Evie the Extraordinary and Her Mommy: The Journey As We Go

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I have to admit that I love fast results and efficient progress.  Evie has challenged that part of me, but has taught me that the waiting makes the victory all the more sweet. While her peers (even the ones with Down Syndrome) went on to walk and run, Evie trucked along in her walker.  I have learned that I need to remember that Evie goes on her own timeline and she will get there, but 3 years of waiting was hard! But she finally reached this huge milestone, and I am so proud!  And not only were her parents cheering her on, her classmates gleefully counted each step that she took, and her friends and family from afar celebrated with us. Here's a quick clip for you to share the excitement with us: I can't wait to give away the wheelchair! Just a couple weeks later, she now walks confidently down the hallway to the couch at home, and is attacking the stairs with gusto.  I feel happy every time I see her walk.  She wears Ikiki shoes indoors to allow he...

Evie just got her second pair of SMO's!  (If you missed our post about her first pair, and don't know what SMO's are, click here .)  I feel a little mom guilt because I didn't keep up with her appointments at the orthotics clinic.  I felt like I could tell when she outgrew the SMO's.  I was wrong.  By the time we went back, she had outgrown her SMO's by about 2 cm, which is a lot if your feet are the size of a large avocado.  If you're interested, this time she got a princess print. Rocking the walker around the neighborhood  Evie's own solution for taking a break from walking Now that summer is here, Evie's foot needs are a little different. SMO's are really hot and make your feet sweaty.  I've found that we need mesh socks and ventilated shoes.  Here are Evie's tried and true recs for the summer SMO fashion statement: Can't forget the Hello Kitty shoes.  Thankfully, she hasn't decided to make it a project ...

Evie's world has changed for the better.  She got SMO's, or AFO's. I've heard a lot of acronyms, and this was just another set of them until I realized what they really meant.  Supramellar orthotics or ankle-foot orthotics help a child to feel more stable so that they can learn to walk.  In Evie's case, her ankles were so weak that she would try to keep her legs stiff so that she didn't feel so unstable.  She was really afraid of falling over, and I don't blame her.  Meet the cutest little SMO's you've ever seen.   When you go to the orthotics place (we went to NOPCO, which is a veritable empire of orthotics centers all across the region), they will take measurements of your child's foot with a measuring tape (hopefully not necessary to make a cast of their foot).  We waited a month for this appointment, so I would advise not waiting to make that appointment. You need a note of medical necessity from the doctor to got here.    ...