Where has the time gone?

I knew it had been awhile since I had posted, but wow....almost a month, unbelievable! Leah has grown and changed so much in such a short time. She turned 9 months on the 17th. She is now attempting to walk...actually took her first step on Thursday! Let go, one step and then down on her bottom. But hey, it was still a first step. It happened at my mom's house as my mom and I were both watching!

Leah now has 3 teeth and 2 more coming in. OH...THE BIGGEST NEWS....SHE STARTED SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! I MEAN THIS IS HUGE!! She'd never gone more than 4 hrs or so at a time before now. Her first night was Sunday, October 5th; so it will be 3 weeks tomorrow. She hasn't missed a night! And when I say sleep through the night, she is now going 11-12 hrs every single night!! Woo Hoo!! I am still trying to catch up on my sleep. Trying to get myself to bed earlier to get the benefit of a longer night sleep. She gets up every morning around 7am, which is a bit early for me. I got used to getting up with her between 3-5am, and then she would sleep until 8am.

She can wave...she does it when you wave at her or if you tell her to wave. And it is a cute "royal princess" wave. If you clap your hands or tell her pattycake, she will clap her hands together. She also will pat, pat something when you tell her pat, pat. Really out of all 3 of my girls, she seems to be doing everything much earlier, EVERYTHING. And the way she is trying to walk, I would not be surprised if she gets efficient before her first birthday. She is that determined. She does not sit still for a second. She can crawl and get across the room quickly. She is always underfoot....wants to be right in the action. There are times I have been convinced that her first word was, "Hi." If I say it to her, many times she says it back. So cute!! And she just LOVES her daddy! If she hears his voice, she starts looking for him and smiles when she sees him.

She has now been in her helmet for almost 5 complete months (on the 28th). Her head looks beautiful (other than where she has a slight protrusion on the side of her forehead...a dissolvable screw is dissolving). It is common for it to stick out while doing that. She technically only has another month in the helmet (Nov 28 will be 6 complete months). But I think she will be done with her helmet when she outgrows this one. Which probably only makes it an extra 2-3 weeks at most. Her head is slowing in growth, which is normal. My prediction is by mid December, she'll be out. A third helmet has never been brought up, but hubby and I are both in agreement that if it is left up to us and we are given an option, we will not be going into another helmet. Her head is as close to perfect as you're going to get.

We will be continuing to do the therapy at home 5x times a day until she is 2 yrs old for her Torticollis. We are also headed back to see her neurosurgeon (Dr. Heger) on November 24th for a routine follow-up appt.

I'll post some new pictures as soon as I get a chance! She is getting so much hair, and it is getting curly! When Ken sees her without her helmet, he always tells her that he wouldn't be able to pick her out of a line-up. LOL! We are that used to her in the helmet! We also had her dedication at church on October 11th. What a joyful time, and we are SO glad we are able to celebrate Leah's life and thank God for all He has done for our family! Leah (like our other girls) has a special plan to her life. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11