An official BIG girl

Yes Elizabeth is an official BIG girl now. She has moved into a big girl bed in her new room. She had chosen the colour blue herself and is quite happy that her room is 'Dinoco Blue' (a car from the Car movie). We all love her big girl bed as it is great for cuddling and having an occasional nap (Daddy's favorite).
Her second momentous milestone is big girl underwear. She is a bit let down as Cars do not make girls underwear, she really wants Lightening McQueen underwear. After 4months of trying she is now dry during the day. She does not let us know that she has to go which for her is funny because she is so verbal but when she is taken regularly she is dry. As for poops the code phrase is 'Mommy I am cold I need a sweater' she has not associated the goosebumps with needing to go to the toilet but when we hear the phrase we grab and run (I have ran blocks) and she is usually successful. Her rewards now are receiving money for her piggy bank to buy a toy. A dry day is a 'money day' as she calls it, she is now saving her money for a remote control tarantula which she saw at Toys R Us. I am not looking forward to the day when she brings it home as it really is a bit creepy.
She really is turning into a girl, it is saddening but also lots of fun.

Just like Mom

Growing up I was always warned to 'just wait and that one day I will have a child just like me'. I have heard over and over again the stories of how no one wanted to take me out when I was little because I was bound to say something that would have my mother turning every shade of red. Elizabeth is filling my shoes quite well and has us all on the edge when we are out as she is quite quick to notice others. Some of her recent observations have been 'Mama that man/women has a baby in his tummy', 'You are squishy' (to my great Aunt), 'Mama you are all crinkly' and to one of her therapists 'My Daddy has bad manners'. Her most famous observations are telling genders what genitalia they possess. In some instances I have been thankful that people do not understand her all the time but as she is following my footsteps she persists and gets louder until acknowledged. We now know 'the look' and are finding creative ways to distract her when we know she has noticed something.

It took awhile but...

Elizabeth has mastered how to ride a ride-on toy. We are about 2 1/2 years behind but she has finally figured it out. When Elizabeth first started physiotherapy their first suggestion was to get her on a ride-on toy as it was a precursor to walking. We bought ride-on after ride-on thinking that the fault was the style/size but she could never figure out how to move so it become more of an exercise for us as we pushed her. Elizabeth is now happily riding around the house on her airplane with propeller and music at full throttle.
Check out her footwear, Elizabeth scored a pair of jelly shoes from 'Old Lady' (Old Navy) and she loves them. I love how I can see her dainty little feet, they are not outside shoes due to her instability but she loves to wear them around the house.

More Opinions

In my panic from the last Neurologist's appointment I begged for an appointment to see her other Neurologist to discuss the speculations of a neuro-degenerative disorder. We met with Dr. T and thankfully he had received some of her latest bloodwork and her MRI results. He reviewed the MRI and did notice some small changes (small brain atrophy and enlarged ventricles). These changes still do not account for her Ataxic symptoms as they are linked with other types of CP. He feels very strongly that this is 100% related to her prematurity and it is not a degenerative disorder. Dr. T and another Pediatrician watched her walk and could not believe how imbalanced she is, she was walking her normal wobbly way and they were jumping to catch her as they thought she would fall, I could hear DR. T. say 'oh I didn't know she was that Ataxic'. Both Dr's feel strongly that she has Choreo-Athetoid Ataxic Cerebral Palsy. They feel that the movements in her arm are athetoid as they flail and fling uncontrollably when she walks.
We had a long conversation of further testing we could do to determine the cause and to rule out other possibilities but all require painful procedures that we are not willing to put her through. After the scary possibilities we are happy to have Elizabeth as she is happy and wobbly. I will talk with her Developmental Pediatrician and if she agrees we will take Ataxia and say good-bye to all the testing.

Marineland

The weather cooperated and we were able to meet up with Shannon, Brian and the girls at Marineland. Elizabeth was so excited to see her friends and Marineland on the same day. Every time the commercial for Marineland comes on at home Elizabeth screams for me to come and watch with her. Elizabeth loved the rides, she was a bit let down as she could only go only the little rides and not the big roller coasters, she really is a daredevil. She loved feeding the beluga whales, deer and bears. The beluga's enjoyed fish, the deer loved ice cream cones and the bears expired corn pops (courtesy of Marineland and our wallets). Elizabeth loved the dolphin show and was amazed by the killer whales. We didn't get home until after bedtime and all the girls were great despite no naps.