It's the little things that count! There are a few things that stand out about these pictures...1 - MILESTONES. YAY! She has graduated to the big girl swing. Do you have any idea how tired we were of the baby swing? - very!). So, she loves swinging on the big girl swing, and SHE CAN PUMP all by herself! Agh!! So cool! Another thing to notice about the pics - I CAN TAKE them (and I am not holding her)...meaning, I am NOT IN the picture and she is not on her knees. This is also a milestone of sorts. In the last year, Reese has become strong enough to do more things... ALL by herself. I mean, not too many, and very thought out activities, such as the jeep. BUT, I WILL TAKE IT!! This is FREEDOM for Reese (and me). She is also still LOVING her donated tricycle...she rode it to the park to swing, and back...mostly, all by herself!

We have also gotten into doing activities again lately. Swimming and adaptive sports (though I am still on the field with her), she DOES think she can play soccer now. And, thank you Ann, from Starfish swim school, for reaching out! Reese's swim teacher thinks she may be able to swim! He says it's all about balance IN the water. While this may be challenging outside of the water - she CAN float on her back ALL BY HERSELF. All of this is an amazing reminder how important these activities are to build children's confidence and to 'getting involved' in the world! It is easy to feel isolated in our world. But, we are coming back to the world! Now we just need to get her back on the horse!

And finally, I just want to say how thankful I am for Reese to have friends and relationships! She loves her friends (and they love her), and this IS one of our newer activities that has brought us such happiness and laughter!

School is also still going fantastic! Writing is VERY difficult because of her dystonia, but SHE CAN form letters...though not pretty...SHE CAN FORM LETTERS!! SO PROUD! She is the super star this week at school - she REALLY is a super star!

XO to Reese, friends and family!