Happy 2008!

Hope you had a great celebration to the New Year. As for myself, I celebrated east coast time then hit the hay so didn't celebrate with the folks here in Colorado. Then decided to bring in the New Year with my friends in California so woke up at 1AM and stayed awake 'til 3AM! Mom and Dad had a hard time understanding why I didn't just celebrate at the same time everyone else in Colorado did!
I've been having alot of fun playing with all of my new Christmas toys. I've almost mastered making the swing keep going all by myself. I can now balance my round see saw without anyone else holding on to it. And....I can now balance on my pedal pusher. Mom loves the new Crayola magic markers I got even more than I do!!! I think it is because the only place they work is on the special Crayola paper. That means no more pretty colors on my hands, no more stains to get out of the laundry, no more marks in the walls, floors, tables....you get the idea!!!
I'm keeping up my gift wrapping skills for next year's Christmas. Since I watched Mom wrap presents, I been putting many of my little toys in boxes and wrapping them up in old paper or my blanket. Grandma said Mom also used to do this when she was a little girl. I hope Mom keeps me in mind for the position of Present Wrapping Assistant next year.
Yesterday Mom and I had breakfast at McDonalds before we went to get my car seat checked out at the Safety Checkpoint and then did some shopping. I can now make it up two levels in the McDonald's play structure but getting down is a problem. At least it gives Mom the opportunity to see the inside of the play structure. Most parents don't get that opportunity!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

I had a great Christmas! Grandma and Grandpa Parke were here for a week so I got to play ALOT! I am definately a "Grandpa's Girl!" Even got out of bed all by myself for the first time today just to make sure I could go play with him as soon as possible! There were so many presents to open and play with! I got this round see saw from Santa. After just one day of playing on it, I can now stand up all by myself and make it rock. Grandpa also made it so my new Rainy Day Indoor Playground can hang from the ceiling in my playroom. Pretty soon I'll be swinging from the rafters! Grandma made a great Christmas dinner...I liked the pumpkin pie the best but Grandma said I can't tell anyone that she didn't bake it herself! Dad got me some more moon sand. With all these great gifts, there hasn't been enough hours in the day to get all my playing in! Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa for driving so far so we could have Christmas together. I hope I get to see you again soon!

Texas Children's Hospital Rocks!

Mom and I made it safely to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. I did great on my developmental testing. I even said "I did it" during my test so that was HUGE! I still have to work on my pronunciation a bit but Dr. Peters said she thought that's what I said! I had great nurses while I was there. This is a picture of one of my nurses. Her name is Sherri and she is very silly! Our secret sign to each other was to shake our arms. She bought us both matching bells so we could even hear each others arms shake! We didn't get a for sure answer about what is making walking hard, but the doctors in Texas agree that we need to find an answer and it is most likely not related to my Angelman Syndrome. I go back to The Children's Hospital in Denver for more tests on January 15. Keep your fingers crossed we find an answer. Mom didn't sleep the last night we were there because she thought she lost my Dynavox. I knew we would find it in the morning so I just enjoyed getting to meet the policeman and security guards and then got a great nights sleep! I was right...we found it in the morning! Maybe next time Mom will listen to me! Shout out to all my friends on the GCRC!

Crawling Is Also Getting Harder

Over the past week crawling is getting harder also. We are going to The Children's Hospital in Denver soon to see my neurologist. Hopefully with the information from Texas and her seeing me, we'll have a revised game plan for figuring out what is going on.

If You're Happy and You Know It...

I love my Elmo Sesame Street DVD. You can sing along to one of my favorite songs..."If You're Happy and You Know It!" Doing the actions is the most fun...here's how it goes so once the video starts you can play along! If you're sad and you know it wipe your eyes!" Then comes the best one..."If you're angry and you know it stomp your feet!" I'm not to fond of the next one cause it means going to sleep..."If you're tired and you know it go to sleep" And the big finish is..."If you're happy and you know it shout horray!" Did you get it all? If not...Mom and Dad are pushovers for playing it again and again so you'll get another chance! Happy practicing!

Texas Here I Come!

Mom and I will be leaving for Texas Children's Hospital in Houston Sunday. We are so grateful to Angel Flight for providing the airplane ride for Mom and I. Not having to pay for our airline tickets is huge blessing. I will miss Grandpa and Grandma Parke though. Last year they made the long drive to Houston with us. Can't believe it has already been a year since we were there to start the clinical trial. Right now I have a cold I'm trying to beat so I'll be in top form for my developmental testing. I'm so lucky there are doctors and other people who are dedicated to helping make life better for people with Angelman Syndrome. While we are in Houston, we are also planning on seeing some of the other TCH doctors so we can hopefully figure out what is making it hard for me to walk. I feel sorry for those doctors...Mom has been working overtime gathering data about ideas for possible causes and making up lists of questions. I'll keep you posted on how things go in Texas. Until then, please say a prayer that my cold goes away and we find a way to help me walk better.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Mom and I drove 1300 miles over the Thanksgiving weekend but it was all worth it! I got to see almost all of my cousins, aunts, uncles and Grandma and Grandpa Parke. We did all kinds of fun things at Grandma and Grandpa's...made some hot chocolate and candy, watched the Parade of Lights, played alot and helped Grandpa make shelves for his new garage. On the long drive I discovered DVDs! I couldn't believe it...the people on the DVDs knew alot of the songs I sing with my friends at preschoool! I told Mom she needed to keep her eyes on the road but she was having to much fun watching me do all of the actions to the songs. You can check out more of my Thanksgiving pictures by clicking on "My Pictures and Videos." In the meantime, I need to go add DVDs to my Christmas wish list!