I must be the Proudest Mummy, just about now…..

Veronika’s Physio set me a bit of a challenge. She wanted her to start to ‘cruise’ on the furniture, before we can talk about walking frames. Well that was just under a month ago. So we have been working really hard at home, 1st getting Veronika into a standing position. She just wants to climb on everything. Which don’t get me wrong, I love that she can climb onto the couch, and onto the blanket box etc, but when you are trying to teach a 3-year-old to stand, I mean stand still, not pull to stand, then up on the couch. So I have been working really hard, at getting her right foot under her, to stand up, and stand still, with her feet in a good position. Then to keep her entertained while she is standing there. We have done LOTS of puzzles during this time, and each time I would get Veronika to pass the Puzzle pieces to me, as we(I) talked about what the puzzle was about. Then I tried very patiently to get her feet moving across to get the puzzle pieces….click below to see the result.


veronika cruising for chocolate 149

and I think right about now I am the proudest I have ever been. Veronika continues to inspire me, she really is my Hero. Her determination is amazing. Her resilience to try, try again is never-ending. And hopefully that doesn’t change over time.

Veronika continues to learn new signs, and last week she mastered ‘love’. She signed ‘love’ followed by ‘Mummy’….I then asked her who else she loved, and she signed ‘W’(Willow) her best friend. Was just too cute. I find it absolutely amazing how much information Veronika seems to process. I was telling her speech therapist a couple of weeks ago, how at the dinner table one night, I was talking to her, and asking her questions. I could see her deep in thought processing the information, before she signed her answer. I can’t for the life of me remember what it was actually about, all I can remember is just thinking how much Veronika seems to understand.

Veronika is also excited to tell you that she will be an Ambassador for St Giles Walk With Me Hobart, on October 16th. We are looking forward to raising awareness for people living with a disAbility in our community. I was thrilled when Veronika was asked to be an Ambassador, and naturally yes was the answer.
Veronika and Willow have joined forces, and would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone to come and Walk With the SuperGirls…..

http://wwmhobart.gofundraise.com.au/page/SuperGirls


I have more to tell, but I also need to get some rest….so maybe next blog…

'Bouncing'

One night last week we had satay chicken for tea, and the boys wanted popadums with it. I placed to bowl of them in the middle of the table and next thing Veronika was eating one. I have offered them to her before, but she has never eaten it. She loved it, and she had 2 more. I was so surprised that she was actually eating something, made a nice change. But of course it didn’t mean that she would eat tea the next night, or the night after that, or even the night after that!

Veronika continues to learn new signs. Her favourite at the moment is ‘bouncing’. Veronika loves to go on the trampoline. She sits at the sliding door, points outside and signs ‘bouncing’. Click below to see Veronika signing ‘bouncing’

After Veronika had been on the trampoline for 30 minutes yesterday, I continued to ask her if she had finished….and she kept shaking her head to say no, then she would sign 'more'....'bouncing'(wont let me upload another video at the moment, so will try again tomorrow)

We saw Veronika’s new Physio last week. We are continuing to work Veronika really hard on standing independently, and trying to teach her to ‘cruise’. She does a little of this in the hydrotherapy pool at St Giles, but on dry land, this is a really difficult skill for Veronika. In the hydrotherapy pool her body is supported by the water, it helps to balance her. She still can’t stand independently in the water, I dream about the day she will be able to, so I don’t have to hold her the whole time we are in the water. I find I need a few extra hands when she is in the water to get her working really hard, as there is so much to do. Keep her feet on the floor for a start, balance her around her hips, without too much support so she is doing the work herself, put the toys just out of reach so she has to move to get to them etc…..If we can get Veronika to start to ‘cruise’ on the furniture at home then we can possibly look at getting her into a walking frame, but 1st she needs to have the strength in her legs, and her left arm(the side with Cerebral Palsy) to support herself

Jordan, my 9-year-old had a friend over today to play, being school holidays. His Mum and I had the chance to have a chat, in between 4 boys aged between 6-9 running in and out. She was saying she is amazed at how well I cope with Veronika’s extra needs. I was trying to explain to her that it’s really not that hard. I know for a fact that Veronika shouldnt of survived her birth, and that I would rather have her than not have her. I find Veronika an absolute delight, she is so easy-going. Most of the day she is happy and content. It’s really hard to explain, but Veronika has taught me so much, not just about her, but about myself…..and I love my 3 kids to the moon and back, and would do anything for them. And if that means taking Veronika to 4-5 Doctors/allied health appointments each and every week, then spending countless hours on top of that at home doing physio, then I will, because Early Intervention will give Veronika the best chance to maximise her potential.

Veronika is a cheeky little girl too, she continually makes me laugh.This afternoon during her therapy session at home, we were doing her shape puzzle. She was deliberately putting pieces in the wrong place(square in rectangle, circle in square) and then she would crack up laughing and clapping. Was SO cute, and yes I didn’t video it, as I was keeping her balanced as this was a ‘standing at her little table exercise’.