Our big girl got a stander today. This is so that she can practice standing up while wearing her AFOs. So far she has enjoyed it! She seems to like being up off the ground...
The purpose of the stander is to get her muscles, legs, and back used to being in the standing position. The hope is that once they get a chance to feel what it's like, they will be eventually be able to work without the stander. She will only be using the AFOs and stander for a few minutes at a time for now just to get used to it and so that we can make sure none of it is fitted incorrectly, and then eventually she'll be able to spend more time using both.

In other news, she went to the doctor last week. She is still only 16 pounds. Such a peanut! But she is eating well so there's not much else we can do...
we also met with a geneticist this week. Sharon inherited a "bad" gene from both RJ and I (luck of the draw!). It actually has nothing to do with her cerebral palsy, which is rather ironic. We're still learning about it, but for now it really isn't affecting Sharon. She has good nutrition and as long as she is able to process folate and vitamins as well as she is now, it won't be an issue. She will have to be tested for different blood levels on a regular basis for the rest of her life, and we'll find out more over time...Just one more thing to make her strong?? It's amazing that so much can be going on in one tiny body!
That is it for now. It's bath time, so we'll say good night!
love and peace
Jaye, RJ, and Sharon I. 

Hello!
This is my third attempt to post so it's getting shorter and shorter...
Happy Father's Day!
We just got back from a week at the beach...it was wonderful!!! Sharon absolutely loved the ocean and would have sat and played in the sand and water all day!
We had a great house on the bay so could swim and kayak there as well. Just a great week!
I'll be posting more soon. Sharon has appointments this week and hopefully her AFOs will be arriving any day and we can get started to work on standing...
more later
love and bless
Jaye, RJ, and Sharon I.

Well, it's been a big week so far for Sharon!
Last week i took her to get fitted for her AFO's. These are the "braces" that she will wear on her ankles and legs. We are very excited to get them so that we can start working on standing up. She was very good for the fitting, with cousin Anna along to help distract her (and pick out the materials!)
Yesterday she "graduated" from her class at the Little Gym. Too funny. I got a couple of pictures of her doing her thing. The most impressive are the ones of her on the parachute with the other kids. When we started that class, she could never have sat up on her own during that activity (parents drag the parachute around and the kids work on balance). "walking" on the balance beam was also pretty neat!
Today we had a neurology appointment with our new doctor. We really liked him. He was very positive about Sharon's prognosis and gave us a lot of encouragement. We had to do a little more blood work and will have some follow up with that, but shouldn't be too big of a deal.
Then Sharon went to the dentist as well! She is a busy girl! She actually smiled at the dentist most of the time, a credit to how good he is at what he does! Down the road we'll need to do some repair work on her front tooth, but he's trying to wait as long as possible for her to get bigger.
I guess it's no surprise that she's sleeping soundly right now!
That's all for now.
THanks for checking in
love and bless
Jaye, RJ, and SHaron I.