SHE'S WALKING!

All the hard work Elizabeth has done has paid off. She is walking without her walker on her own. She is not quite ready to transfer her new skill to the great outdoors due to frequent falling but at home and even at school she is walking. Her walk is quite unsteady still and she is learning to navigate around uneven surfaces and objects but SHE IS WALKING. We are in awe when we hear a little voice behind us and there she is standing there on her own after having walked into the next room. Way to go Elizabeth we are so proud of you.

First Day At School

Elizabeth has started pre-school and is loving it. She is the only child in her class who does not cry when I drop her off, this has made the transition for mommy so much easier. The staff at her school were so surprised at how well she has done and that she is always happy.
Elizabeth has also found a new appreciation in make-up and while Mommy was getting dressed this morning got into Mommy's make-up and applied the 12hr lipstick to compliment her outfit. As the lipstick is designed to last all day it would not wash off so Elizabeth went to school covered in lipstick and is now in bed with the lipstick still on.

Our First Vacation

Our first family vacation was amazing! We spent a week in Prince Edward Island with Amy, Max and Owen at Max's mom's summer home. PEI is a beautiful island with so much to do, a week is not long enough to experience everything it has to offer. Elizabeth was able to enjoy her vacation with her best friend Owen, the two were joined at the hip they did everything together and even had their baths together. Elizabeth was so excited to go in an airplane for the first time and did great on the plane watching movies and reading books. The weather was perfect, we were able to enjoy a day at the beach. Elizabeth loved digging for potatoes in the potato field, digging in the sand, looking for crabs and lobsters and just hanging out with Owen. Mom and Dad were even able to enjoy time away doing girls (pedicure) and guy stuff (golfing and fishing) with Amy and Max. Max's family were so friendly and made us feel very welcome, they even had a kids party with games, food and a petting zoo. Elizabeth did not want to get out of the pig pen at the party and was amazed by all the animals. We want to give a huge thank you to Nelly and all her family for their hospitality.

PEI was just amazing

Here are some photos from our very first vacation...

PRESCHOOL!!

Where did our baby go? How did she grow up so fast? We can't believe only 2 weeks until Elizabeth starts pre-school. Elizabeth will be attending pre-school 2 mornings a week in September at a center near our home. It has been a lot of work getting this far, integration continues to be challenge in our city and finding a center for Elizabeth was not an easy task. Elizabeth is such an easy going kid and so much fun that I found it quite hard to believe that many centers would not take her because she is not walking. After meeting with the regions supervisors, writing letters to the government, the mayor and the papers we found a spot for her. Elizabeth will be attending a school that has only 6-8 kids in her class, has appropriate acoustics for her hearing, has 45 minutes of gross motor (it is also a dance school). I don't want to get too excited until she has been to school and everything has been worked out but it seems like the perfect place for her.

Here was the letter that was published in the paper.
Two years ago our daughter Elizabeth surprised us by being born 3½ months early weighing only 1 lb 9 oz. As Elizabeth was born too early she has faced many challenges with her development. She has to work very hard to accomplish what comes naturally for other children. Elizabeth is a very happy and social child who loves being around other children, so enrolling her in a nursery school program seemed like the next step in Elizabeth’s development. Because Elizabeth has some developmental challenges she requires an integrated placement which can provide support for both her and her teachers in the school we have chosen.
Our search for a nursery school placement has been an upsetting journey. Visions of dropping off our daughter at a center in our neighborhood have been halted. In the search for a nursery school for our daughter I have been dumbfounded by the fact that in the year 2007 a child with special needs does not have a place in the area which she lives. We have contacted numerous schools and daycare centers to find a placement for our daughter and have been ignored repeatedly, told to call back when our daughter is more “age appropriate” and that she would be welcome but would need to stay in the baby room until she can walk. It is very upsetting to see how hard our daughter works and all that she has had to overcome and for her still not to be accepted by her own community.
We as Elizabeth’s parents are writing to ask all child care centers, child educators, government agencies and the community to accept and advocate for children with special needs. Children with special needs are not the only ones who benefit from integration, the community as a whole can learn from these precious children.

Maybe some answers???

We have been waiting for quite some time to see a neurologist to discuss our concerns with Elizabeth's difficulty with walking. Her original diagnosis of Spastic Diplegia has been questioned as she does not show the signs of tightness that was originally thought. The neurologist we met also agreed that Elizabeth is not spastic or showing low tone as was also questioned before. He feels that Elizabeth sustained an injury to her cerebellum or basal ganglia either from hypoxia or a genetic condition. These injuries often manifest in difficulty with balance, attention difficulties, problems with cognitive-visual skills, articulation problems and difficulty with swallowing.
I almost fell off the chair when he mentioned swallowing difficulties, Elizabeth still has a lot of difficulty with eating and has a huge choking spell once a week. She continues to have difficulty with thin liquids and cannot be left unattended while eating or drinking.
The neurologist will be arranging an MRI to hopefully give us some answers to our questions. I felt quite comfortable with this doctor and didn't have to fight to the normal response of 'do you really need to know why?'. For once I left a doctors office not feeling defeated and without answers.
Elizabeth was such a good girl for the Doctor and was very cooperative with all of his testing.

How can you not like the wiggles?!

How Elizabeth Amazes Us

Elizabeth continues to amaze us every day and brings us so much joy. Her amazing spirit and outlook on life is what is so remarkable to us. Elizabeth rarely cries, pouts or has a temper tantrum, she is always singing, smiling and finds joy out of every experience. I think this is what we are most thankful for. Her perseverance, all of the normal milestones have provided a challenge for Elizabeth but she continues to persevere and will work until she can do what she wants. Nothing is a challenge for her in her mind. Her curiosity, she soaks up new information like a sponge and will remember the most intricate detail of anything. Her passion for life, she loves nature, animals and her friends (She just recently while going for a walk stopped to introduce herself to an ant and tell it is was nice to meet it). Lastly her endless energy, she never tires she is up to any challenge or activity everything for her is fun.
We are so blessed to have her in our lives. She makes the rough days better as she is such an easy going child who never lets anything bother her.

In the first picture she's relaxing with Owen. In the second picture Elizabeth is riding a pony for the very first time.

Summer is going by too fast... Elizabeth has been a busy girl. She's been to see the animals at Bronte park and the African Lion Safari, she's gone to Niagara Falls, her grandparent's cottage (with best friend Owen), she has also been swimming, playing at the sprinkler pads and has just kept her parents busy. Along with having fun, she has also worked very hard. To prepare for nursery school, she has attended a morning playgroup on her own twice. Her teachers couldn't believe how bright she is. Hopefully, she can attend preschool in the fall, but since she is not walking yet, this maybe a problem. Elizabeth is still attending all of her therapy and is doing great. She also has a worker (Erin) who comes to the house to help with Elizabeth. She loves hanging out with Erin.