We Are Blessed

On Thursday morning I woke up with some pretty bad neck pain. That happens from time to time, usually because I slept funny or something. I figured that as I got up and moving that it would loosen up and feel better. What actually happened is the pain got worse and worse as the day went on. And then I started having spasms. And I couldn't move my neck at all without making myself cry from the pain. (I swear I'm not a baby. It was really bad pain. Like pinched nerve pain.)

Anyway. As a result of this awfulness I was really limited in what I could do with Aubrey. We haven't left the house in 2 days because I can't look over my shoulder (no driving) and I don't even want to think about what it would take to get Bree into her carseat.

Now, you may be wondering why the title of this post is "We Are Blessed". Well, I'll tell you! Since I haven't been able to lift Aubrey very well, or bend down to help her and move her towards things...guess what? She has started doing a little army crawling/scooting!!!! It's amazing! There was a dvd case on the living room floor, directly in front of her. And I watched as she got really frustrated because she wanted it. She got up on her little elbows and started kicking her little legs like she was swimming...and before I knew it she had pushed herself to the dvd player!! Matt came home from work a little early to help me out, and we seriously spent an hour putting forbidden things (cell phones, my wallet, magazines, anything paper, etc.) in Aubrey's path to tempt her. We watched and watched as she pushed and struggled and kicked herself forward towards the desired objects. It was so fun. Now the poor thing has carpet burns on her knees, elbows, and chin:)

We have been praying and praying that we would start seeing more improvement in Aubrey's gross motor development. And I know without a doubt that this annoying neck pain was a factor in Aubrey learning how to do something on her own. We know that the Lord hears our prayers, and sometimes answers then in the strangest ways. We're so thankful.

Another blessing we've seen over the past few weeks has been noticeable changes in Aubrey's cognitive development. Her physical therapist commented at our last appointment that Bree is so much more aware of what is happening around her. She has been doing some really important things like turn-taking sounds (I'll make a sound, and then she'll respond with a sound), trying to communicate, following instructions, learning how to play with toys rather than chew on them, turning pages in books, etc. It has been such a delight to watch her learn! When we say "Aubrey, let's say a prayer" she'll fold her little arms. We've also been working on a little bit of sign language, and she has learned the sign for "more".

It brings us so much joy to see our little girl growing and learning and stretching herself. And more than anything else we thank Heavenly Father for blessing her and us at the times when we need it the most.