Allie says, "It's Time To Walk!"

Allie walking with me at the ALS walk
early October.

For awhile now, Allie has been getting better and better at walking.  Towards the end of July, Allie was showing more and more abilities to stand up - using bookshelves, toys, tables, etc. to help her.  A August approached, she was able to walk a lot more controlled with someone holding her hands.  Since then, she seems to be taking off on her own. Then, just a couple weeks ago - she would stand up, take a few steps and sit down.  It was all brand new to her and us and so very exciting! The first time we really saw it was an evening a few days after the Buddy Walk. We stopped in to see Allie's Great-Grandfather, Art. Clearly she was showing off for him and we were all thrilled.  And now, only a few weeks later she is standing up, walking across the room, turning around, etc.  In fact, she is always signing to us to "walk", so she can practice - with or without assistance.  And then, today she even walked backwards!!  It is a thrilling time for us and I wanted to post a few videos to share this with you.  I know you will be as excited as we are.  Watch out... Allie is on the move and will be giving all of us a run for our money, I"m sure.

Allie using her wings and her walker
to move around on her own.

July 31st. Practicing her standing while Granny

watched from her home in Florida.

October 9, 2010 - Walking in front of our house.

November 7,2010 - Allie standing up and walking

November 7, 2010 - Allie walking backwards - this is new as of today!

May you have a wonderful week and enjoy ever new thing you learn!

A Thrilling Day

Today I got such a thrill when I went to meet with Allie and her Physical Therapist, Melissa. Allie got to try on some new splints (I think that is what we call them) for her feet. These will go inside her shoes and help her stand properly on her feet. She won't always need them, just now as she is learning to stand and walk to help her out. With her "loose" joints and low muscle tone, there are several things that can be done to help Allie learn to sit, stand up, stand and walk properly and these tools are just the next ones we will be using. Without shoes on, Allie - like many babies - rocks onto her heels and also rolls to the side of her foot. These splints - or braces - help to give her support so that she stands properly. We don't want to put pressure on the knee joints or other muscles in a wrong way, and this will help. Of course, you all know how little I know about such things, so I'm just hoping that I'm stating it at least close enough. The main point of this post anyway is not really about these little shoe inserts, but in the fact that we tried out a walker today and
Allie walked to me!!!!!!

The walker is a little big for her and a smaller one is on order, but when Melissa put Allie in it, she grabbed the handles like a pro and seemed to walk very fast right to me. It was thrilling to see the excitement on her face. I only had my phone with me, so I grabbed a couple videos and pictures. But, it seems like the videos can't be published here on the blog. I'm sorry. I will get more when we get the walker at the house and will post them at that time.

Allie was so proud of herself and so ready to do this. For weeks now she has watched the other kids run up to me to say hello or goodbye and I can see the look on her face of wanting to do it, too. Today, she had her opportunity and she loved it! She even threw in a little dance in the midst of it all.

I will post a lot more pictures and videos once we get the walker and practice with it. Allie is just growing so fast I can't even blog quick enough about it! Oh... and for those of you just wondering ... she now weighs 16.7 ounces! She has gained a bit since being sick in December and we are doing great with the milk! Keep lil' Allie in your prayers to gain weight and keep those GI doctors at bay. :-)

Love to you all!