She moved out of state for her husband's work.  Which of course I completely understand, but also breaks my heart!  Today when Gianna asked me "I see Leah today?" and I told her "Not today!", she followed up for the first time with "Ever again?".....  I couldn't even respond because I knew I would lose it and cry!  

So Ms. Leah, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for the love, caring, patience, and persistence that you have shown with Gianna.  You have always believed in her and brought out the very best in her.  We're going to miss you like crazy and wish you the very best!!!  I am not sure if GiGi will get to see you "ever again", but I know that the positive influence you've had on her life will remain with her always.

"What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, 

for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us."

 - Helen Keller

Last day of spring semester

Ms. Leah doing an assessment at home with GiGi.
This is the first time I ever heard G start to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"

Eyes on the Prize

These pictures show the moments when we were having fun.....
No pictures of the grumpiness, boredom and tears from getting her eyes dilated and waiting for 2 hours!!  

We visited the ophthalmology office today to get Gianna's eyes checked.  I'm anxious to get her a new pair of glasses.  She has loved her purple ones, but they are definitely "well loved" like an old favorite stuffed animal at this point - scratched, scuffed and stretched.  It was a LONG wait today but her doctor did think her eyesight has improved a bit (she is slightly less far-sighted than before).  She does still need to wear her glasses at all times and we need to patch her left eye for a half hour a day.  I was pretty proud of how she could name the pictures on the screen to check her eyesight (hand, cake, bird, etc.).  The only one she was totally mystified on was the phone - it was a picture of a traditional old phone.....which probably no kid her age has ever actually seen!!  But it was neat to see her name the pictures - not only to demonstrate her improved vision, but also due to the fact that she literally wouldn't have been able to say any of the words for these pictures just 6 months ago!  She also sat in the examination chair by herself instead of in my lap for the first time - such a big girl!

Happy 4th of July!

Celebrating the 4th...and a day home together!

No swimming, cookouts or fireworks here today - it has rained ALL day long!!  But we still had lots of fun and smiles sharing the day together with Mimi and Granddaddy, and an afternoon walk through the rain.  

Sharing Mimi's corn on the cob

This picture pretty much sums up the weather here today....

My little Miss America! :)

Next Time Won't You Sing With Me?

Gianna has been completely obsessed with the ABC song for about 2 months now.  She has watched every version available of Elmo singing the ABCs and looks at her ABC book every night.  After practicing about a zillion times, I finally heard her say the WHOLE thing today!  And she even agreed to let me record her.  My favorite parts are the "LMNOP" all running together - and when she pauses to see if her Daisy Duck's beak will actually open.  Little GiGi continues to amaze us with her progress!

Faith, Trust, and a Little Pixie Dust

The words "fun" and "cage" don't normally go together, for obvious reasons!   However, the "fun cage" as it's called at GiGi's physical therapy is a pretty amazing contraption that allows kids to jump, "fly", and do all sorts of things that their body would not normally allow them to do on their own.  Gianna has been looking at the Fun Cage with skepticism and fear for two years, allowing Angelo to get in it to experience the "fun" part.  Finally, she has warmed up to the idea, has faith that physical therapy is actually going to be quite a bit of fun, and trusts that once she's tired of the cage, we'll get her right out.  GiGi now actually requests to get in to jump (or "pop!" as she calls it)! 

This is a video of the first time I got to see her pop!



 "Flying like Tinkerbell" is her absolute favorite activity

Here's the latest video of her working on some balance skills. 

And this picture of Angelo just cracks me up!

All of the Therapy - None of the Tears

Gianna's physical therapy has become much more enjoyable for all involved lately.  We've been taking her every week for well over a year and a half, always with Angelo in tow.  On many, many occasions she would just be glued to me and melt down in tears if her therapist Julie tried to encourage her to try different activities.  Angelo has always been so sweet, just wanting to have fun and play on the equipment, and being constantly encouraging and consoling to Gianna.  Needless to say, I didn't take any pictures at most of our previous sessions!  The pictures from this week are such a striking contrast to what we've experienced before.  I honestly could have never imagined that she would have crawled through the tunnel by herself, rode on the swing with Angelo, and walked the balance beam (!) with Julie holding her hands.  Now, granted, I think a big part of her motivation is the lollipop she receives from the office manager after her session.  When we tell GiGi in the mornings that she's going to physical therapy, she says "Julie!" and "Pink Pop!".   I'm so thankful that she's finally starting to enjoy and really fully participate in her sessions - I know she'll wind up benefiting so much more and Friday mornings are now a little sweeter for us all!