Her Many Happy Faces :)

These make my day!!

I just love the control Tessa is gaining in her neck and trunk!  There was once a day it would have been pretty scary to put her in a seat without her chest strap on...she makes it look so easy here!

And, she's just gorgeous!

 The best kind of giggles are the ones you get when Daddy and Parker are gettin you ;)  

These two know how to make this little girl so happy!

 My little laundry folding buddy - not such a 'task' with this sweetness by my side!

Tessa had a follow up with her Neurologist on Monday (more on that later), but we found out that she's gained 3.5 lbs since June ~ Wow!!  We decided to tackle making adjustments to her powerchair to accommodate her growth and she was cracking up the whole time.   

She will forever be my bedtime beauty!  I just love her smiles and her pure natural state...no glasses, no ears, no legs, no equipment...just my beautiful little Tessa :)

And my new most favorite pic!!  

I had a sweet friend message me recently with a link to the following:

http://www.rachelcoleman.com/2011/08/10/baby-wearing-toddler-wearing-eleven-year-old-wearing/ 

She wondered if I had ever considered 'wearing' Tessa?  Pictured above is Tessa in a Kinderpack my friend brought over for us to try...and Tessa's face in this picture says it all!  She was giggling the whole time.  I had seen the hiking packs before...but never knew there were any like these made for toddlers and preschoolers...all the way up to 50 lbs!  I am ecstatic about experiencing life WITH her in a whole new way...handicapped accessible or not!!

(Note: Rachel Coleman does the show "Signing Time"...a favorite at our house.  Anyway, I knew Leah, on the show, was her daughter with profound hearing loss...but what I didn't know, is that she has a younger daughter, Lucy, diagnosed with spina bifida and cerebral palsy~I have found great and very relevant perspectives from many of her blog posts :) 

I have this goal, I want to make sure I am strengthening my core and making sure I'm staying strong enough to grow with Tessa...so I thought 'wearing' / carrying her like this would help me start down that path.  And, in just a couple of days, it has already proven how much it is going to help her head control since she is so interested in looking around in this thing!  Shifting your child from equipment to equipment can get very depressing sometimes.  It's a strange mix of emotions because on one hand, we're thrilled to have been blessed with all the kinds of equipment Tessa needs to have opportunities and gain independence, but on the other hand... some days I resent the constant shifting of her from one piece of equipment to another.

This is my short list....

• No more not taking her with me to pick up Parker from school because I don't want to get her 70lb stroller out just to run in, but can barely sign the book to sign Parker out because I hold her in my left arm, I write with my left hand and always have to be supporting with my other hand. ~ she shall join me to pick up her brother and my hands shall be free :)

• No more just taking Parker with me on quick trips to the store because it's not super easy to manage a cart and a wheelchair. ~ she shall join us and experience quick trips to the store with her mommy and brother.

• No more walks around the pond with Tessa ALWAYS sitting in a piece of equipment. ~she shall join me and be face to face hearing me talk about all the frogs, and fish, and ducks, and geese, and birds, and snakes, a leaves changing on the trees, and rocks...and everything else we always talk about when we walk around the pond.

• No more only option for taking her on a long walk is in her stroller. ~ she shall exercise with me and listen to my music with me and enjoy time with me...up close, experiencing time together...the way it should be.   

I walked through the house the other night when we first got the Kinderpack and she was enthralled with looking around....I realized, she was seeing parts of the house she hasn't really 'been in" or seen before and she was taking everything in.  So, from now on....we shall!!

~Whitney