Happy February!
We are well here...
Sharon's therapy cat seems to be doing better so there has been no trip to the vet (i think he got scared of the car ride and decided to at least act healthy!).
Still haven't figured out Sharon's rash, and now i'm not even convinced it's food. It could be something else...she has really sensitive skin so i have stopped wearing lotions and that seems to help...we'll see...
Sharon got to take care of RJ and i as we both got sick with a 24 hour bug at the same time. Of course, "taking care" meant that she decided not to go to bed when she usually does (something she never does!)...it was almost comical because all RJ and I wanted to do was fall asleep and there Sharon was chattering and wide awake...
But, she made up for it last night by sleeping really well (which is a RARITY!). RJ and I are fine and Sharon is no worse for the wear...one of the great benefits of breastfeeding: a healthy baby!
She does continue to get new teeth on a regular basis. She has not had a single break since she was 3 months old. It's hard to tell how many teeth she has now, but it's somewhere around 8-10...
In PT Sharon is showing that she has the ability to be on all fours (crawling position). The problem is that she has absolutely no motivation to be in that position because when she is holding herself up mostly with her left hand, which is the hand she wants to be using to play...so why would she get in a position that takes that hand away? It makes sense, but it's frustrating because we all know how much more fun she'd have if she started moving...So, she continues to prefer being on her back or sitting up and we continue to try and be patient...
We are starting sign language with her and it's rather fun. The OT wants us to just do three words at a time, so that is manageable.
I think that's all for now!
God Bless
Jaye, RJ, and Sharon I.

Well, i almost hate to put anything up here because it will knock the Steelers pictures down...

I wanted to thank all of you out there. I really had no idea that so many people still check out this site and have heard from a lot of people in the past couple of weeks about it. Thank you. Your concern and support is humbling and very uplifting for us. We are nearing the one year mark and it isn't easy. Yes, we are grateful for how well she is doing, but the "this time last year" game isn't fun on any front. Luckily, she won't know one way or another about her birthday, so we can get away with minimal fanfare...
In other news, she has developed a new rash that is possibly another allergy so we're trying to figure that out. It's very hard to pinpoint because she is eating so much table food now. I'm probably not as disciplined as i need to be about taking out certain foods and keeping track of what she's eating...
And therapy cat (Nobu) will be taking a trip to the vet. Poor guy. We think he has some kind of infection...We're hoping it's minimal and won't traumatize him too much...
People have asked what Sharon is "saying" these days: For sure she says "Hi", "Hey", "Yum" "Yeah" "Mama" and "Dada" There are some other possible words in there, but those are her definite vocabulary. She understands a lot of words and we are going to talk with her OT this week about starting sign language. There is a very good chance that language will be difficult for her, so we want to minimize her frustration when she wants to communicate. Again, signing will take more discipline that i am used to, but we're ready to tackle it!
Oh, and she loves to sing!!! It amazes me! There are certain CD's i play in the car (Indigo girls is a favorite of hers!) where she just sings along at full volume...and on pitch! We love it!

Well, anyway, this really was meant to be a THANK YOU to you all for your continued prayer and support. We couldn't do this without all of you!
God Bless
Jaye, RJ, and Sharon I.

Go Stillers N' At!!!

Greetings! I wanted to get a couple of pictures up here. One is a little old, but it's of Sharon with her great-gram and i think it's quite cute.
The other is another of Sharon with her therapy cat. He continues to amaze us with her, particularly during PT. If Sharon is fussing alot during the session, he gets very concerned and tries to help her as much as he can. For example, one session she was working very hard on being on her hands and knees. It is difficult and she does not like it, but her cat came over and crawled under her belly so that she would have support and not have to take on all of her own weight (we often put a stuffed animal or cushion under her belly to help her). He stayed under there until she was done with that position! He certainly earns his kibble :)
So, enjoy the pix. Sharon is adorable and a load of fun. She loves to talk and chatter and doesn't miss a thing going on around her. I think she is started to get frustrated at times at just laying on her back, so we're praying that this mobility kicks in soon!!
God bless and love
Jaye, RJ, and Sharon