Here You Go, Andrea!

Because you asked so nicely!

And, wow, did it warm my heart to look at the progress Ellie's made these past four years. She's my girl.


Ellie at six months post conception :-)...


Four weeks old. No one thought there was anything going on with Ellie other than normal preemie stuff. At this point, the only thing keeping her in the NICU was the feeding issues. As per a typical preemie, Ellie had a difficult time sucking-swallowing-breathing. Truth be told, feeding Ellie was a struggle that entire first year. Man, I'm glad that's over!


Ellie at 2 months old. This was the first time that we ventured out to a restaurant as a family of three. Ellie always had to be fed upright, otherwise she'd projectile vomit. Not the thing you want to happen at The Cotton Patch Cafe...


Shortly after her first birthday (she's 14 months here). I picked this picture because I distinctly remember how amazing it was to zip Ellie around in the front of the cart seat. It took her SO LONG to gain the balance needed to sit in the cart, which made it really difficult to go out shopping with her. She was able to sit up for 10ish seconds at her first birthday, and I guess that was enough balance to keep her upright in the cart too.


Ellie had just turned two in this picture. Her balance was getting a lot better, but she still wasn't able to sit up independently. I remember often propping her up against the wall here (so she was looking into the kitchen), and setting out her toys. She'd play there for a long time! But, she was still pretty immobile. She wasn't crawling or bunny-hopping yet. If she'd fall over, she'd be stuck.


At two-and-a-half, Ellie was finally able to sit up independently! Those of you in the "therapy world" know that the sitting she's doing in this picture is called W-sitting. It's not the best way to sit, but it requires the least amount of balance (W-sitting puts a lot of strain on the hips and knees, so even now, we have to be careful that Ellie doesn't stay in that position too long). Ellie's ability to independently sit changed our lives! It allowed her so much freedom! By this time, she was crawling/bunny-hopping around too (I think she started that shortly after turning 2). It was a really cool time of exploration for Ellie. She was able to move around and play upright all on her own. GOOD TIMES.


Last summer, when Ellie was 3. Last year, she started pulling to a stand a lot more, and her leg strength really improved. Around this time, she also started taking some steps in her walker.


This picture was taken last week, a few days after Ellie turned four! We had made all those pretty Play-Doh butterflies and were taking pictures to show them off to Daddy. She's sitting on the table without any support, lifting her arms above her head. THAT is an incredible feat for Ellie! This movement requires a LOT of balance. Sweet girl!