Little Walker

Time for Brooklyn to show off a bit! :)  And one can see from that look on her face at the beginning that she is VERY TWO these days.

This was taken exactly a month ago, but lots of folks have asked for a video of our little walker, so I grabbed this one.  This was 4 days after her birthday, 4 days after she started walking without her walker.  We were at the hospital for a follow-up with her neurosurgeon, and she spent the entire time in the waiting room walking up and down this ramp.  And this is MUCHO impressive because ramps SHOULD be really hard for her.  Her ankles are locked at 90 degrees by her AFOs, so for her to be able to walk ramps up and down this early was awesome.  This was also the appointment that her surgeon, who really doesn't have much kid-friendly-bedside-manner, pulled out his camera and asked if he could video her walking.  :)  Makes a proud Momma even more proud.
(watching closely, you can see that after she falls and gets back up, she waves "BYE" to me then signs "my turn" by tapping two fingers on her chest.  She uses "my turn" a lot, not only in its correct context but also as her own way of saying "I do it by myself".  So that's "Bye Mom.  And by the way, I just got up all by myself.") 

Have to write down this story for myself so I don't forget:

Being at the Children's Hospital is always a big reality check for me.  Brooklyn, by the grace of God, is TRULY REMARKABLE in what she can do physically.  I look around at some of the kids we see on the floors we hit at the hospital, and MAN I'm reminded of how blessed we are.  Not that those families aren't blessed too, but you know what I mean.  Anyways, this same day a young woman came up to me and was asking about Brooklyn as we were waiting and walking around.  She was a private nurse to a little 6 year old girl Annie who was wheel chair bound and had ALL KINDS of issues.  She and Annie's mom were going on and on about how great Brooklyn was doing for an SB kid, how cute she was, etc.  :)  Then, the nurse asked me if she could video Brooklyn walking.  I of course said sure, then had Brook walk over to her and hug her for the video (B looooooooves any excuse to hug people!).  The woman teared up and told me that, awhile ago, she and her husband had a little girl still-born with spina bifida, and that they always wonder what she "might have been."  She wanted to take this video of B home to show her husband, thought it would make him smile. 

Yeah.

Oh my goodness.

That could have been us.  That was SUPPOSED to be us, from what they told us early on. 

I can't thank Jesus enough for our Glorious Miracle.  Isn't she great?!?!  Isn't God GREAT?!?!