Check Her OUT!

This past Monday afternoon, our OT stopped by for our weekly session...or is it bi-weekly, or every three weeks? She needs exercise, people!! Oh, right, *ahem*...it was Little's first OT exercise session since she had her surgery on July 29th...that's right...I said July...I mean, could our OT have a personal emergency some other time...when my little girl hasn't gone 7 weeks without OT? URG! Aaaaaanyway, we were sitting there on my living room floor, discussing what kind of activity and development Little has been showing in ohhhhhh, the last month and a half (*deep breaths*) when I just decided to sit Little down on her play mat to show the OT that she (Little, not the OT) was doing pretty well sitting with my assistance, but not yet ready to sit on her own. Clearly, we had more work to do. So, I sat her in an upright position, legs in the "V" position out in front of her, and moved my hands off of her sides and about an inch away from her body so that I could catch her when she started doing her best "timberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" impression (as she is apt to do) and I waited...and waited...and waited some more (probably 60 seconds, but it felt like 60 minutes)...until finally Little started to teeter to the side a bit and I put my hands out to catch her...but then, she did something that she's never done before. She put her chubby little arms out to the side and she balanced herself...and sat back up on her OWN!! The next thing I remember, the OT was slapping my cheeks, waving smelling salts under my nose, telling me to wake up and get my lazy butt of off the floor. OK, not really...but, I don't think I could have possibly been more shocked. My little baby...with two heart surgeries under her belt...and a pacemaker...who is still having trouble rolling over because it hurts to be on her tummy...who hasn't had OT since JULY (oh, did I say that already? *grumble*)...who has nary sat up on her own evah evah evah...was sitting up all. on. her. own. I sat and stared. I glanced at the OT, who looked back at me with approval. I looked back at Little, who turned and looked at me all "la dee dah, I've been doing this for ages, where have you been Mom?," like it was just another day in uprightness for her...and then she smiled, a big proud smile...and my heart melted. *swoon* And she hasn't looked back yet. Suddenly, she's a "sitter".

Every day, I am so filled with pride, and glee, and wonder that my daughter, who has faced more challenges in her short 8 months on this Earth than I can even fathom in my 30 years, continues to be so incredibly strong and show us what she's made of. She is the most wonderful blessing a mother could ever hope to receive. Amazing, I tell you. Every day with her is a lesson in strength and perseverance. How lucky we are.