Running with Purpose, and a Little Bit of Sunshine

Summer’s winding down, and we’re squeezing in the last few days of freedom before preschool is added into the mix of therapy and doctor’s appointments! We’re definitely transitioning into a new phase of our lives, and Meghan is ready to move on too. 18 months old now, and without a doubt her last couple of months have been so much fun to watch as her parents! She has continued to make amazing strides in her development, and fights so hard to make her body do what she knows she should be able to do. We’ve been working on sitting for a LONG time, and just in the last couple of weeks have we been able to help her into a sitting position, and she is finally able to maintain it without support. Now, that doesn’t stop her from turning it into a game of “let’s fall backwards to see if mom’s still going to catch me” (in which she gets the cheesiest smile on her face and says “mommy” when I do). How can I resist??

She’s also been talking. And talking. And talking. One day I was lying on the floor with her playing and I think I said “one”. I heard her little voice say, “two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten”. I really didn’t believe what I was hearing, and since we have not been “working” on counting, I said it again, “one”, and off she went. It didn’t stop with counting. Since she has been born, we have been trying to stimulate her growing brain as much as possible in order to give her the best chance at developing. We have discovered that nearly every song, book, rhyme, DVD, etc- you name it, she has been listening. When you sing a song, she can fill in the words at the end of the phrase, and I have started to catch her singing entire phrases to herself when she thinks we aren’t listeningJ It is absolutely amazing to hear her little voice. A voice that we weren’t sure we would ever hear. My favorite words lately? Mommy, happy, sunshine, and “lub you”.

Want to hear a little duet? How about You are my sunshine!

We are still working at getting her to bear any weight on her legs. I am hopeful that as her neck becomes a little stronger each day, she’ll find it easier to focus on a new position. Lately she has been getting used to a jumperoo and has finally allowed her feet to touch the floor! It’s another start, and in the meantime, she’s been motoring around in her “zoom zoom chair” (don’t be fooled- the thing only goes about 1 mile per hour) and figuring out all the things she can reach now that she’s three feet off the ground! We have a loaner chair for a little while to see how it fits into our lifestyle. So far, it would be a chore to transport the thing (man oh man is that thing HEAVY), and isn’t really set up to “push”, and Meghan isn’t exactly precise with her driving or directionality yet (like most toddlers, who, if given the opportunity to run, will undoubtedly run in a million directions, and all of them would be AWAY from where their parents would like them to go) so it seems taking it out and about would be tricky. But what’s important is that she really knows that she is in control of the chair, and seems to love being in it for short periods of time here at home. So we’ll see. We are hopeful that someday she will be able to walk, and we will do everything we can to help her get there, and at least in the meantime she has a way to be in control of her own mobility.

Speaking of mobility, this fall, I am going to be running the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Half Marathon again in Meghan’s honor. Both of my girls inspire me to better every single day, but being Meghan’s mom has made me committed to work, and push myself as hard as she does to achieve what comes so easily to others. I am grateful to God that I am physically able to take care of her, and help her toward her own physical goals. So in turn, my goal is to run this half marathon every year until she can walk, or I can’t. If walking isn’t a part of God’s plan for her life, then she will be rolling across a lot of finish lines with me.

There are three charitable organizations that are near and dear to my heart: CURE International, The Asher Foundation, and Oasis of HopePregnancy and Parenting Support Center. Would you consider making a donation in Meghan’s honor to one of these charities for this year’s race? Or would you like to be on Meghan’s team and run in her honor? We would love to hear from you! Email us at milesformeghan@gmail.com. You can donate by clicking on the links above. Any of the organizations would all appreciate any help you could give.

Tomorrow Meghan is scheduled for another sedated MRI of her Brain and entire spine, a g-tube change, and a minor surgical procedure. Would you all keep her in your prayers for the day? Although some procedures may be easier on her than others, it never gets any easier to hand your baby over to the team and kiss her sweet scared little face as the tears fall around the anesthesia mask. This will be her 6^th procedure with sedation. God has been faithful to bring her through each one, and we entrust her to Him tomorrow.

We'll keep you posted! 

"Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step...."

1 Corinthians 9:24-26

          Showing off her sitting skills!

          Getting into a little trouble...

        Hanging out with her big sister:)