Trick or Treat!

Sharon has had a lot of fun that past few days. Cousin Anna turned 8 and invited Sharon to her birthday party (Sharon's first invite!). The party was at Build A Bear and Sharon had fun hanging out with a bunch of 8 year olds.
Here is she watching as her bear gets stuffed (she doesn't seem quite at ease with what is being done to her bear...)

And here is Halloween night!!! The cousins were great and dressed up as Pooh characters with Sharon and took her trick or treating. She had a ball and loved going up to the houses. She'd say "hi" (translate: trick or treat) and blow kisses at every house and never got tired or grumpy. And now we have enough candy to keep RJ wired enough to stay up late and get his school work done for the rest of the semester.
Here is Sharon with Daddy and Anna checking out her tiny jack-o-lantern (courtesy of Anna and Jax who felt that Sharon needed a jack o lantern to go along with theirs)










As for an update, Sharon had two accomplishments this week that most parents wouldn't be happy about, but we were thrilled!!! First, she started throwing temper tantrums!!! Yay!!!! I'm sure we're in the minority with this one, but just last week her OT was commenting that Sharon doesn't "express herself" as she "should" and that she doesn't seem to get upset about anything. Well, Sharon has been proving her wrong at least twice a day now :)
Second, She pulled a toy off of a table and it cut her face! Yay!!! (huh?? you say?) The fact that I have to worry about child proofing the house is awesome! The fact that she was able to reach very high and grab at the toy she wanted is incredible on many levels!!!
Now, i do hope that her next achievements are not painful (to her or to my eardrums!)....
Peace to you all!
Jaye, RJ, Sharon I. 

Mountain girl

This weekend we hiked at Hanging Rock...here we are at the top of Cook's wall, off in the distance is Pilot Mountain. It was nice to get Sharon out to Hanging Rock, a place where RJ and I have had some great times climbing and camping. Dina was happy to be back there as well.







Sharon pointing at the gorgeous view...












Today we had our first visit from the speech therapist. And of course Sharon said nothing. She was chattering away earlier with the OT...but, that's Sharon. If she knows we want it, you can forget it! The speech therapist will be coming twice a week. With PT twice a week and OT once, her schedule is very full. I am very thankful that we have a program that sends the therapists to our home...otherwise we would live in the car and Sharon would have very little downtime. I am not sure how speech is going to go. I don't know a lot about speech therapy or what to expect. I do know that all of the therapists agree that Sharon need to get motivated to do more. She is happy to be entertained and not move. I'm not sure what motivational miracle they are expecting, but we'll work on it. Sharon has always been happy to play with whatever is in reach: if we take all of her toys away she is content to play with her foot or hand....so, along with the ever-growing list of activities to work on with her, we are going to be really concentrating on getting her interested in moving for movement's sake...We'll keep you posted, and please send up some prayers! I have a feeling that this is a pretty big hurdle for Sharon to get over that will open a lot of doors for her...
Peace,
Jaye, RJ, and Sharon I. 

Grandma Baer Visit

Wow! What a week this has been for Sharon!! It was too much to fit into one post, so there are two more below this one but i'll sum up the week here. First we went for a week to HIlton Head with my parents. It was so nice to have a chance to relax in the warm weather. Sharon really decided that she likes to practice walking while we were there...I've been waiting for her to realize that it's fun so that she'll be more eager to practice...and boy did i get what i was waiting for! Now i'm in the process of finding a rolling stool to save the backs of those of us who spend lots of time bent over helping her!!! We left Hilton Head on Friday to get home in time for the Easter Seals UCP Walk on Saturday morning. Grandma Baer drove her RV (her new home!) up from Florida to be part of Team Sharon and to spend the weekend with Sharon. She played with Sharon today while RJ and I got a rare chance to do a little climbing...what a treat!


The first shot is of Sharon showing her Grandma how to drive the RV...
And here she is with Daddy and Grandma and the RV
Playing with Grandma Baer on the new puzzle mat that Grandma brought her 

Hilton Head

Sharon with Namon in the ocean












showing off her new love of walking...check out that right leg movement!!!!! Hooray!!












With Pop Pop on the golf course (during a walk to look at gators)...this is the first time she's strong enough to be carried like this! Yay!!!

the UCP walk

Here is the beginning of the Easter Seals/UCP Walk with Me from this weekend...what a huge success it was! Thank you for all of you who walked with us and who supported the cause...Team Sharon was a hit! Sharon served as an Easter Seals "embassador" and they wanted her to start off the walk (along with the gentleman you see in the front with the white cap...he was a speed walker!!!!) Sharon is all in pink and is standing up in the front of the crowd to take the first steps of the walk. Team Sharon is all around her (mostly to the left). We carried her much of the 2 mile walk, but she decided she wanted to walk for about 1/2 mile of it...RJ's back got a workout! She was the last to come in, but it was great to have her want to walk!!! (she still requires total support when she walks...but it's fabulous that her interest is there and she's learning even while being supported)

Here is Sharon after the walk. Old friends of mine, John and Patricia, came from 3 hours away with their 5 month old David to be part of Team Sharon. Here David and Sharon are relaxing after an exciting (and cold!) morning. Behind Sharon is an enormous teddy bear that she won from a drawing at the Walk (we wonder if it was rigged??? but have been told it was a legitimate win...) 

Minnesota

We have been in Minnesota for the past 4 days. RJ had a business trip and Sharon and I tagged along to visit family. What a great trip! We love the state! If it weren't for the winters, it would be a great place to move someday...luckily, we had summer weather and had a great time. Sharon and I had no appropriate clothes since i was prepared for cold...but we made do.
We first went to visit my cousins on their farm ("the smallest in the neighborhood" at 440 acres). This was cousin JoAnna, and Adam and their children Gracie and Jared (the first picture). Sharon made herself at home with all of the toys (and good food...we found out that Sharon eats very well in Minnesota...but who can beat fresh pork and bacon??) and her cousins. RJ and I got to tour the farm (pigs, corn, and soybeans) and it was a very nice time all around. Farming is amazing...it's a shame that the rest of us have gotten so far away from the mentality of farmers where you use everything that you make, nothing is wasted...and such hard work!













THen it was back north closer to Minneapolis to see cousin Catherine, Tom and their two children Freddie and Jack. Jack is only 9 weeks old and unfortunately i neglected to get him in any group shots...he is a good baby though, and very cute.
Frederick was Sharon's fast friend. He looked after her well in the two days they spent together. He taught her to make a sound like a Heffalump, and his antics inspired her to get moving. She spent more time walking (holding our hands) than she ever has and didn't want to stop while she could be chasing after Freddie.

In this picture, Freddie is sitting as close as possible to Sharon so that he can tell her all about "Finding Nemo" as they watched it.
















With Cousin Catherine and Freddie at the park.














We had such a great trip. Sharon was a trooper as usual, flying well and not crashing until we were home...It's so great to have all of these cousins. I wish we all lived closer together...it's been so good for Sharon to spend time with them all! I hope she stays as motivated to eat and move as she did while with them. For now she is just catching up on sleep...
Blessings to all of you!
Jaye, RJ, and Sharon I. 

Cousins Jared, Gracie with Sharon in Minnesota