Riley is 1!

I just went through the pictures on my camera card and realized that I never posted pictures I had intended to back in March. It has been a crazy month, with me taking mid-terms, Shelby being pretty sick for an extended period of time (thank goodness she is finally better), and all the OT stuff. Shelby had a severe cold the weekend of Riley's 1st birthday party, so Trip stayed in Asheville and snuggled with her while Harding and I made the trek to Atlanta by ourselves. It was a great party (with everything a one-year-old could want).

Riley wore the same snazzy outfit that Shelby wore to her first birthday party.

She learned how to properly eat a cupcake from an expert.

She got to hang out with her doting Aunt Tiff.

And there was bubble fun with her two older boy cousins.

It was a great day, and I was glad that Harding and I were able to be there for all the festivities. Love this sweet little girl.

OT woes...

So for a while now, I have been thinking that Shelby's occupational therapist wasn't the best fit for our family. She (through no fault of her own) doesn't have the schedule flexibility to meet with us at home in the afternoons or on weekends. Around the time of Shelby's three weeks of constraint therapy, our service coordinator began looking for other OT options for us. Another pediatric OT with constraint therapy experience and an excellent reputation had a spot that was opening up in mid-March and we decided that we would make the switch to her. Then at the last minute, Trip and I changed our minds because we felt we hadn't given Shelby's current OT (who we like personally and who Shelby responds well to) a fair shot. We communicated our needs and wishes to her and she agreed to work with Shelby at home once a month in the afternoons when I could be there. Then last week we found out that she was drastically reducing her contract hours and would only be available to work with Shelby once a week at 12:30 (right smack in the middle of nap time). I frantically called the OT whose available spot we had just turned down and it was already filled. Not only that, but there are no OTs that contract through early intervention who have openings right now in our area. So now Shelby is left without occupational therapy at all during a time when she desperately needs it. She is using her left hand and arm more than ever and I would like her to continue to make strides. We're in the process of trying to get her some OT appointments through the hospital and hopefully there will be an opening soon through early intervention. I will never again hesitate to follow my gut when it comes to making decisions for my children. Lesson learned, but I hate that it was at Shelby's expense. Also, if you are exploring career options right now, I suggest becoming an OT. They are certainly not hurting for work in this economy!

Shorts in March!

It has been unseasonably warm lately and we can't get enough of being outside. Harding looked especially dapper in his shorts last Sunday, so I snapped a few pictures of him in front of the daffodils before the four of us headed on to church.

CIT Recap and recent "inchstones"

I've finally recovered enough from the three and a half weeks of constraint induced therapy to write about it. The good news is that Shelby made significant progress with her left arm and hand. She did not gain supination or learn how to hold things, but her arm got much stronger. She learned how to use the left arm for support and she started reaching up and touching objects with her left hand. The really neat thing that happened as a result of casting is that Shelby now knows how to purposefully isolate her left hand. Even two weeks out of casting, if we ask her to turn a page or touch my nose with "lefty" she can do it. We still have the cast and plan to use it during OT sessions in the near future.

In other news, Shelby has all the sudden become interested in walking. We can hold her hands and stand behind her and she will take steps across the room--grinning the entire way. She has even cruised a tiny bit while standing in front of the couch. This is exciting, but she still has to figure out how to pull herself up to a stand. We'll be working on that in PT.

Therapy is a challenge these days with our stubborn, independent, and willful Shelby Frances. She likes to do things on her own terms and she doesn't want any help. She has started to throw major tantrums when she thinks we (as in mommy, daddy, grandparents, therapists) are trying to "help". I guess this is typical for her age. At any rate, we measure progress in inchstones around here and all of Shelby's recent accomplishments are incredible!

Life has been way busy for us lately and we haven't taken the time to blog it. I'll try to catch up over the next week, but in the meantime here are some pictures for the greatgrandparents (and any other readers out there) to enjoy.

My crazy haired girl and Spiderman being cute and sweet this Saturday morning:

This one is from last weekend. Harding is in this costume whenever we let him and insists on being addressed as "Spiderman" while wearing it.

A couple weekends ago, we went hiking with the Gillilands. Derek and Harding had a great time taking turns being first. Harding had his walking stick and Derek had his camelback and they were cute together. Four-year-olds are much more cooperative when it comes to posing for pictures.

Spring is just around the corner and I am ready for more hikes and camping with the kids!