Threenager

I haven’t written the weekly blog in two weeks for very good reason. The first is that we had the ASF Walk, and then last week was the holiday. We’re back to our regularly scheduled Monday blog post and Friday podcast this week. I was going to write about the Angelman walk this week, but I’m going to wait one more week to see if pictures from the event trickle in.

In any case, Maddie hit a big milestone this past weekend. She is now three years old! Time must really fly when you’re having fun because I’ve blinked and Maddie is a full blown toddler.

Our goal for Maddie was to walk by the time she was three years old. Now she hasn’t hit this goal, but there’s a whole lot that our little lady has accomplished this past year. This time last year, Maddie couldn’t get into a sitting position on her own. Maddie started getting into a sitting position on her own a few months after she turned two.

Crawling is another thing that Maddie accomplished this year. Now it’s more of an army crawl than a full blown crawl, but it’s still a win. At this time last year, Maddie was rolling everywhere. She would pick a position, tuck her head, and start to roll. Rolling helped her get around the house, but now Maddie can get anywhere her little heart desires.

While we love how independent our little lady is, she sure is head strong. Maddie now knows that if she crawls through the dining room, she can get to the sliding glass door. Beyond that door, is her new swing set. The past few mornings, Maddie has crawled to this glass door and has started to tap on the glass. We’re pretty sure it’s because she wants to go outside and swing.

If we don’t catch her in time, and she gets bored of tapping on the glass, she has found her second favorite thing to do. She has found a bowl of water. While this bowl is meant specifically for our dog to drink out of, Maddie thinks it’s a fun time to splash around. You can tell she’s so proud of herself when she finds a way to be a little mischievous.

I did say our goal was to have Maddie walking by the time she was three. She has made huge strides strength wise in accomplishing this goal. She can get up onto her high knees. She’ll reach up but hasn’t started pulling herself up yet. She’s right on the cusp of doing this however. So our goal yet again is to have our little one walking by this time next year. It would be pretty cool if she could take a few steps at next year’s Angelman Syndrome Foundation Walk.

Turning three was a big celebration in our household. Maddie got to play at the beach with her cousins. Lake Michigan was a bit chilly but she still splashed around for a few minutes. Maddie loves seeing her girl cousins, and they do such a good job looking after her.

Turning three brought some sadness as well. Maddie has been in an early intervention program since she was 8 months old. This program in the state of Michigan is called Early On. Ever since Maddie was 8 months old, she was visited weekly by Miss Carly. Sadly Maddie turning three means that she has aged out of Early On.

I cannot say enough good things about Miss Carly. Now I haven’t asked her if it was okay to include her in this blog, but I really want to recognize what she has meant to our family. Miss Carly entered into Maddie’s life when Maddie couldn’t even roll over. During Miss Carly’s last visit, Maddie was crawling over a couch cushion to get to her pacifier.

Miss Carly did therapy with Maddie once a week during the school year. She was right by Maddie’s side through all of her ups and downs. Miss Carly helped Maddie hit milestone after milestone. Not only did Miss Carly help Maddie, she helped Nicole and I navigate the system. Miss Carly not only offered us advice, but she went to bat for us every chance she could.

It’s not just me who thinks Miss Carly went above and beyond. Our outpatient physical therapist and occupational therapist would both marvel at the help Miss Carly provided in regards to medical devices and various other programs. So it was with a heavy heart that we had to say goodbye to Miss Carly’s weekly visits. We do hope that she stays in touch.

Maddie turning three this weekend was an eye opener. Everyone tells you that your children grow up too quickly, but you never realize it until it happens to you. Maddie has become headstrong yet she is such a sweet little lady. We survived the terrible twos, let’s hope we survive Maddie being a threenager.

- Written by Adam Birchmeier