My little Engine that did

It is a quiet afternoon at home today. I am alone with the girls while Jared is getting his arm finished (pictures to come :-) I was working on getting Chloe down while Claire had just gotten up. She was sitting on the couch when I had to go check on her little sister. While I was in the other room, Claire had started to lean to the right and was now leaning on her arm. This is significant for many reasons. Lately she has been leaning to the left a bit and we were starting to worry. Also, she has been working with our awesome OT Kaya on going up and down with graded muscle control in several different positions. It is so neat to see that Claire is translating it and using it in different situations with no prompt. As Claire was leaning on her right arm I asked her if she was trying to get down, she looked up at me with a big grin, so I took that as a yes. I told her that I knew she could do it and that if she wanted help she would have to ask. So I sat there watching as she worked her one leg over the other and finally got down onto her tummy. At that point I realized that she was going to do this and I started looking for the camera. Good thing we have the little flip around, so handy! She took her time (this was actually pretty fast by her standards) less than 5 minutes! Eventually she got down and she went down to her knees, something that we never taught her, she figured that one on her own. After she got down she crawled right over to the Little Engine That Could book that was on the floor a few feet away and gestured for me to read it. As if I could actually read through the tears (of joy) but I managed. When we got to the part about the little blue engine saying, "I think I can" to get up the mountain, I asked Claire if that is what she was saying to herself as she wiggled down. The squeal that she let out was too much, as if to say, of coarse that is what I was thinking! I am so proud of my little monkey. Again I sit here and learn so much from her. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by thirty seven E.O.B's that came in the mail last week and trying to reconcile accounts with five different medical providers. God has given me so much and certainly the resources to get through all of the paperwork, the laundry and other odds and ends that I find filling up my days. From Claire I am reminded that I can do it, that there is no rush, that I should enjoy the process. It is from Psalm 46 that I am reminded of who God is. The earth giving way, the mountains moving into the sea and waters that roar and foam is about what it feels like having a child with Rett. I hope that you enjoy the video clip and rejoice in this small victory for Claire with us!