Here's the little miss taking a stroll in Pop-Pop's sneakers. She came across them and stuck her feet in and was having a ball stomping around. Those are some strong legs to lift braces, her own shoes, and then Pop-Pop's!!!

She's loving the gorgeous weather we are having and would spend her entire day outside if she could...luckily we are able to oblige for a large part of the day!

Hooray for Mommy!

I had to share some news that is not very exciting for anyone but me,....drum roll please (i can't tell you what a big deal this is!)....SHARON SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT LAST NIGHT!
Now, please know that i have no hopes of this ever happening again, at least not until she is in college maybe, but it sure was nice! I haven't slept for more than about 3 hours straight in over 2 years! We didn't do anything special or different and haven't even been focusing on it because it's such a lost cause...she just went to bed and i woke up to RJ's alarm this morning!
It was very nice to say the least!
We went today to Chapel Hill to get our second opinion on the hip issues with Sharon. And this opinion basically agreed with the first, that surgery is the best option to correct the hip. We're now discussing when the best time for this would be, leaning towards a few months from now so that she doesn't have to face summer in a huge cast. There are no decisions made yet about any of this, we are still in the research, gather info, talk alot about it stage, but we will keep you posted when we know more. Of course, a miracle sure would be nice: for Sharon's hip to somehow go where it is supposed to!!!!!!!!! So if any of you want to help asking for that, go right ahead! This would be very major surgery and avoiding it sure would be nice for Sharon!
Anyway, have a great weekend. We are thoroughly enjoying a wonderful spring in NC...
Blessings,
Jaye, RJ, and Sharon I.

clarification for worriers

Hello all!
I have to add this in here since there is much discussion and worry about the helmet issue. (Clare, you aren't the only one! And believe me, you and your bruises are always in the front of my mind when i'm bareback!)
Sharon has an extraordinarily small head, due to her microcephaly. We have tried bike helmets made for babies and they still drown her. I have been communicating with local horse therapy places to find out what they use, to no avail. Today, i finally was given a soft seizure helmet that actually fits her head. This will suffice for now.
We very much support riding with helmets (i have one and use it!...ask my nieces...they know they can't get on her without one!)...but sometimes for photo ops, vanity takes over and i want people to be able to see how happy Sharon is...RJ is always right beside her ready to grab her in a moment's notice.
And now with the hip issues, we have been told that riding is going to be the absolute best thing for her...so we will carry on and count on angels to help protect us!!

Happy Birthday girl!

Eating cake and her birthday ride

It's hard to believe that Sharon is two, but she now is! Well, in some ways, it's not hard to believe (she is acting very much like a two year old! Yikes!). We had a family party over the weekend which she enjoyed very much (digging into that cake with her hand and grossing out her cousins who really wanted slobber-free cake). Today we had a little party for her at school which she didn't enjoy as much, but her friends did! Then it was off for her x-rays. They were a piece of cake and very quick so that wasn't bad. We are going to meet with a hip specialist in a couple of weeks and be doing some research to determine what is going to be best for Sharon. Her right hip isn't quite in the right position so we're going to be looking into options over the next weeks. Please keep this in your prayers, that the best decision will be made very obvious to us.

Then, it was on to a birthday ride on Flare and then to dinner. She was a tired girl by the end of the day! Everyone asks "what she got" for her birthday, and honestly, we didn't get her a single thing....well, other than a horse! She's two, she doesn't know about birthday presents, and we're fine with keeping it that way! I got her a riding helmet a while back, but even the smallest i could possibly find is too big still, so i'm not sure what we're going to do about that! And we're in the process of finding out how to go about creating a special "saddle" for her...for now, she and I just sit bareback (which is best for her legs anyway!)

She's an amazing little girl...this past year she has worked so hard. To go from not even being able to sit up on her own, to getting in and out of sitting, to standing, to walking, scootching...And with a personality to match that determination! She knows her own mind and heaven forbid if you try to cross her!!!!

God bless

Jaye, RJ, and Sharon Isabella

Hello all!
We are photo-less because Uncle Jason is borrowing the camera for his trip to California (www.actcasual.com/skinny). He's making good use of it though!
Sharon's had a nasty cold for the past week and is just now getting ahead of it. She's a trooper.
We've also had a houseguest for a little while, RJ's "little brother" Jontae. Sharon (and RJ and I!) are enjoying having him and he is fun company for Sharon. He's helped out with Flare too, and was very brave with her, even having never been near a horse.
Sharon is still enjoying school. Her favorite part is definitely her classmates. There are 4 others and she really likes to play with them. They provide good peer pressure for her. Today she hung out with some of the more advanced kids and was very inspired by them to move around.
I am very pleased with the therapies she is receiving at school. They are really helping to know what to focus on (there is so much that we are often overwhelmed!)...communication is a big one...Sharon is definitely becoming more and more frustrated on a daily basis with the inability to communicate, so hopefully we'll continue to make strides with that (she is picking up signing more which is good). I met with a nutrionist yesterday who told me, surprise surprise, that Sharon is VERY underweight and small...but, she was much more positive about it than the doctors have been, saying "she's just going to be small" (which of course, we all know!)
Next week we celebrate two years! Sharon will have a little party at school and then we'll go for x-rays on her hips! Fun! That is in preparation for the upcoming Botox injections...
So, that's about it for now! She's getting impatient and wants me to come play, so adios!
Blessings,
Jaye, RJ, and Sharon I