Happy 2015!

As we start 2015, I naturally look back at the past year. It wasn't the best year for us as a family, but it certainly wasn't the worst either. But overall, it was probably the best year yet for Kinsey!

In 2014, Kinsey learned 2 amazing skills that we had all been working towards for a very long time: chewing and walking! They didn't come without some heartache and set-backs and there's still room for improvement in both areas, but we are extremely thankful and proud that she has learned these skills. Both have made a huge impact on our lives.

Just the other day, Jamie and I cleaned out the cabinet that I keep all of Kinsey's food in - the variety of crackers, baby cookies, and other soft, yet chewy things we used to teach her to chew. Most of which never worked or worked for a day and then she refused to eat again. And old jars of baby food. All things we no longer need because she can eat most of what we eat now! We no longer have to find special foods to give her. We no longer have to take foods with us wherever we go because restaurants won't have things she can eat. In fact, most of the time we leave the house without anything for her besides milk and water. And, when we're just going out to eat, I don't even have to take her cup with me anymore because she can drink out of the restaurant cup with a straw! Such a big change!

Speaking of chewing, this past week we discovered a few new foods she really likes: smoked salmon, freeze-dried strawberries and fresh blackberries!

Walking has made a huge difference too . . .  in her ability to interact with her peers at school and play with friends, and move around the house and reach different things (aka, get into trouble!). Speaking of which, here's a video of her newest way to get into things around the house - she's tall enough to reach the water dispenser in the fridge door! And she thinks it's a lot of fun!

Anyway, as she continues to get stronger in this area, it will expand her abilities even further - she's still not comfortable walking on her own in most outdoor settings, not stable enough to manage uneven surfaces, etc, but she'll get there. At the end of last summer we were at a friend's house for a BBQ and I remember feeling sad that Kinsey couldn't follow the other kids as they moved around the back yard to play in different areas. Now she can do that! Watching her walk around with the other kids at her birthday party, trick or treating at school, and walking down the hallway holding hands with her little "boyfriend" classmate on the last day of school for 2014, my heart was bursting with pride!

We started off 2015 by doing something new . . . we went sledding on January 1st! Growing up in MN, sledding is nothing new to Jamie, but I'd never been before and we hadn't taken Kinsey yet either. She has her own little sled that we could pull around the yard, but we bought a 2 person sled so Jamie could take her down a hill with him. We think she liked it, although she got cold fast (it was only about 20 degrees outside) and she got a little snow in her face on the 3rd trip down the hill so that was the end of that. Here's a video and some pictures.