Another lesson, another gold medal.

Wow. What a week this has been. Cabin fever! Francesca has had a nasty cold/cough so we have been hibernating most of the week. No school on Monday or Tuesday anyway, but I kept her home today because she still wasn't feeling well. Yesterday, we went to see a Pediatric GI Dr. We had this appointment for a while so I didn't want to miss it. I'm glad we didn't. I feel so relieved that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I won't go into detail, but we have been paired up with a Nutritionist to figure out why Frankie hasn't gained weight in months. It's nice to know someone else will be guiding us through this. 

Today, we left the house again. YAY! We went to a local consignment store in search of a sweater for Frankie. There is a little play area there. There was a young girl that started playing with her and sat on a bench with a book. Frankie wanted to get on the bench too so I helped her up there. A few minutes later, the girl got down and Frankie was  "stuck" on the bench alone. She couldn't get down on her own. I helped her down and  and kept a big smile on my face, not wanting her to know how much it hurt me to see her not be able to do something her peer could do. About 10 minutes later, Frankie wanted me to get her back on the bench again...and I did. There were two other girls on it. After a few minutes, the other girls got down, and I asked Frankie if she wanted to get off of the bench. She said she wanted to stay. I turned my cheek for about 10 seconds or so and turned back around. GUESS what? Miss Frankie was getting off of the bench all by herself!  Just another reminder that my daughter is STRONG, determined and will be able to accomplish anything she sets her mind to. It hurts to see her excluded from things because of her limitations, but I have to believe these limitations are temporary and can be overcome. This is what keeps me going. And I don't like the word limitations... I like to call them hurdles. Another lesson for Mama to back off and let Francesca be independent. I also give my little girl a gold medal today...she has quite a few now.  

Frankie's third birthday

Today, our 'lil Georgia peach turns THREE...had she stayed put 8 weeks later than her birthday! I am writing my first blog not really knowing what I'm doing on this special day. I kind of feel sorry for my little guinea pigs, my family, for having to endure my test blogs and are reading this now. We spent this chilly afternoon at Manassas Battlefield Park. Mama was trying to take beautiful Fall pictures but I think I failed! Either way we had a nice afternoon...topping it off at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

There are several reasons why I wanted to start a blog. The main reason is to update family and friends on my daughter, Francesca. She is a miracle baby and has right sided hemiplegia. There are times when I feel that I update family and friends too frequently but it's out of PURE excitement from a milestone being reached or from fear of something not expected. I hope that if there are any questions about how Francesca is progressing, the answers can be found here...with a few photos and a little added spice from our day.

So...CHEERS to ME!!! Here we go!!!!

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