When I wasn't looking, she took more steps

Here is Ellie showing signs of regressing by staying in my arms for most of my Grandmother's 90th birthday party. She has a big smile on her face because she loves to pose for the camera, and she loves people. Large crowds make her nervous, she's been in hotels, changed 4 time zones and frankly doesn't know where she'll be when she next wakes up.



Every time we travel or have company: two things that throw Ellie's world out of sync, her behavior regresses. Typically she stops sitting at the table in her own chair for meals. She will only eat on my lap. This gets old really quick, and causes my legs to fall asleep! The other thing she stops doing well is sleeping. Staying up late, or waking often in the night are typical behavior patterns when we travel and have company. I love coffee, so I survive with a little extra Joe. She goes back to sleeping peacefully through the night after a week or so.

Of course, I forget this little tid bit each time we have company. It's more obvious to me when we all head out of Dodge, than it is when we stay put and just add people. For instance, the last time Grammy and Pop Pops visited, Ellie spent the weekend on my lap for every meal, stayed up late, woke up often and early every day.

But, this past weekend we had a HUGE breakthrough. Ellie's Uncle Dave visited from Alaska. She hasn't seen him in 6 months. She not only slept her regular schedule, sat in her chair for every meal, but also started talking more!! Woo Hoo!! Go Ellie! That was the weekend of "I Want Popcorn" and "I want Pauper". I am so proud of my little girl. She continues to amaze me.

One Giant Leap for Ellie Kind

Holy Canoli. I was banking on a whole 'nother year of Ellie being afraid to step across and down the threshold of our front door to the porch outside. It's a pretty big leap for a tiny girl who has low muscle tone and rather weak core muscles.

Spring blooms eternal though in my garden, and it beckons to young and old alike. Last weekend I was more than a little surprised to see my cheerful little girl staring back at me from the other side of my storm door. The cat was quite pleased with his new best friend who helped him escape.

Now my dear husband has a new project on his to-do list: alarms and locks for the doors.

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old.....

One is silver, and the other Gold.

I remember this saying from when I was a child, and my best friend moved away. My mom tried to comfort me with this pithy saying. It didn't really work, but I did work at making new friends to fill the hole in my heart left by my first best friend. Making new friends has been a big part of my life as I've moved around many times as an adult. However, thanks to the wonders of technology I've had the pleasure of reconnecting with my "old" friends from days gone past: childhood and high school. What a sweet pleasure. Like savoring a delicious morsel of chocolate, or a good wine, visiting online and even in person with friends I've known since High School, Jr. High, and even Elementary School has been an incredible treat.

As I said in my last post, I love technology. Through the wonders of Facebook and email I have reconnected with a whole host of old friends, and kept in touch with new friends that I don't see anymore due to moving across the globe (5,000 miles from Alaska to VA). Each week Facebook reminds me that I went to high school with these other wonderful people, and wouldn't I like to be friends with them? Of course I would. The last time I was in touch with many of these friends we were like chrysalis: we had a shell around us to protect our developing persona from the harsh realities of life. Graduation was the chance for our butterfly form to escape from that shell. What sort of butterflies would we become? Would we be the same as adults that we were as children? Would life's adventures change us, and if so, how? What would life be like as we stretched our wings and took flight for the first time?

It's years later, and our wings are a little tired now. We have stories to tell, and some of us have war stories too. Some friends have spent time in Desert Storm, and some in the Iraq War, and a few in both. Some have been to Afghanistan, some have served in the Peace Corps. Some have become Doctors or nurses, lawyers or judges, or fabulous interior decorators to the stars. Some of us are married, some of us are married again. Many, but not all, of us have children. A few are grandparents. Some of us have moved around the country, and some have never left home. Several are openly gay. I am very proud to call them ALL my friends.

When we were in High School it was very clique-y. If you saw The Breakfast Club, you know what I mean. But those years apart as we spread our wings and made our own ways into the world have erased those stereotypes. We are all friends now with the common ties that bind of our collective soul of high school and thankfully time, and maybe a little booze, has erased some of those painful memories, like scars which fade with time. The shared joys and pains of adulthood bind us now.

Technology is Good

I finally got on Face book - about a month ago. It's been a neat trip back in time. I have started to find old High School Friends. One of the most amazing things happened too. I found an old friend, she's been married as long as me, her child is in 4th grade (like my son), her husband works in the same town as mine, and we live 8 miles apart. Which is about 300 miles from our high school. Go figure!

She's off to a vacation destination for spring break. I am off to "home" and visiting with 4 other friends I reconnected with on Facebook. We'll catch up for coffee after spring break. I love technology!

Favorite Color is .......

Ellie has told me what her favorite color is! Since mine is pink, I always dress her in that, but I did buy a few purple shirts and capri combos for spring. Well, I dressed her in that yesterday and she got SO EXCITED and tried to say "Purple" while she signed it, and signed each peice of clothing too. So, purple shirt, purple pants (they are a purple/turq/brown plaid) they sound awful but they are cute if you don't ask her brother's opinion. And then she got really excited by the purple socks!

I was guessing this might be her fav. She has requested and repeatedly watched Signing Times My Favorite Things. It has a great song "Do You Know the Colors of the Rainbow?" Ellie signs to the song and all the colors. Till recently she only tried to say blue. Over the last two weeks she has been trying to say purple and with a big smile on her face too! So, the verdict is in. Favorite Color: Purple!