Walking and Talking

(Dad & Z on left, duck on right)

Two weeks before we returned to the Institutes for Zoe's eval, I completed the usual 70+ page progress report. One of the 'dream goals' for the previous period was for Zoe to take 4-5 steps independently. As I sent the report off, I noticed she came so close - she regularly took 2-3 steps by herself.

Of course as soon as the report was in the mail, she started taking 4-5 steps! I was excited but I didn't have high hopes for Zoe to demonstrate her new skills in Philly as she was sure to be jetlagged, new surroundings, schedule shot, yada-yada-yada. First day she was an exhausted mess but by the end of the week, Zoe was taking 6, 8, 10, 12 steps on her own! Their waiting room floor has special padding and Zoe kept getting more and more confidence. Back at home she now walks 5 feet independently so we'll keep building on that.

Now since Zoe was so focused on walking, talking took a backseat for awhile (which is true for almost every kid). Again, while we were in Philly, I asked Zoe to help me get her seat belt on and when she did, I said thank you and she replied, "thank you!" She also said "hi" to Jeff's Dad and when Jeff's Mom was leaving, Zoe shook her head no and said "Grandma with me!" Before we left Boston, she said "bye-bye". Today we were at the park and we showed her the ducks and she said "duck" when we got home.