Hattie is 1 and a half!!! She is seriously growing so fast, and becoming more and more of a toddler every single day. Currently she is super into grabbing her feet, her crinkle toys, Violet the purple dog, and Little Baby Bum. Her hair is finally long enough for me to play with. I am loving every minute of getting to do her hair however I want... because we all know that stage doesn’t last forever! We even moved up to a TODDLER car seat, and a new umbrella stroller!

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Hattie has been exploring the world in a whole new way with her little pink glasses. We have been going to the Anchor Center once or twice a week for CVI therapy, and it has already become one of our favorite places to be. The staff at the Anchor Center is truly incredible. Every time we walk in we are greeted by the friendliest faces, and they all take the time to come over and say hello to Hattie and make sure she feels special. I have also found the Anchor Center to be super helpful for me as well. I have already met so many other moms, with young children similar to Hattie, and it has just been a great community to be a part of. The Anchor Center is such a magical place!!!

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We have a big appointment coming up with “NuMotion”- a wheelchair and mobility equipment company- to get Hattie sized for a stander, a new Special Tomato Chair, and hopefully a switch for some adaptive toys. Scheduling this appointment was hard for me, just because it makes this whole “disability” thing a lot more real. We are going to have some BIG medical equipment in our house, and it will be a little weird to look at at first. But, I know this is what’s best for Hattie, and it is only going to help her continue to develop and grow.

A lot of you have been asking how Hattie is doing developmentally, so I thought I’d give y’all a little update on her inchstones, and goals we are working on.

First of all, Hattie has been doing GREAT! She is healthy, and is continuing to work super hard during her therapy. She has been working on some of the same goals for a very long time, but I know that it just takes time. I explain it to people like… take 1 year of a “typical” baby’s development… usually they push up from tummy time, roll over, sit up, clap, pull up, grab toys, bang 2 toys together, walk all in around 1 year. Take all of those milestones and stretch them out to about 5 or 6 years, and that’s where we are. Hattie is still learning to consistently roll over, still working on pushing up onto her hands from tummy time and grab toys during tummy time, and she is still working on sitting up. Sometimes it’s hard to notice a difference in her development even over a week or two, but she is definitely making progress.

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We have grown an amazing tribe of Hattie warriors on our side, and it makes things so much easier for us! Her Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, vision teachers, Dr.’s and our friends and family are all so encouraging and supportive of Hattie. It’s like Hattie is on this lifelong race, and we are all her biggest cheerleaders and fans trying to help her reach the finish line. Even though our race hardly seems like a race at all, and I know there will continue to be lots of hurdles along the way… it is still awesome to see Hattie work so hard for the smallest things that come easy to most other children. HATTIE is the real warrior!!

-Abby & David