Miss Independent

I always knew deep down that Haley would someday walk, and would do so independently. I knew she would walk without a cumbersome walker or holding out hands. But the uncertainty of how long she would be tethered to someone or something remained a mystery……an agonizing mystery.

She began taking independent steps several months ago, but still required us to be near by to hold her hand to go any significant distance. Today she has proven that she can walk independently wherever she wants to go. We have known that for a long time, I think she just lacked the confidence that she could actually do it. Her teachers at school have been telling us how much she walks at school, but this is the first that she has done this much walking at home.

We ate dinner at my mom and dad's house tonight and she just started walking a little farther and a little farther. Then she walked down the hall to her bedroom, then to the kitchen, then back to the living room. She continued to do this for over 30 minutes. Walking. Completely. INDEPENDENTLY. For. 30. Whole. Minutes!!!!!!

Here is a short video of her showing off her independent walking. The noise she is making is her imitation of a chicken….”bok, bok, bok”. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did tonight!!!!

Almost Crawling

Grandma got a short video clip with her phone of Haley tonight almost crawling. She is so close!!!!

Another First.........

They seem to be coming more and more frequently lately. I think something is really starting to click with Haley. She is enjoying her increased movement and freedom. Today when she woke up from her nap, Grandma found her in her bed sitting up. Up until now, Haley has been unable to transition from one position to another. If you sit her down, she sits, if you lay her down, she lays. She has never been able to go from one position to another. So, much to our surprise, she was found sitting up playing in her bed without anyone helping her do so. Grandma left her that way for a little while because she was happy playing by herself, but when she went back to get her.....there she lay on her belly and was happy. And when she went back again....well you guessed it she was sitting up again. So it seems like its not a fluke thing, she really has figured out that she can control her own positioning. I can't wait to see her do it with my own eyes!!!

Also, against the advice of our PT, we went ahead and bought her a "toy" walker because we have hit a snag with insurance getting her real walker ordered (imagine that!!!!), and the loaner walker is kinda old and the wheels don't work right. She seemed to enjoy the one my mom and dad for her, and I feel like it helps her get a grasp of how she can make herself move without the help of others.....even if it is on wheels. So here is a short video of her running across their living room chasing the chihuahuas (if you look closely, she has their leash in her hand, I think she wanted to capture them). This was taken with a cell phone, so the quality is very bad, but you get the idea.

Starting to Get the Hang of This

Walker.....check!!! Bearing weight.....check!! Able to take steps......check!! Holding on to the walker for dear life.....check!! Forward locomotion.......check!!! All systems go for take off!!!! I literally had goose bumps when I saw this today. Everyday at the end of PT,Beverly (Haley's therapist) lets Haley use her walker and walk back to the waiting room to me. Well today, Haley came out first and Beverly was not holding onto the walker like usual. She was taking steps with the walker without any help at all. We usually have to help push the walker forward while she takes steps. Haley is getting the first taste of independent movement with her walker. Here is a little video clip of her walking today(mostly unassisted, she still needs help with steering and sometimes slides backwards). It is still very scary to let completely go of the walker and every little wobble makes us jump and reach towards her, but she is walking!!!!!!

Haley's New Tricks

Its been FOREVER since I have posted a video. Haley has discovered a few body parts and knows them by name. When I ask her to do "Itsy Bitsy", that means "Itsy Bitsy Spider", her favorite song right now. Seems like she does something new everyday!!! Enjoy!!!

A Girl and Her Cat

Haley just loves her kitties, but you wouldn't be able to tell by how she is treating Baxter in this video. He must really love his sister or he was just too lazy to protest.

Ummmmm, Cereal

ok, here is my first attempt at posting video. Hopefully this will work. The video quality is kinda poor because I have to save it in a smaller file size than the original so that it will fit on the website. This was taken last week when we fed Haley rice cereal for the first time. She seemed to really get a kick out of it. I think she spent more time laughing than eating.